Cooper Tyre has introduced a new long haul trailer (LHT) tyre, which completes the company’s signature Cooper PRO Series product lineup with fitments at each tractor/trailer wheel position. The Cooper PRO Series LHT joins the Cooper PRO Series long haul drive and long haul steer tyres that were previously introduced. The new trailer tyre is available in size 295/75R22.5 with additional sizes becoming available later this summer.
“High performance with low cost of ownership is what our Cooper PRO Series is all about,” said Gary Schroeder, Executive Director of Cooper’s Global Truck and Bus Tyre Business. “Our signature PRO Series is complete with the arrival of our long haul trailer tyre, so fleets can now find the immediate benefit of running Cooper tyres in all positions. That translates to long miles to removal coupled with optimum fuel efficiency.”
According to Schroeder, the Cooper PRO Series provides fleets with outstanding 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 tyres,” 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 tyres deliver to fleets and showcases the confidence we have in our tyres.”
Like the Cooper PRO Series LHS steer tyre, the new trailer tyre features Cooper’s ECO (Energy Conservation Optimization) technology. This combines tyre design, compounding and construction to provide an ultra-low rolling resistance tyre that both exceeds SmartWay standard requirements by 15 percent and meets the EPA’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions requirements set for 2021.
To provide long miles to removal, the tyre 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 tyre that will provide multiple retreads to drive down costs.
Helping improve tyre maintenance is Cooper’s unique Wear Square on the tyre’s shoulder ribs. The square 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 tyre should be pulled for retreading. Since Wear Squares are placed on both sides of the tyre, 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. This allows the fleet to make the appropriate corrective actions, ultimately extending tyre life and overall mileage.