Following the year-long trial, Blaby District Council now fits Michelin across most of its fleet, which includes a mix of 18 Mercedes-Benz and Dennis refuse collection vehicles (RCVs), a 12.5-tonne road sweeper, two 5.2-tonne Iveco Dailys and a single 7.5-tonne DAF 45, along with 30 light commercial vehicles. It is also specifying the tyres as original equipment.
“Blaby District is an area with a lot of narrow roads, meaning that a high proportion of our tyre costs come from repairs to sidewall damage or replacements from kerbing,” explains servicing and fleet manager Martin Bennett.
“We decided the best way to test Michelin’s tyres was to fit them to the RCV that had the highest rate of tyre damage – in this case having its tyres replaced sometimes every three to four months.”
He adds: “Michelin’s X Works tyres were more than up for the challenge; in fact, it was 10 months before they needed turning on the rim and they lasted then another eight months, which was far better than the previous set of tyres on that RCV.”
He also rates Michelin MyAccount, an online portal for commercial vehicle users, which gives access to Michelin’s X Works accidental tyre damage guarantee for both replacement and OEM-specified tyres.
“The guarantee is one of the major benefits of specifying tyres from Michelin,” says Bennett.
“If one of the tyres suffers accidental damage before the tyre is 50% worn – which we know from experience with other tyre brands can be common in a refuse collection application – I can log in to MyAccount and get a refund determined against the tyre’s remaining tread depth.
“That removes much of the perceived risk of fitting a premium tyre in an environment where the risk of damage is higher. Plus, we benefit from a tyre casing which lasts longer, minimises downtime and reduces the number of wheel interventions during its life in service,” he adds.
Bennett is also fleet manager for Oadby and Wigston Borough Council, and he has since changed its fleet of 15 RCVs to a Michelin tyre policy, and is specifying tyres for both districts under the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) tyre purchasing framework.