ZW Wheel Loader Tyre Maintenance

Off the road (OTR) tyres are the most expensive and one of the hardest working categories of tyre. Correct regular maintenance, selection and use of these tyres improves the performance, safety and most importantly, reduces vehicle downtime!

Improper handling, maintenance and driving habits can damage these costly tyres, increasing the operating cost of your equipment.

Tyre pressures should be checked at least once a month by a trained competent person. Maintaining the correct inflation pressure will give you the best performance from your tyres. Keep in mind that depending on the application it can take the machine tyres up to 24 hours to cool after completing a job. Because of this, it is recommended that you check and adjust inflation pressure when the tyres are cool, after long breaks or at weekends when the machine is parked up.

A tyre pressure monitoring system (TPM) is a safe and reliable way of monitoring your tyre pressures in real time via an in cab display.

The machine tyres should be visually inspected daily, at the beginning of each shift.

Visually inspect your tyres during your daily walk around inspection for defects such as:

• Valve stem caps or TPM sensors missing or loose.
• Leaking valves.
• Missing or damaged rim locking keys.
• Damaged rims and lock rings.
• Loose/missing wheel nuts.
• Escaping air.
• Signs of low pressure in the tyre.
• Sidewall cuts (check both inner and outer wall).
• Any signs of delamination (tread separating from the case).
• Any objects protruding from the tyre.
• Signs of the rim assembly spinning in the tyre.

Driving Techniques

To get maximum performance from your tyres, it is always important to operate the machine keeping the tyres in mind, avoiding things like:

• Driving through deep potholes.
• Driving over large debris/rocks.
• Sudden braking and locking the wheels.
• Wheel spin.
• High speed cornering.
• Overloading the bucket.

Any of these manoeuvres can damage your tyres and shorten their working life.

Inflating Tyres

• Tyres should only be inflated by a trained and competent person.
• Always refer to the tyre maintenance section in the operator's handbook before inflating tyres and take note of all safety warnings.
• Use a self-attaching chuck with air line extension.
• Never stand next to the tyre while it is being inflated.
• A damaged rim assemble or defective tyre can cause the assembly or tyre to explode while it is being inflated.