The fleet had grown from four to 56 vehicles in six years, and Ashcourt wanted to move away from its ‘economy’ tyre policy – which entailed frequent tyre changes.
Transport manager Ian Donkin consulted local dealer Adams Tyres: “On their advice, we switched exclusively to Continental. They cost a little more than the budget/economy tyres, as you’d expect, but they are much better. More consistent tread wear and fewer punctures means a longer service life and overall lower costs.”
He adds: “I am confident the move to Continental has saved us a good 20% in terms of tyre costs and associated downtime.”
Continental’s Hybrid range is used, but Ashcourt specifies Hybrid HSC1 tyres on the steer axles, with ContiRe HDC1 tyres on drive axles across the tippers, hookloaders, tankers, mixers and skip elements of his fleet.
Donkin explains: “On our on-off road fleet, we know we are going to be operating on a wide range of surfaces, from the quite rough to the really extreme. The maximum impact of these conditions always falls on the drive axles, so we anticipate greatest wear and potential for punctures on those, even with Conti tyres in place. For that reason, I decided to go with the ContiRe retread products.”
He also joined the ContiCasingManagement programme, which he describes as “a great scheme”. Worn casings are removed by the dealer and the operator receives a credit towards ContiRe products.
New Hybrid tyres are used on both steer and drive axles for Ashcourt’s low-loaders and other vehicles that do not go off road.
Donkin also says the dealer’s service is “first class”, adding: “In addition to our normal daily drivers’ checks on tyres, the Adams team comes in every Saturday afternoon when the fleet is back in the yard and runs a full check for uneven wear, damage and any other problems. This is a key element of the safety aspect of our tyre selection.”