Bias and radial do not belong on the same axle
Off-the-road tires come in two constructions. A bias tire is built from cord plies laid diagonally across each other. A radial tire runs its cords straight across from bead to bead, with steel belts under the tread. They behave differently: a radial's sidewall flexes more and its footprint stays flatter, while a bias tire is stiffer through the sidewall.
On a machine, that difference matters most when the two end up together.
It usually happens one tire at a time. A tire fails, the nearest available replacement is fitted, and the machine goes back to work. If the original set was bias and the replacement is radial, or the other way round, the two tires on that axle now have different deflection, different rolling diameter under load, and different grip.
What it does to the machine. On a driven axle, tires turning at different effective diameters fight each other through the drivetrain. On a loader, mismatched sides can make the machine lean or rock, which the operator feels in the bucket. Wear on both tires speeds up.
Decide it before the failure
The time to settle this is in a quiet week, not when a machine is down. For each machine, record which construction it runs, and decide what happens if a matching replacement is not on hand: wait for one, or change the pair together.
Equipment fleets that write that down avoid making the decision in a hurry, which is when the wrong tire goes on.
Fitting and repairs
A damaged tire is assessed before anything is decided, and some damage is repairable. The rims behind the tires are wheel refurbishing, and casings worth another life go into retreading, both at this address. The national OTR services page covers fitting, repair and supply.
This is the Commercial & Consumer listing, the Paducah store that carries OTR tires.
About this store
The Paducah Commercial & Consumer store carries all nine Purcell tire categories and is managed by Austin Hays.
See the national OTR services page for all 41 locations.