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Even a tire guru, it seems, needs outside help now and then. When rubbing the tires doesn’t work, and the TMC guide has no answers, Hair relies on his tire dealers for help. “You’re going to have to challenge them every now and then, but if there’s a problem, they know what’s causing it,” he says.
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
While all of Keen Transport’s maintenance shops do their own tire repairs, the Carlisle, PA shop, with its nitrogen inflation system and tire machine, is unique in the amount of tools and equipment available for tire maintenance.
“Some people say that tire machines cost too much money, but what does one back injury cost you?” Hair asks. “There are people who like to do tire work, but they get into their 30s and 40s and their bodies just can’t take it anymore. You put a tire machine in the shop, and for the first 30 days you’re going to have to encourage everyone to use it. Everyone’s a tough guy... But with the tire machine I can change 40 tires a day, not get dirty, and still be able to function at the end of the day.”
It’s also important to Hair to have the proper tools for torquing lug nuts. He used to rely on 1-inch air guns in all his shops, but a few years ago he had a wheel-off problem that set off warning bells: “We had some wheel failures where wheels were coming off, and I though, ‘Damn, I know those tires are on tight,’” he says. “Our sin was, they were on too tight. We were overtorquing wheels, and the studs were failing.”
So Hair and his technicians performed a little test with their 1-inch air guns. Hair thought he could handle the gun and stop at 550 foot-pounds on the nose, but the test showed that when he thought he was stopping at 550, the guns were actually breaking at 1,300 foot-pounds. There’s an eye-opener for you.
“Anybody who says he can control a 1-inch air gun is kidding himself,” Hair says. “We torque every wheel at every PM. We bought three of the torque guns that we can recalibrate every day. They’re expensive, but it made a two-man job a one-man job.”
MAGIC FORMULA
Does Lloyd Hair have an answer to every tire question? He would probably say no, although his vice president says he beats industry averages for tire costs, and we tend to believe him.
Hair puts it simply: “I don’t get beat up by tire costs too often.” Anybody who can say that has a lot to crow about.
