truck tires

Trucking ain’t what it used to be!

This week I was talking with a son in law. We talked about the old split ring wheels that trucks had. I think thery are obsolete now, I hope so.

A truck tire is a big hunk of fiber and rubber. It mounts on a good sized wheel. The tires are so inflexible that the rim had no edge on it, and the tire slipped on easily. But then a ring had to be added.

There was a groove on the edge of the wheel and the corresponding tongue on the ring had to seat together. They had to seat perfectly.

Sometimes, if it was not installed perfetly that ring would come off.

Tire men were trained to air a tire like that against a stron wall and to use the air line from the back of the tire, not the side with the ring.

We stopped in Tremonton Utah once (I rode with dad sometimes) and the guys in the tire store said one of theirs, who dad knew, was inflating a tire. For some reason he ignored the rule, the ring came off and took his head off.

That was not the only time. RIP.