W Dale & Son has recorded excellent longevity from its Michelin BibLoad Hard Surface tyres, specified as original equipment on its JCB Agri Super telehandler.
The contracting firm, which offers agricultural and recycling work, has clocked more than 5,300 hours on the 460/70 R24 boots. Even now, the tyres still have 10mm of the 33mm tread remaining.
Nick Dale, partner at W Dale & Son, said: “Usually we would consider 4,500 hours to be a good life for a tyre doing this sort of work. So, to already record the hours we have and still have plenty of life remaining, is really impressive.
“If the tyres continue to wear at a similar rate, we should be getting up to 6,000 hours out of this set. Michelin definitely knows how to make a tyre that can stand the test of time.”
The telehandler was first added to the fleet in July 2020 and is primarily used to load trucks and keep the drying plant running, working alongside three tractors, a loading shovel, one self-propelled sprayer, a forage harvester and a combine.
“The JCB is predominantly working on concrete, doing yard work, feeding our dryer and screening plant with timber, plus a bit of straw stacking out in the fields in summer,” explained Mr Dale.
“The performance of the tyres is very good. When working on the wood recycling operation, you can pick up a lot of punctures, it’s just the nature of the job. But the BibLoads seem to be quite hardy, the sidewalls are strong and can withstand quite a lot.
“We have Michelins running on most of our machines now. We know it’s a quality product.”
For more information go to www.michelin.com