Like many articles in NATIONAL BUSTRADER, the topic of retreaded bustires was suggested by reader ques-

tions. Many bus companies are “goinggreen” in several ways including the newEPA engines with less pollution, biodieselfuel, and using used engine oil to heat thegarage. These operators want to knowwhether using retreaded tires can beincluded under the banner of “going green.”At the same time, other bus operators havehad experiences with retreaded tires thathave been less than satisfactory. For them,we took the time to research the new retreadtechnology and how much it has improvedin the past few years.

Here are answers to some basic questionsregarding bus retreaded tires.

1. Going GreenYes, using retreaded bus tires is another

way to “go green.” Bus tires are basicallypetrochemical products. It takes approxi-mately 22 gallons of oil to manufacture onenew bus tire. Since most of the oil is used inthe tire casing, which is reused in the retread-ing process, only seven gallons of oil is usedto retread the same tire.

Hence, each time a tire is retreaded,approximately 15 gallons of oil are saved.Since approximately 430,000 to 470,000 tran-sit and coach bus tires are sold annually,retreading conserves millions of gallons ofoil every year.

2. More Green in your PocketGreen also looks good in your pocket.

The experts tell me that bus operators cansave as much as 40 percent of tire costs byusing retreads. Please note that on buses,retreads are not recommended for use onthe steering tire positions.

3. Improved Technology and QualityNo one who is honest will argue that peo-

ple have not had problems with retreadedtires in the past. However, the good news isthat some tire retreaders have rolled into anew era (pun intended) in the past few years.Using the new Marangoni® technology andRingtread® system, the quality of retreadshas improved tremendously. With theseimproved retreads, both bus and truck oper-ators are reporting fewer failures withretreads than with new tires.

The “trick” to all of this is understandingthe difference between the old retread tech-nology and the new. We took the time tolearn about the new, higher quality tech-nology. Keep reading and we will take youon a tour of a modern retreading plant andshare our “inside” information with you.

4. Rolling Resistance and Fuel EconomyWe also learned that there are tires and

tread patterns that reduce rolling resistanceand improve fuel economy. With the price

of fuel today, this may well be a smart ques-tion to ask when buying tires.

Unique Bus Tire Programs

Before getting into some of the technicalstuff, I feel obligated to mention that we buspeople have some unique tire problems thatare less likely to affect truckers. One prob-lem is that, like bus engines, bus tires aremore enclosed. Truck engines are typicallyin front where they can take advantage ofram air for cooling. Being in the rear, busengines (which are really truck engines) aremore difficult to cool. The same situationapplies to bus tires.

This problem is caused by the traditionalconfiguration of bus bodies. Usually, driveposition tires are shrouded by sheet metal,which has been formed to create a rear wheelwell that is almost completely enclosed. This

design restricts the air flow around the tireand actually encourages heat build-up. Heatis a tire’s single greatest enemy.

As a result of this, bus tires are often madedifferently. Special compounding and cas-ing constructions are sometimes used forbus tires to improve their usefulness in theirunique operating environment.

A second problem typical in the busindustry is scrubbing of the tire tread sur-face. Due to the longer wheelbase on buses,plus the fact that they do not bend in themiddle, tire treads rub on the pavement sur-face during turns. The tire industry calls this“scrubbing.” Teaching your drivers to bemore cautions on turns will reduce scrub-bing. However, tire scrubbing and hittingcurbs are two major reasons why you typi-cally only get one retread from a bus tire

22 • National Bus Trader / August, 2009

The new Brahler tire retreading plant in Jacksonville, Illinois is located in a small industrial parknear the interstate. Being both new and independent, the plant has been able to use the latest state-of-the-art equipment and procedures including some developed in Europe. It is considered to beamong the top 50 retreading plants in the United States.

Retreaded Bus Tires

Going Green

with New Technology

by Larry PlachnoPhotos by author unless noted

while you frequently can get two retreadson a premium truck tire casing.

The Brahler Retreading Plant

Our search for tire retreading informationand new technology started with HarveyBrodsky of the Tire Retread InformationBureau. Brodsky was our source of informa-tion since his news releases and retreadinginformation have appeared in the pages ofNATIONAL BUS TRADER a few times in recentyears.

When we told him that we wanted“inside” information on the new retread tiretechnology, he introduced us to Rich Brahlerof Brahler’s Truckers Supply in Jacksonville,Illinois. Brahler not only invited us to inspecthis state-of-the-art retreading plant but per-sonally took us on a guided tour whileexplaining all of the new developments in tireretreading. It was enlightening to say the least.

