Electric trucks and bus tires bring their own unique tire spec’ing considerations. EV tires are starting to roll out from manufacturers to offer different component and build qualities, the ability carry higher load capacities and produce less noise. Fleet Equipment caught up with a few of the experts in this space–Goodyear’s Dustin Lancy, commercial product marketing manager, and Mike Nehls, general manager at Smithers Tire and Wheel Test Center—to pick their brains on how EV tires deliver productivity and ROI in commercial applications.

First off, electric trucks with large batteries are heavy—even heavier than diesels. In fact, there’s an additional 2,000-lb. federal weight allowance for Class 8 battery electric tractor-trailers (up to 82,000 lbs. gross vehicle weight).

“This creates a need for a much higher load requirement on the tires,” Nehls said.

Now consider that EVs offer increased torque provided by the electric motor compared the slower start diesels. Clearly that might affect the longevity of low rolling resistance tires often spec’d with these types of vehicles.

“At Goodyear, we utilize the latest tire technology to address this pain point. While we cannot prevent faster wear, Goodyear develops products to help reduce how quickly the tire wears on an electric vehicle,” Lancy said. “While higher load capacities typically contribute to faster wear, we developed our Endurance RSA tire to handle those load capacities, so fleets can feel confident their tires will wear comparable to internal combustion engine tires.”

While the Endurance RSA was developed specifically with electric last-mile delivery vehicles in mind, Lancy adds that it’s also compatible with gas- or diesel-powered vehicles.

Empowering tire maintenance

Due to the high application demands and expectations electric truck tires carry, fleet managers should expect tire dealers to work with them, helping to monitor tread wear and casing durability for these tires more frequently than they would tires for gas and diesel trucks. Lancy says tire dealers are investing in tools that can quickly inspect these tires for commercial fleets every time they pay a visit. Lancy suggests looking into Goodyear’s CheckPoint device as an example—that’s the company’s drive-over-reader device that provides automated tire inspections for pressure and tread depth. Fleets can also invest in other tire management solutions, like Goodyear’s Tire Optix inspection toolset and TPMS Plus, to stay on their front foot.

Electrifying scrap tire analysis findings

Scrap tire analysis on electric truck tires, another area in which a tire dealer can support a fleet customer, is nearly identical to the tried-and-true scrap tire analysis process. The findings, however, may be different from what you’d expect for ICE vehicle tires.

“One of the issues that could be discovered is how the heavier vehicle weights could impact durability and tread wear due to the EV battery weights,” Lancy says. “For example, EV trucks come with higher torque, which could result in tire wear conditions like diagonal cracking, chipping/flaking, alternative lug wear and overall fast wear.”

Tires are more likely to have compromised casings after being run on an electric truck, which could negatively affect a fleet’s retread program. Smithers’ Nehls says manufacturers develop electric truck tires with this in mind, making overall durability and reinforced sidewalls a priority.