dations … ‘This one needs an alignment,’” he suggested. “In the long run, this has saved us a ton of money. It’s just like oil. If you don’t get it changed regularly, you’ll have problems.”
Changing Conditions, Changing Tires Aaron “AJ” Jones, the vehicle maintenance manager
for Clovis Unified School District in Northern California, said it is especially important to stay on top of tire tread depths given the mountainous terrain his buses traverse in harsh winter conditions, often driving 300 miles or more a day. Maintenance staff change tires when treads reach depths of 6/32 inches for that very reason. “To us that’s cheap insurance. We’re hauling our fu-
ture, not cargo to the store,” he said. Goodyear’s McIntosh noted that summer weather
presents its own challenges. “In hot environments, special attention needs to be paid to dual mated tires, so they remain properly inflated and mated,” he said. “Mismatched tire pressure and tread depth can greatly impact tire wear rates and increase cost per mile and cost per hour.”
Trevor Knutson, a school bus technician at Grand
County School District in Moab, Utah, said via the STN survey, “Our buses are parked outside in extreme heat and lots of sunlight. They wear out from weather cracks way before tread or alignment issues.” Indeed, different types of tires are helpful for different
road and weather conditions. For example, Incor- vaia noted that the Goodyear G622 “offers tough tread compounds and an open shoulder tread design with aggressive blading to deliver traction in wet, muddy and snowy conditions.” Tires made for mud and snow “will also work in
rural settings where the bus may come in contact with unpaved and challenging terrains requiring potentially additional traction,” noted Carolina Wagner, director of marketing for Continental Tire’s U.S. commercial market, recommending the Continental HDR2+ for such situations. In urban environments especially, school buses
are likely to hit curbs often. “To combat the structural damage that may occur during curbing, it is important to have a tire with enhanced side wall protection or a
26 School Transportation News • NOVEMBER 2023
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