When it comes to the heavy equipment industry, tyres, wheels, and axles are only part of the equation. The true measure of support lies in ensuring that these critical components can be managed safely, efficiently, and with minimal downtime.
When operating a business that uses heavy-duty or specialised vehicles, tyre and wheel condition is critical for safety and productivity.
How well wheels and tyres perform has a direct effect on daily running costs and helps avoiding unnecessary downtime, while contributing to the profitability and efficiency of every vehicle-related enterprise.
That’s where OTR — Tyres Wheels Axles stands out from the crowd, with the company playing a major role in helping fleet managers and operators maintain optimal tyre performance, and providing advise on all aspects of tyre and wheel selection and replacement.
But there’s more to OTR than just supply of wheels and tyres. It also boasts a full range of wheel and tyre tools.
As OTR Business Development Manager Greg Lower explains, OTR has developed a full range of wheel tooling that includes planetary handle kits, and a bolt press tool for use in heavy-duty earthmoving and mining applications.
“This device consists of two jaws that clamp around the hub and a hydraulic cylinder that applies a force to push the bolt or stud from the hub,” he said.
“Made from hardened steel plate for maximum strength and quality, it can exert a maximum force of 13.9 tonnes.”
Designed specifically for individual mine site needs for rim transport and storage, OTR also stocks transport and storage frames, which enable wheel components to be stacked on suitable stands.
This approach improves site safety by reducing trip hazards and uncontrolled movement of stacked components in and around the tyre service bay.
Proper storage also ensures critical rim items remain in good working condition.
“Frames have an identification plate that displays SWL rating, component type and size, the maximum number of components per frame, forklift pockets for ease of site manoeuvrability and placement of the stands,” Greg said.
“They also have corner tie down points to fasten and secure components to the frame for transporting.”
Another innovation OTR has designed, engineered and manufactured in Australia is a lever-style stand with a 2500kg working load limit to fit 49-63 inch wheels and tyres.
“Integrated forklift pockets make for easy handling,” Greg said.
OTR reusable transport frames save on freight costs because they are exceptionally durable for a longer life span and have the benefit of being a transport company preferred option.
They can also take more weight during transport and have a significantly greater strength-to-weight ratio than wooden pallets, as well as being fireproof.
“Safety and innovation have always been our drivers of delivering customer satisfaction,” Greg said.
“For example, OTR has developed aluminium planetary safety retainer kits to suit Cat 785/789 and also Cat 793B/F trucks.
“These kits are much lighter than the conventional steel design yet are extremely robust.
“We also have pre-seating stands used as part of the tyre fitting process to gain efficiencies and decrease machine downtime during the tyre servicing process.
“For large mining equipment, this allows the tyre professional to pre-seat the rim components into the tyre that’s to be fitted to the machine prior to the machine arriving at the workshop.
“The process of pre-seating reduces tyre servicing downtime and improve efficiency and safety.”
Custom tool solutions
Greg said that OTR’s pre-seating stands are available and come in a variety of configurations, including ILR (SVM), OVM, DLR or standard five-piece configurations.
If any non-standard variants are needed, an OTR representative will explain about the features that may be added to pre-seating stands.
“Other productivity components include heavy-duty valve extensions that are unaffected by rock damage and will last the lifetime of an EM rim,” he said.
“These are pre-fabricated to any length to suit large dump truck tyre valves and feature a specially designed hydraulic style crimp fitting that can pressure up to 2500psi.
“OTR also has RAD Guns, magnetic lock ring handles, a lock ring spreading tool and jacks up to 150-tonne lifting capacity.”
Sur-loc technology
Greg said wheel and tyre performance for highly demanding off-the-road mine and heavy-duty construction vehicles was supported by OTR’s Sur-loc mechanical interference design (MID).
“A Sur-loc is an engineering solution designed to be fail-safe. This means that even if the lock ring is not seated correctly during assembly, the design prevents the build-up of hazardous energy,” Greg said.
“In a multi-piece rim assembly, this can be crucial for preventing catastrophic failures and explosions, which are significant safety risks during tyre inflation.
“The effective width, along with the correct inside diameter of the MID is critical to the functionality of an effective Sur-loc.
“It is possible to retro-fit a Sur-loc to an existing bead seat band (BSB) that doesn’t have a Sur-loc. OTR uses special jigs to ensure the Sur-loc is dimensionally correct and compatible with the rim base and lock ring.”
A BSB is a component, often a ring, that sits between the tyre’s bead and the rim to create a secure, airtight seal and ensure the tyre is properly retained on the wheel assembly.
A key part of OTR’s approach is working closely with its end users, with the objective of extending wheel life and service intervals.
The outcome is delivering the best possible value for money, while maintaining compliance to service standards.
“This communication is key to how OTR does business. Most of OTR product designs derive from solutions needed from its users,” Greg said.
“It’s that ability by OTR to interpret what our customers are saying and convert this valuable information into a product that works that sets us apart.”
For further information, call 1300 CALL OTR or visit www.otrtyreswheelsaxles.com