Weight Study

Why do tire manufacturers, tire dealers and end-users want a weight study conducted on haulage trucks, scrapers and loaders?

Generally speaking, job sites are only interested in weight studies to help them determine the amount of material they are moving.

Tire manufacturers and ETMS use weight studies to determine the maximum amount of load that each axle and/or tire is under at a specific job site. This weight information allows the tire manufacturer and ETMS to determine the optimum inflation pressure that each tire requires.

A tire that is under inflated by as little as 5% will lose approximately 7.5% of its tread life. As small as it sounds, let’s say you spend $1,000,000.00 per year on tires. 7.5% of that amount would be $75,000.00. A typical site runs 10% to 15% under-inflated. What’s worse is that tire over-inflation can be just as detrimental to the life of a tire.

But that’s not all; ETMS also considers the amount of weight transfer a vehicle undergoes as it travels inclines and declines. This weight transfer is often ignored, but has a considerable effect on tire life.