TUBE 3P7168 - Caterpillar

3. Check to insure that the tires are at their recommended pressure. The recommended pressures for backhoe loader tires are listed above.4. If the machine in question has radial tires, consider replacing the rear tires with bias ply tires. If the ride is still not acceptable, replace the front radial tires with bias ply tires. At their recommended pressure levels, bias ply tires have about 40% more damping ability than radial tires.The damping force of bias ply tires is still minimal, but the change from radial tires to bias ply tires can yield a marked improvement in ride quality. This phenomena is particularly noticeable in heavy machine configurations (AWD, IT, Estick) and less noticeable for the light machines configurations.The customer should be made aware that there are still advantages to radial tires over bias ply tires. Radial tires have better puncture resistance, longer life, and better traction than bias ply tires, but the ride quality will be compromised.5. Check to insure that the machine has the proper counterweighting for the machine configuration. Proper counterweighting should yield a minimum of 25% of the total machine weight on the front axle. In general, changing from the bumper to the first counterweight increases the percentage by 1.7%. Each additional counterweight increases the percentage by 1.2%. It is a common misconception that the more weight placed on the front axle produces a better ride. While this may be true for operations such as truck loading where the machine is accelerated forwards and backwards repeatedly and it is necessary to keep the front wheels weighted and on the ground, it does not necessarily mean the machine will lope less while roading. In fact, it has been observed that too much weight on the front end can actually make the machine prone to loping. The benefit of more counterweighting is too dependent on the machine configuration and the ground profile to recommend an "optimum" counterweight configuration. However, ride quality is a customer perception. Some customers feel that a more heavily weighted machine rides better. Try to increase the counterweighting to see if the customer likes the change in the ride.6. If the above ride improvement methods fail to give a machine a satisfactory ride, tire air pressure adjustments may be used as a last resort.Try reducing tire pressure in the rear tires. Do not reduce the tire pressure by more than 5 psi below the recommended pressure. Road test the machine to determine the effect on the ride. Next, try increasing the pressure in the front tires. Do not increase the tire pressure by more than 5 psi above the recommended pressure. Road test the machine to determine the effect on the ride. Lastly, try reducing the front tire pressure. Do not reduce the tire pressure by more than 5 psi below the recommended pressure. Road test the machine to determine the effect on the ride.Make the customer aware that the tire pressure adjustments have their disadvantages. Tire life, fuel economy, and side slope