28 



BULLETIN 910, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The cost per mile as indicated by the cost of the tires and miles 

 which they run has been reduced by these percentages in order to 

 obtain the net cost per mile traveled. No attempt was made to 

 obtain the cost of inner tubes for pneumatic tires or to obtain the 

 cost of tire repairs separately from the entire repair costs of the 

 trucks. 



Table XVII. — Tire costs. 



Size of truck. 



Kind of tires*. 



Cost per 

 mile. 



Number 

 of reports. 



Allow- 

 ance for 

 tires on 

 machine 

 when 

 bought. 



Net cost 

 per mile. 





Pneumatic 



do 



SO. 020 

 .035 

 .020 

 .020 

 .029 

 .034 



113 



47 

 151 

 94 

 20 

 25 



$0,004 

 .006 

 .004 

 .007 

 .012 

 .009 



S0.016 





.029 





do 



.016 





Solid 



.013 





do 



.017 



2-ton 



do 



.025 









KIND OF TIRES RECOMMENDED BY USERS. 



These truck owners were asked what kind of tires they consider 

 the best for their conditions, regardless of the kind actually used. 

 The kinds of tires which 637 men with trucks of all sizes are now 

 using, together with the kinds they prefer, are as follows : 



Of 231 men who use pneumatic tires — 

 230 prefer pneumatics. 



1 prefers pneumatics in front and solids in rear. 

 Of 209 men who now use solid tires — 

 16 prefer pneumatics. 

 192 prefer solids. 



1 prefers pneumatics in front and solids in rear. 

 Of 197 men who now use pneumatics in front and solids in rear — 

 75 prefer pneumatics. 

 67 prefer solids. 

 55 prefer pneumatics in front and solids in rear. 



In all, 36 per cent now use pneumatics, 33 per cent use solids, and 

 31 per cent use pneumatics in front and solids in the rear, while 50 

 per cent prefer pneumatics, 41 per cent prefer solids, and only 9 per 

 cent prefer pneumatics in front and solids in the rear. The kind of 

 tires which a man prefers depends considerably upon the size of his 

 truck and the kind of tires which he now uses. Four hundred and 

 seventy-seven of these 637 men recommend the same kind of tire 

 equipment as they are now using, and doubtless in a majority of 

 these cases the kind of tires now used is the same as the kind with 

 which the truck was equipped when it was purchased. 



A large percentage of the owners of the J- ton and f-ton trucks 

 consider pneumatics the best; the owners of the 1-ton trucks are 

 about evenly divided in their preference, and a large percentage of 