Brahler ’s Truckers Supply was origi-nally founded by Richard William (Bill)Brahler in 1971 as a Bandag franchisee inMeredosia, Illinois. As it expanded, thecompany later relocated to Jacksonville,Illinois and then added a second retread-ing plant in Granite City, Illinois, near St.Louis. The Granite City facility wasdestroyed by fire in 2003 when a fire started

in an adjacent building and spread,destroying the retreading plant.

Like the proverbial Phoenix, the Gran-ite City fire prompted Brahler’s to start con-struction on a new state-of-the-art, 80,000-

24 • National Bus Trader / August, 2009

This overhead view of the new Brahler tire retreading plant shows how the various stations are located in one large area. An overhead monorail sys-tem makes it easy to move the tires from station to station and facilitates an assembly line operation. The 13 regular stations make almost a completecircle inside the building. BRAHLERS.

Incoming tires for retreading are inspected at each of the Brahler Tire Centers prior to shipment tothe Jacksonville Retreading Plant. The first station at the retreading plant is called Visual Inspec-tion and Non-Destructive Testing. Here, the tires are again inspected for broken casings, damageand aging. An electrical charge is used to locate any small liner punctures.

square foot retreading plant in Jacksonville.Taking advantage of the fresh start,Brahler ’s gave up their franchise andbecame an independent tire retreader sothey could use the latest equipment includ-ing Ringtreads from Marangoni. Originallydeveloped in Italy, the Marangoni equip-ment and Ringtreads are now very popu-lar in higher quality retreading in Europe.In 1998, Marangoni opened a division inMadison, Tennessee and offered theirequipment and Ringtreads to the Ameri-can retread market.

After the death of his father in 2005,Richard W. Brahler II purchased the com-pany. It is now among the top 50 tire retreadplants in the United States.

Brahler ’s operates six strategically-located commercial tire centers across Illi-nois and eastern Missouri. Locations includeJacksonville, Urbana, Morton and Joliet(Chicago), Illinois as well as Palmyra and St.Louis, Missouri. In addition to retreadingtires, Brahler’s also sells new tires and theirown line of vehicle maintenance and tiretools. In addition to retreading bus and trucktires, Brahler’s also deals in industrial, agri-cultural and off-road tires.

As an independent retreader, most ofBrahler’s retreading business comes fromindividual truck and bus companies thateither bring their retreadable tires to one ofthe Brahler Tire Centers or have them pickedup by the Brahler people. It is noteworthythat the Brahler Tire Centers inspect theincoming tires for any obvious flaws thatwould reduce the quality of the retreadprocess.

In addition, each incoming tire receivesa unique code number that goes into theBrahler computer system. This number tiesto individual information for each incom-ing tire including the tire’s owner, what theowner wants done with the tire, and evenwhat type of tread is requested during theretread process. This number remains withthe tire as it arrives at the Jacksonvilleretreading plant. Many of the stations dur-ing the retread process have computers that

can read this number and tell the Brahlerstaff what the customer wants.

Brahler ’s state-of-the-art retreadingplant in Jacksonville is located on the eastside of town in a small, modern industrialpark near Interstate 72. Incoming tires forretreading typically arrive at the northdoors and then enter the retreading process.Rich Brahler identifies 13 different stationsor stages in the retreading process. The sta-tions almost make a complete circle in thehuge retreading plant. Several of the sta-tions use modern, state-of-the-art equip-ment from Marangoni. An overhead mono-rail system moves the tires from one stationto the next. This not only makes work eas-ier on the staff, but effectively sets up theequivalent of a flowing assembly linethrough the plant.

The very first station is Visual Inspectionand Non-Destructive Testing. While each ofthe Brahler Tire Centers inspect each tirebefore it is sent to Jacksonville, this stationprovides a more detailed inspection usingprofessional equipment and staff speciallytrained for this operation.

The inspectors are looking for manu-facturing defects, signs of impact thatmight have broken the casing, repairabledamage, non-repairable damage, andexcessive aging. In addition to using ahand-held light to see minor defects bet-ter, an electrical charge is used inside thetire to find liner punctures too small for thehuman eye. Tires that do not pass inspec-tion usually go back to the tire owner andsome may be eligible for a refund from thenew tire manufacturer.

National Bus Trader / August, 2009 • 25

The Shearography machine uses state-of-the-art technology to check incoming tires for possibleproblems. It takes photos of the tire both with and without a vacuum and compares them usingcomputer technology to look for problems. The tire shown came from Peoria Charter Coach forretreading.

Excess tread rubber is removed in the buffing process, the third station of the retreading plant. Inaddition to using a solid center plate to assure perfect alignment, the machine also is programmedwith computer profiles on all major tire brands and models. Rubber removed from the tire is col-lected by vacuum lines and is recycled.

