Forklift Tires 101: Selection, Maintenance and Repair

Driving Home the Importance of Forklift Tire Maintenance & Repair

Forklift tires literally keep your business moving. With so much riding on a successful purchase, it&#;s important to understand the options and potential areas of concern before equipping your fleet. Think of it as a three-step process. 1. Equip your vehicles with the tire size recommended by the manufacturer. 2. Choose the tire style that best suits your expected usage. 3. Regularly inspect and maintain the tires to ensure you get the most from your investment.

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Let&#;s take a closer look at the different forklift tire styles and some of the common maintenance practices that your team can employ to keep your vehicles and tires safely operating for an extended lifespan.

Types of Forklift Tires

Forklift tires are manufactured for different vehicle types, surfaces, and environments. Tires are manufactured for indoor vs. outdoor use, different temperatures and climates, and to safely maneuver on varied floor or road surfaces, i.e., smooth, loose, rough, etc. The most common types of forklift tires include:

• Pneumatic Tires &#; Pneumatic tires are the most common type of tire, from car tires and bicycles to forklifts. They provide a smooth ride on paved surfaces and even those with uneven features, such as hard-packed stone or dirt. When equipping your forklift, you have two choices of pneumatic tire: air-filled and solid.
  • Air-filled pneumatic tires are made of reinforced rubber and are lower in cost but have a shorter life span vs. solid pneumatic tires. Air-filled pneumatic tires are used indoors or outside but are not recommended for areas where sharp objects are likely to puncture the tires, i.e., lumber yards, construction areas, etc.
  • Solid pneumatic tires are made of solid rubber, making them stronger and more durable than air-filled. They provide good traction on rough outdoor surfaces and effectively navigate debris. Specific applications may include airports, agricultural plants, construction sites, concrete plants, and similar venues.
• Cushion Tires &#; Also referred to as press-on tires, cushion tires are ideal for interior or light-duty outdoor use on smoother, less abrasive terrain. They are made of durable solid rubber and provide greater maneuverability for smaller-sized lift trucks. Ideal applications include smooth factory floors, food-processing and storage facilities, manufacturing and production, and retail or wholesale facilities.
• Polyurethane Tires &#; Polyurethane tires are lighter-weight and stand up better to hazards like splitting, tearing, and chunking. These tires are more suited for limited indoor use, making them ideal for a warehouse or material handling facility where lift vehicles often go at lower speeds. Ideal applications include beverage warehouses, cold storage facilities, and venues prone to oil and chemical spills.

Pneumatic and cushion tires are available with special coatings to prevent black marks and smudges on your facility&#;s floors. These &#;non-marking&#; tires generally have a shorter lifespan due to the treatment.

Proper Forklift Tire Maintenance

Often forklift tires can be repaired and put back into action; other times, they will require complete replacement. Factors that can affect the longevity and performance of forklift tires include the level of use, driver behavior and experience, terrain and atmospheric conditions, whether or not the tire is suitable for the specific application, and more. One of the primary factors that can determine a tire&#;s functionality and lifespan is the level of care and maintenance it&#;s given. OSHA requires facilities that use forklifts to have a regular and documented maintenance plan for their vehicles, including maintenance of the tires. Some best practices for tire maintenance include:

• Don&#;t Cross the Line &#; Regularly check for wear near the 60J line or &#;safety line.&#; If the rubber above the 60J line is worn, the tire will need to be replaced. If your tires travel along a terrain that requires high treading, you can regroove them up to the 60J line when they start to get smooth.
• Remember the 33% Rule &#; For press-on or cushion tires, specifically, you want to regularly inspect your tires to ensure that they don&#;t go below two-thirds of their original rubber height. Many tire varieties will have safety lines to indicate where this point should be.
• Regularly Check Tire Pressure &#; You should check your tire pressure ideally before every cycle of use and, at a minimum, every day. You can use a pressure gauge to perform this routine task. Overinflated tires can result in blowouts and accidents, while underinflated tires can lead to punctures, collisions, and wheel damage.
• Regularly Check Treading &#; For environments where a high level of tread is required, it&#;s imperative to regularly check tire treading to ensure continued integrity. Use a tread depth gauge to determine how much tread is left and look closely for punctures and signs of impact.

Signs that your tires need repair include excessive tread wear or balding, sidewall damage such as bulging, cuts, tears, or whole chunks cut into the tire surface, and flat areas often caused by driving the vehicle when out of alignment and repeatedly stopping short. Care for your vehicle tires will positively affect the safety, performance, and longevity of the rest of your vehicle. Sometimes it&#;s best to start from the bottom up when inspecting your vehicles.

 Where the Rubber Meets&#; Any Floor You Have!

The Apex team is ready to guide you in selecting, repair, and maintaining your forklift fleet&#;s tires. We offer a comprehensive inventory of new and pre-owned tires to fit your budget and needs and decades of service experience to make mounting, maintenance, and repair easy. We offer complete fleet management plans and certified operator training as well. Contact us today to learn more about what we can do for you.

Learn more about finding and maintaining the best vehicle for your needs in our related blogs.

With competitive price and timely delivery, nedong sincerely hope to be your supplier and partner.

Before you make your initial forklift purchase, decide whether a pneumatic or cushion tire forklift is best for you.  Start by determining how the forklift will be used.  Consider your capacity and any multi-use functions.  Then, consider space constraints and application; will it be used inside or out, or both?  Will it be used on smooth or uneven terrain?

Remember that most forklifts require specific tires so do some research before you make your initial forklift purchase to be sure it will work for you.

Need more information about your tire decision? Toyota Certified Dealers are experts in assessing needs and helping you select the right option. That&#;s why Conger Toyota-Lift published it&#;s &#;Ultimate Guide to Forklift Tires: The Secret to a Productive Forklift.&#; It offers detailed information about tire choice by industry, tire composition, and best practices in tire use.

Request A Quote or for pricing, parts & more, click here to find a dealer near you.

*All Toyota forklifts are designed with safety in mind, and safety is a standard feature. The standard features on our forklifts ensure the product can be safely operated in all appropriate work environments when operated by a certified forklift operator and surrounded by those who are trained on proper behavior around forklifts. We do not put mirrors, lights, alarms, etc. as standard on our products because research shows that some applications will actually be made less safe if those devices are used. Instead, we rely upon our customers, who have the best understanding of the operating environment, to determine if additional accessories would benefit them.

For more information, please visit solid tires.