Long-haul work produces sound casings and sudden failures
Highway running is kind to a casing in one respect and brutal in another, and both are worth understanding because they pull in opposite directions.
The forgiving part. A tire at steady speed on smooth pavement takes very little impact damage. No curbs, no site debris, no potholes to speak of. A long-haul casing that is looked after accumulates remarkably little of the mechanical damage that ends casings elsewhere, which is why highway fleets are often good retread candidates.
The brutal part. When a highway tire does fail, it usually fails completely. A tire losing air at speed generates enormous heat very quickly, and the casing is generally finished within a very short distance. There is no gradual deterioration and no second chance.
Which means the whole game for a corridor fleet is catching under-inflation before a run rather than during one. A casing lost on the road was almost always a tire that left the yard low.
The check that protects them
Cold pressures, before the unit moves, against the specification. On a long-haul fleet that is the single intervention with the clearest return, because the casings are otherwise in good condition and the only thing likely to take them is heat.
A unit that has been sitting and is about to leave on a long leg is the one to check most carefully.
Where the work happens
Purcell runs seven retread plants and Salt Lake City is the nearest to Fernley. This store collects casings and arranges transport both ways.
Fernley is one of 54 Purcell locations collecting casings.
About this store
The Fernley store carries all nine Purcell tire categories and is managed by John Jangula. Reno, Elko, North Las Vegas and Pahrump also collect casings.
See the national retreading page for how the program works and for all 54 collecting locations.