From here Brahler’s sends the the tiresthat pass inspection to their second station,a Marangoni Shearography machine. Thisis a major step forward in finding hiddentire defects and in qualifying tires for retread-ing. Tires feed in on rollers and this com-puterized machine automatically adjustsitself for each individual tire size.

The laser shearography process takesnine different photos of sections of the tireinterior from bead to bead, effectively look-ing at the entire tire. Then, a vacuum isapplied to the tire and another nine match-ing photos are taken. A sophisticated com-puter program then digitally overlays andcompares the two sets of photos. This willshow any separation or movement in thetire layers. It also allows the inspector to con-firm the integrity of any prior tire repairs.

Tires that pass inspection at the first twostations then move on to the third station, buff-ing. This is where the old rubber tread is buffedoff the tire. The rubber that is buffed from thetire is removed from the area using vacuumhoses and is eventually sold for recycling.

What is critical at this station is that thebuffing process be perfectly circular with noflat spots or oblong shape. In order to achievethis, the Brahler buffing machine has two fea-tures not found on many other buffers. Oneis that it uses solid center plates for holdingeach size tire during the buffing process ratherthan a generic expanding center. This requireschanging the center plates for different sizetires, but it eliminates the possible problemsof irregularities with an expanding centerhub that might not always work properly.

The second feature is that the buffingmachine is computerized and has profilesof all major tire brands and models. Hence,this procedure eliminates human error andensures optimum casing dimensions for theperfect fit of the new tread. Those tires thatwill be retreaded with the Ringtread aregiven a contour for a perfect fit.

Buffing removes the excess tread rubberbut leaves some rubber above the belts. AtBrahler’s, after the buffing process the tiresgo through a fourth station and an additionalprobing inspection called Skiving. Here atrained tire technician checks the buffed tirefor holes or defects. If any are found, the tirethen goes to station five, the Repair Station.Any hole is repaired using a TECH thermo-cure patch. This type of patch has an innerbelt pattern and is actually stronger than theoriginal tire belts.

Stations six, seven and eight at Brahler’sinvolve the placement of the new tread andmost of this now uses new state-of-the-arttechnology. In the prior way of retreading,a thin layer of uncured cushion gum isplaced around the buffed tire. Then, a device

known as a Tread Builder places a pre-formed flat tread on the tire, cuts it to length,and splices the ends together. Depending onthe length of the pre-formed flat tread,approximately every third tire has twosplices. The two disadvantages to thisprocess are that the tread has splices and thetread is flatter than new tires.

For its high quality retreads, Brahler’suses the Marangoni equipment andRingtreads. As the name implies, theRingtreads are treads pre-formed into a cir-cle with different sizes for different tires. Thetwo big advantages of the MarangoniRingtreads are that they have no splices andthe tread rings are contoured to match thetire casing.

26 • National Bus Trader / August, 2009

Once the excess rubber tread is removed, the tire goes through yet anotherinspection where trained technicians probe for tire holes or defects in aprocess known as Skiving.

Tires with problems discovered in the Skiving process are sent to theRepair Station where any hole is repaired using a TECH thermocure patchthat is stronger than the original line.

More state-of-the-art technology can be found at station six, the Extruder. Here, a computerizedmachine extrudes warm cushion gum onto the tire casing under pressure. In addition to filling anyirregularities, the depth of the gum is highly calibrated and wing formers create the correct basefor the treads.

Step six is the AZ Extruder. Instead of theold fashioned rolls of cushion gum, this com-puterized machine extrudes warm cushiongum onto the tire casing under pressure.This process offers several advantages overthe other application method. The gum fillsany irregularities in the tire surface while itsdepth is highly controlled for maximumdurability – one millimeter of gum on thecenter of the tire and two millimeters of gumon the sides. In addition, the AZ Extruderalso has wing formers to create the correctbase for the treads.

Tires slated for the more modernMarangoni Ringtreads then go to stationseven, the Ringtread builder. The technicianfeeds the Brahler tire number into his com-puter to find out what tread pattern the cus-

tomer wants. He then selects the appropri-ate Ringtread and carefully unwraps it toavoid touching it with his hands. It is thenplaced on the Ringtread builder. Using com-puter and laser technology, the Ringtread isslightly expanded, the tire inserted in thecenter of the Ringtread, and then theRingtread contracts around the tire in pre-cisely the proper location.

Station eight is the tread builder for theolder flat tread type of retreads. This is lesscostly than the Ringtreads but does not havethe same quality features. At Brahler’s, theflat tread retread is primarily sold for use ontruck trailers and less critical applications.

