Briggs urges 'Get to grips with tyre safety'
October 1st 2007 In a survey by Briggs
Equipment, more than 40%
of forklift tyres fitted and
ordered by customers were
the wrong size and
compound. The company
says it's a worrying statistic
because if the tyre footprint is the wrong size, a truck
while laden or braking could
easily skid out of control and
this could lead to an
accident.
Clive Green, tyres
manager, believes many
people measure the size of
the tyre incorrectly and says
that by the time they
measure, tyre walls are
badly scuffed and sizes
illegible. He says another
problem is that many people
don't work with an industrial
tyre supplier.
"It is important to look at
the type and size of the
machine and secondly look
at the application that the
truck is undertaking. To do
this, it is essential to have a
knowledge of that application
because this will dictate
what kind of compound the
tyre should be and whether
it needs to have a pneumatic,
resilient or press-on band.
"Tyre measurements
should also be taken
differently. For example,
with a pneumatic, the
inflated tyre expands to fit
the rim. But with a resilient,
it has to be the right size
otherwise it doesn't fit. The
critical measurement for a
resilient tyre is the third
dimension which is the
width between the two
inside faces of the rim. All
resilient tyres should be
replaced when they are
worn down to the J Line."
Green believes that
looking at tyres and wheel
nuts should form part of any
driver's daily check list. More articles from Briggs Equipment UK Ltd: | 
