News

Derbyshire haulier Lockwood has completed a 15-month trial of the UK's first tractor unit fitted with wide-single drive tyres.

It's nearly 10 years since the first 485mm-wide singles were produced and since then, Michelin, Goodyear and Bridgestone have manufactured them.

The idea has been gradually taken up in the US and Europe, and an EU study concluded they could provide fuel economy, weight and stability benefits – at the expense of increased road wear.

In the  UK, Construction & Use Regulations limit drive-axle bogie weight to 18 tonnes, a tonne less than in Europe, making the use of wide singles on a 6x2 unit unattractive.

MD Rob Lockwood tried the innovative tyres on an MAN two-axle unit from his 47-strong fleet at the behest of his regular tyre supplier Michelin. Most Lockwood trucks run at 40 tonnes GVW, potentially suiting them to wide singles.

Fitting the Michelin X One tyres cost £4,000 (the tyres cost around £600 each), including alloy wheels and a tyre-pressure monitoring system – essential as a rear-axle blow-out is likely to be more serious.

After 175,000km, the 440hp TGA has experienced no tyre problems and Michelin says regrooving will take the tyres'overall life to around 240,000km – an improvement of 5% to 10% on the twins usually used by Lockwood.

An immediate benefit was  a 200kg weight saving. Other possible advantages are reduced purchase cost – a wide single costs more than a double, but only one pair is required – and improved steering-axle tyre life.

Fuel consumption on the Lockwood test truck was unaffected. Vehicle handling was also unimpaired. Service support from tyre firms and residual values are yet to be tested.

Currently the British Tyre Manufacturers Association is lobbying the DfT to increase the bogie axle weight limit for 6x2 tractive units, but reports little willingness to change.