
Cooper Tire has introduced a new long haul trailer (LHT) tire, which completes the company’s Pro Series product lineup with fitments at each tractor/trailer wheel position.
The new trailer tire is available in size 295/75R22.5 with additional sizes becoming available later this summer.
According to Gary Schroeder, executive director of Cooper’s global truck and bus tire business, the Cooper Pro series provides fleets with great value for long haul operations.
“Our benchmarking tests show the Pro Series’ low cost of ownership, what we call LCO, is equal to or lower than competitive Tier 1 tires,” he said. “Additionally, Cooper’s LCO performance is backed by an industry-leading, seven-year, two-retread warranty with full replacement value for the first 50 percent of tread life. This reflects the type of value Cooper’s commercial series tires deliver to fleets and showcases the confidence we have in our tires.”
The new trailer tire features Cooper’s ECO (Energy Conservation Optimization) technology. This combines tire design, compounding and construction to provide an ultra-low rolling resistance tire that both exceeds SmartWay standard requirements by 15% and meets the EPA’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions requirements set for 2021, the company says.
The tire features 12/32nds of tread depth and was designed with a V-shaped tread pattern, with ribs evenly spaced for better load distribution. The design helps ward off irregular wear, and its four-belt steel casing construction helps ensure a long-lasting trailer tire that will provide multiple retreads to drive down costs, Cooper says.
The company says Cooper’s Wear Square on the tire’s shoulder ribs shows tread depth through five different evolving patterns. A “square” shows full tread depth, while an “L” shape shows that half of the tread remains. The Wear Square will also show when the tire should be pulled for retreading. Since Wear Squares are placed on both sides of the tire, they can also indicate when irregular wear is taking place. If the wear patterns don’t match, it’s an early warning sign to the technician of a likely axle or camber issue, Cooper says.