OTTAWA — Canada’s national Task Force on Vehicle Weights and Dimensions Policy has added a new provision that provides more flexibility for truckers across Canada in choosing between single, wide-base tires and duals on trailers.

Following a similar announcement by the Province of Ontario yesterday, the Council of Deputy Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety agreed to change the nations VW&D standard regarding axle track width for single tires, which are said to reduce fuel consumption, are quieter, and provide a smoother ride than dual tires.

Under the previous MOU, trailer axles fitted with dual tires required a track width — the width from the outside faces of the tires measured at any point above the lowest point of the rim — of no less than 2.5 m. Axles on trailers of model year 2009 or earlier, equipped with single tires were required to have a minimum track width of no less than 2.3 m, whereas the track width for all axles on trailers from model year 2010 or later were required to be no less than 2.5 m. (Track Width means the width of an axle across the).

As a result, points out the Canadian Trucking Alliance, a trailer equipped with wide base single tires would require a wider axle in order to meet the requirements of a trailer with duals. This impeded carriers’ ability to switch between single and dual tires in order to maximize payload.

The minimum track width requirement for trailers built in or after 2010 that are equipped with single tires will now be no less than 2.45 m and the track width for trailers equipped with dual tires will remain at 2.5m. (There are also labelling requirements for trailers built in or after 2010 that are converted from dual to single tires).

"The new provisions will … remove a major headache and cost for many carriers," said David Bradley, CEO of CTA.

It’s baby steps all the way there, but national adoption
of single wide tires is moving along in Canada

Regulatory changes are still required by several provinces and territories to implement the change in track width requirement. However, says Bradley, provinces and territories are pursuing approval and means to accommodate this option as quickly as possible, possibly through issuance of special permits.

(In Ontario, carriers will be required to obtain a permit of $300 per trailer or $1,000 per fleet, but, says CTA, this will be followed by a regulatory change planned for the summer of 2010 which will then allow such trailers to operate without permit.)

Meanwhile, over a year after the ministers agreed to increase the axle weight threshold for single tires, many provinces still haven’t upped the limit to allow full reciprocity between a single tire and a set of duals.

Both Quebec and Ontario allow axle weights of up to 9,000 kg for wide-base single tires, giving them full weight reciprocity with duals; while other jurisdictions are capped at 7,700 kg, which makes spec’ing single tires economical mostly for U.S. operations.

"We still need many of the provinces to increase the allowable axle weights for wide-base single tires to reduce the need for carriers to have to switch between types of tire because of provincial variances," says Bradley.

"There needs to be more recognition on the part of the governments that the new generation of smog-free trucks and all of the add-on devices and technologies available to reduce GHG emissions, add to the weight of a vehicle; we need some flexibility to incorporate these advancements into the fleet."