Position decides the tire
A truck does not run one tire. It runs three jobs on the same vehicle, and fitting the wrong one to a position is a common and expensive mistake.
Steer tires carry the load that steers the truck and wear in a way that tells you about everything else on the unit. Irregular steer wear is usually an alignment problem rather than a tire problem.
Drive tires put the power down and take the beating that comes with it. Tread design here is about traction and durability rather than fuel.
Trailer tires carry weight, get dragged sideways in every turn, and spend a good deal of their life unattended at the back of the unit. See trailer tires.
A conversation about commercial tires that does not start with position is not a conversation about commercial tires.
Cost per mile
Three numbers decide what a commercial tire actually costs:
- How long the tread lasts, which is the number everyone looks at.
- How many retread lives the casing gives, which is usually the number that matters most.
- What the tire does to the rest of the unit by being wrong, under-inflated or out of alignment.
Retreading is the lever. The casing is the expensive part of a commercial tire, and a sound one can be retreaded rather than scrapped. Purcell runs seven plants, and all six whose casing lists are recorded retread commercial casings. 54 locations collect casings for the program.
Heavy-duty truck alignment at 40 locations and trailer alignment at 36 protect that investment. A unit out of alignment scrubs rubber off every mile it runs, and it does so quietly until a set of steers comes off early.
Keeping casings alive
A tire run flat, even briefly, usually ends the casing. That makes the response to a failure as important as the purchase decision:
- Stop the unit as soon as the tire fails rather than reaching the next exit.
- Call 24-hour roadside assistance, available at 48 Purcell locations.
- Have the tire size and position ready, which is what decides whether the right tire arrives first time.
Service that goes with the tire
- Fleet services at 49 locations: specifications, scheduled work and one set of records.
- Tire and wheel balancing at 51.
- Wheel refurbishing at 42, which keeps a damaged wheel in service rather than replacing it.
- Mobile service at seven locations, for planned work at your yard.
Purcell works with 14 tire brands across the business, listed on the brands page. Stock varies by location, so confirm sizes with the store.
Availability
Where Purcell carries commercial tires
55 of 64 locations, in 12 states: Alaska 4, Arizona 7, Arkansas 4, Colorado 5, Idaho 3, Kentucky 4, Missouri 10, Montana 2, Nevada 5, New Mexico 1, Utah 7 and Washington 3.
The nine locations that do not carry them are the seven retread plants, which work on casings, and the two consumer stores in Idaho Falls, ID and Paducah, KY.
North Carolina and Oregon are covered by the retread plants in Cleveland, NC and Portland, OR, both of which retread commercial casings.
Start at the locations directory and open the store nearest your routes. Each page lists the categories that store carries and the services it performs.