Tread warily
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Here's a phrase for trailer designers to roll round their tongues 10 times before breakfast : "Tyre technicians hate tri-axles." Not only technicians but engineers, too, it seems. Talking to Sam Ravenhall, Dunlop's chief designer of commercial vehicle tyres, last week, he described three-axle bogies as an abomination. This doesn't reflect on any particular make or type but was simply a condemnation of the basic layout.
Sam also reminded me that the tyre manufacturers had told the SMMT that they wouldn't accept claims for excessive wear or carcase failure where the tyres were on a three-axle bogie.
He also expressed surprise that British operators don't go for oversize tyre equipment—for example, 11.00-20 instead of 10.00-20 where the wheel and arch dimensions allow it, The Continentals, he says, save quite a lot of money in the long run by fitting larger sizes than we do.