After the tread has been mounted on thetires, they move to station nine which pre-

pares them for curing. While some retread-ers use only an outside rubber sleeve calledan “envelope,” Brahler’s uses both an insideenvelope and an outside envelope to main-tain the highest quality. An air hose isattached to each tire and a vacuum is appliedto provide pressure on the tire componentsduring the curing process.

Station 10 is the actual curing process.Some retreaders use open electric heatingfor curing while Brahler’s uses closed auto-claves with steam. One advantage of steamover electric is that it provides moisture dur-ing the curing process to prevent the rubberfrom drying out and becoming brittle. Giventhe fact that heat is the worse enemy of tires,a second advantage of the steam is that itallows a shorter curing process. The Brahlerautoclaves will cure a retreaded tire in 94minutes. Some of the traditional electricretread heaters require as long as four-and-a-half hours.

An interesting side note is that someretreaders using the prior technology mayleave tires in the electric heaters overnight.This is known as a “sleeper cure” and canbe bad for the retreads since the excess heatcan make the tires brittle.

When removed from the autoclaves, thetires are allowed to cool at room tempera-ture and then moved on to station 11, theFinal Inspection. What is particularly inter-esting is that the man in charge of the finalinspection was once a Brahler’s customerwho was very critical of the retreads and per-sonally inspected every tire. Today he worksfor the company and now inspects every tireas they come from the autoclave. He has fullauthority to reject tires or send them back toany station. At this point each tire is given aDOT code and date to identify it.

Station 12 is a pressure test. While finalpressure testing is popular in Europe, it is stillrelatively new on this side of the Atlantic. AtBrahler’s, each tire is placed in a cabinet to

28 • National Bus Trader / August, 2009

Brahler’s high quality retreads use the seamless Marangoni Ringtreads. This photo shows theRingtread Builder with the slightly expanded Ringtread on the left and the tire casing with a layerof cushion gum on the right. Using computer and laser technology, the tire is inserted into theRingtread and the Ringtread is allowed to contract around the tire in precisely the proper location.

Station nine takes the tire with its new tread and puts it into a rubbersleeve called an envelope. In this photo, the outer envelope has alreadybeen placed and the technician is inserting an inner envelope.

Brahler’s uses a steam autoclave to cure the retreaded tires. Not only doesthe steam prevent the tire from drying out during curing, but it also holdsthe length of the curing process to only 94 minutes. BRAHLER’S.

shield the operator and then inflated in stagesup to 100 pounds. This test confirms the factthat the retreaded tires are capable of hold-ing air pressure. Approximately once eachmonth a tire fails this test when a sidewallseparates in what is known as a “zipper.”

After station 12, the tires are painted andpackaged as required and some are given acustomer bar code. The retreaded tires arethen shipped back to the Brahler Tire Centersor to the customers that sent their tires in forretreading.

The obvious question is “what shouldsomeone look for in a retreading company inorder to get the highest quality retreads?”Based on our research, we would recommend

that you select a company using theMarangoni Ringtreads. If possible, thatretreading company should also have lasershearography, an extruder instead of rolls ofcushion gum, inner and outer envelopes,steam autoclaves for curing, and pressure test-ing of retreaded tires. These state-of-the-artimprovements could mean that your retreadswill hold up better than your new tires.

Rolling Resistance and Fuel Economy

Some people have asked whether thereis a relationship between tires and fueleconomy. The obvious negative is thatunderinflated tires will not only increaseyour fuel usage but will also shorten tirelife. However, many tire manufacturers and

retreaders offer fuel efficient tires based onlower rolling resistance and unique treaddesigns.

Tires that are fuel efficient cost a littlemore but can increase your fuel economy byas much as six to nearly eight percent. Onefigure we saw indicated that with today’sdiesel fuel prices, a coach equipped withthese tires could save as much as $4,000 to$5,000 for every 100,000 miles driven. Hence,fuel efficient tires are probably of little valueon converted coach or on charter coachesthat do not run many miles. However, theycould offer substantial savings in larger fleetsthat operate more miles. You can ask yourtire dealer or retreader whether they carrytires like this. ❑

National Bus Trader / August, 2009 • 29

After being cured, the retreaded tires are cooled at room temperature andthen go through a final inspection. The inspector has full authority toreject tires or send them back to any station.

Tires at Brahler’s also go through an actual pressure testing where theyare placed in a cabinet to protect the technician while they are subjectedto increasing pressures as a final test.

From the August 2009 issue of:

National Bus TraderThe Magazine of Bus Equipment for the United States and Canada

9698 W. Judson RoadPolo, Illinois 61064

(815) 946-2341