In any warehouse, forklifts are the backbone and their safety is vital to your employees and drivers. They play a crucial role in ensuring the smooth operation of your business and this is why you have to pay close attention to its maintenance. There are several ways to ensure that your Moffett lift truck remains in appropriate working condition and while the maintenance is the main element of focus, so is the tire maintenance.
Yes, most operators and business owners overlook tire maintenance, and this is often confusing when it comes to replacing the tires. Since most forklifts have no suspension, the forklift tires take up all the stress and the weight from the loads. As you read on below, this article should help you determine when your forklift tires need a replacement and the importance of knowing exactly when you should replace them. Pneumatic and cushion tires are the two popular options, and the focus will remain on these two in this post.
The Warning Signs
There are several forklift brands and tires, but almost all of them fall under the pneumatic or cushion. These tires have their own sets of warning signs, especially when it comes to knowing their replacement time. Note that cushion tires are often beyond their working life when about 30-35% of their rubber wears off. With pneumatic tires, you must keep a check on the tread wear, once this tread goes, it means the traction point has come and this will compromise the stability significantly.
The Warning Signs of Pneumatic Tires
Note that Moffett Truck pneumatic tires differ from the cushion tires and they are ideal for outdoor work. When you notice a change in the following, that’s when you should know you must pay extra attention to the tires:
Cuts: If you notice any frayed cord piles or visible cord, it is vital that you consider replacing the tire. Cuts often result in sudden loss of air, hence causing poor balance.
Inflation: Over or under inflation has an effect on the stability of a forklift, as well as accelerates the wear and tear. It also has an effect on the stopping power, which is because of the tire traction lessening.
Simple Wear: In this case, it is important to keep the 2-inch rule as a benchmark, but this is not something straightforward in regards to knowing exactly when you should replace the tires. A reason for this is because all pneumatic tires have wider sizes to cushion tires and they are ideal for tougher environments.
Balding: Tires usually wear off at different rates; hence, it is essential that you inspect the tires for lug, smooth centers, and the outer tread.
The Warning Signs of Cushion Tires
Even though the wearing off time of cushion tires is relatively slow, it damages easily. It is essential to keep a watch out for some of the top warning signs and consider replacing the tires accordingly.
Cracks and Chunking: Most pieces of rubber could fall off from the tire, due to forklift misuse and debris. Eventually, this will result in the forklift tires having huge chunks in the rubber, and the need to consider a replacement.
Normal Wear: You should always check the wear of your lift truck. In cushion tires, it is especially common to see 50% of lines showing wearing off signs. Once the tire top meets the wear line, this is the time when you should consider the idea of investing in a new tire.
Tearing Note that a forklift tire could tear when it encounters sharp objects, resulting in instability, which is quite dangerous.
Flat Spots: Tire spinning and misalignment cause flat spots or when the forklift, comes to an abrupt halt. The best way to identify flat spots is by looking for balder parts on the tire, compared to the rest.
Why is Tire Replacement so Important?
The role of forklift tires is to soften the ride for the equipment or materials you want to carry around to another location for delivery and your employees. On average, a forklift can carry about 4300 kilograms of weight on its drive tires and about 590 kilograms on the steer tires. Worn out tires lead to safety hazards, and a reason for this is because the tire wear does not actually happen evenly, which could create instability. In addition, a tire with damages creates more vibration, resulting in driver fatigue. Another reason is due to more maintenance costs and increases fuel consumption.
If you ignore the maintenance of your Moffett forklift tires, this will cause safety and performance issues, as well of risks of some unnecessary machinery damages. Hence, tire maintenance and routine replacement are important to the productivity of a business and it is important you know when you should replace them.
