As the temperature rises watch out for road gators

[RGRTim]

Road gator? Whats a road gator? large chunks of retread from big truck tires.
As the weather heats up so do the tires on all vehicles especially those with heavy loads. In the case of big trucks many of them are retreads that dont do well in heat. I grew up in a family of truck drivers and know this, even drove a little myself and still maintain my CDL. Yet, today I pick up our 5th wheel from the shop after being repaired from road gator damage. Wasnt alot I could do about it as the truck in front of us blew a trailer tire and i'm setting there with cars to my left, a car getting onto the interstate to my right. Gator went under the truck, under the trailer and broke the sewer line in 3 places. The hotter it gets the more gators you will see, hopefully you wont find yourself boxed in and you can avoid them. Happy trails all.

[SAABDOCTOR]

GREAT INFO!!!! First it has to get warm someday

[RGRTim]

Originally Posted by SAABDOCTOR

GREAT INFO!!!! First it has to get warm someday

Very valid point sir. its starting to warm up down here, in fact i would say its pretty nice H70 L50. not bad.

[hankpage]

Good warning ........ Tread separations can happen on brand new tires if overloaded or under inflated and are not limited to commercial vehicles. ( just that the bigger and heavier "Gators" cause more damage) They are definitely not on the endangered species list and with cut-backs are not being removed from roadways in a timely manner.

[RGRTim]

Originally Posted by hankpage

Good warning ........ Tread separations can happen on brand new tires if overloaded or under inflated and are not limited to commercial vehicles. ( just that the bigger and heavier "Gators" cause more damage) They are definitely not on the endangered species list and with cut-backs are not being removed from roadways in a timely manner.

yes sir you are correct.

[Comptech]

I thought most of them came from re-tread tires?

[davidjsimons]

Originally Posted by Comptech

I thought most of them came from re-tread tires?

Most do come from recapped tires, but a new tire's cap can separate from the case as well.


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[JRTJH]

When I first saw this thread, I didn't think of tire carcasses on the road, but rather the actual "gators" on the road. Down south of Lake Charles, on the road to Holly Beach and Cameron, there are a number of alligators that like to warm themselves on the highway after dark. Some of them are upwards or 8-10 ft long and just as dangerous as the "road gators" being discussed in this thread. On a cool night when the roadbed is warm, it's like an obstacle course with sometimes 20+ gators laying on the road.

Some of the best duck/goose hunting to be found is in the marsh around Cameron, but putting a prize duck dog in the water to retrieve downed fowl is a risky prospect. Many a good dog has disappeared in those waters.

[RGRTim]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

When I first saw this thread, I didn't think of tire carcasses on the road, but rather the actual "gators" on the road. Down south of Lake Charles, on the road to Holly Beach and Cameron, there are a number of alligators that like to warm themselves on the highway after dark. Some of them are upwards or 8-10 ft long and just as dangerous as the "road gators" being discussed in this thread. On a cool night when the roadbed is warm, it's like an obstacle course with sometimes 20+ gators laying on the road.

Some of the best duck/goose hunting to be found is in the marsh around Cameron, but putting a prize duck dog in the water to retrieve downed fowl is a risky prospect. Many a good dog has disappeared in those waters.

Road gators is all I have ever heard them called. Like I said, I grew up in a family full of truck drivers and thats what they called em.

[Ken / Claudia]

I have removed my share of road gators here, I grabbed them by the tail and tossed them off the roadway. At Com. truck inforecement school the question was asked about retreads vs non retreads tires coming apart and the instructor said that they had done a study by looking at them over the summer and found about half where not retreads. That's what I was told. I never took the time to check.