O.T. Single tire rear semi axles

Single tires have been out for years but they were what we call Super Singles. You talk about a piece of dog poo. These tires would get you killed because they do not have much traction when the truck is empty. Even when loaded you had to watch wheel slide in the rain. Companies like them but drivers hated them.

Fast forward to a few years ago and Michelin came out with the X one tire. Other manufactures may make a similar tire but we use Michelin.
We use them for weight. A X one only weighs 160 lbs so we lost just over 800 lbs off our gross weight. This allows us to add 800 lbs in load and when you haul max loads every load this 800 lbs helps the bottom line.

These newer tires hug the road as good as duals even in the rain; do not have any noticeable sway or lean in curves. Get better mileage. Have about the same life/mileage expectancy.

Some problems we are aware of is with flats. While we have very few flats you need to watch for nails; even if the tire does not leak down; and get it fixed because the air will leak between the inner casing and cap casing causing the tire to blow out. This has been a very small problem and for us if any at all but Michelin has warned us about it.

That is one problem with them. People associate them with the older Super Singles and they get a bad wrap from the start.

Granted when they go to a 3rd axle on the truck (often air liftable around here) they are usually running singles on those "extra" axles. But actually I see that more on dump trucks than tractors.

Back in 1990 I was up in Detroit on business and I commonly saw trucks on the interstate up there that had 4 or more rear axles on the tractor and 5 or more axles on the trailers--those things looked like one long line of axles. Don't know if they were dullies or singles.

Pros:better fuel economy (less sidewall flexing) lighter weight more payload
better flotation on cement trucks etc (heavy pigs going in the mud)
No chance of rocks getting caught between the duals ie dump trucks(good drivers check for rocks inbetween duals but good luck finding a good driver)
while they help you float so you dont get stuck ie cement mixer they dont "cut through water) and can make the truck a pig and not want to steer. The new tread patterns are better about goign through water and snow but still not spectacular but my biggest fear is having one blow and rolling over a trailer cause no dual. Around here one of the first companies to use them back in the day was klemm a company hauling gas, sort of scary.

Seems like in todays world running singles is a lawsuit waiting to happen. I'm hearing here control on wet roads and in blowout situations are less sure with singles. If a truck equiped with singles flips on a van load of girl scouts the tire company could be paying big time--unless they can blame it on the driver. But then again we always have risk and I don't think I've seen a truck yet with duals on the front and loosing a tire on the stearing axle would seem to me to be the worst place--but I'm not a truck driver so I don't know.