I've experimented with caps this past year and half. I was running Bridgestone 726ELs and needed to replace tires on one axle, so I bought 4 "726 Recaps" to see what would happen. I just replaced the recaps after running out of tread at about 240,000 miles. I still have the other 4 726ELs in place with 305k miles on them and about 14/32 tread left. I never had a problem with the caps, just that they did not last as long, which I expected. Even though they call them "726"s, the tread depth is much reduced because of the 1/4 inch or so taken up by the bonding rubber.
If I were running in an environment where I was subjected to a lot of road hazards, or if I had a problem running out all the tread on virgin tires (due to irregular wear, etc.), then I would probably run recaps. If you have to replace one prematurely, then you are saving money.

Recaps are junk IMO, just not worth the time or effort.

According to the fuel calculator on michelins website, they're not worth it $ wise either.

The money you save is pissed out the pipes using extra fuel to push these tires around.

Save a quarter to spend a dollar.

My philosophy is NEVER run them on the steer axle if you're gonna do it.

[/quote]My philosophy is NEVER run them on the steer axle if you're gonna do it.

I ran caps when I was pulling scrap from the scrap yard to the steel mills. Only reason I ran caps was because the odds of making it through a day without cutting a tire was slim to none and the distance between the two points was only 65 miles. Valve stems were the major culprit for cutting tires.

Once I left that haul, I never ran caps again. My truck and trailer (pneumatic tank), it just wasn’t worth taking the chance. Peel one cap and rip a trailer fender off and it cost more than you save.

For me, running caps is like rolling the dice. Sometimes you win and sometimes you loose. For me, there is just too much at stake to take that chance.

Been running caps on drives and trailers for about 10 years now. Have never had any more or a problem than with virgin tires. No tire will do well if you don't watch the tire pressures and change them out if they start wearing irregularly.

The company I pulled for the last 8.5 years never really had any damage due to caps flying off. Most tire problems were the same as for virgin rubber... damage to sidewalls causing a blowout, etc. I can only think of 2 occasions and it was only minor damage. Caps have come a long way and I have no fear of running them. But it you do... you do have to be selective. Make sure you are only using "first generation" caps..... tires that have only been capped once. And you have to get to know your dealer so that you can trust the quality of tires he is having capped. The ideal would be to have good steer tires (virgin) that you are running, recapped for you as drives. Since we all go thru steers more frequently than drives, you could get about 4-6 steers recapped for your use before you change out the drives. That would insure you know the quality of the tire casings your are putting on.

You can save some pizza money by using recaps. You have to be a little more proactive on tire maintenance, but the extra money you save may be worth the effort. As we all know... a little saved here and there can really make a difference in that Net.

I drove for one company that all they ran was RECAPS. I never lost one ever and some of our trailer caps were on their 3rd trip back after being capped. Thing is with a recap is watch your tire pressures and speed in HOT weather. The boss man had equipment that was older but I would run it today against anything made and make a killing reason his maintance program caught small problems before they were big ones normally and fixed them.

That's interesting copperhead thanks. The tire dealer I was talking to uses Michelin for recapping. So the tread will be Michelin. If my casings are good for recapping he told me about 160.00 per tire. I only need four tires, the other tires on the tractor are almost new. Steers 90% and the rear drive axle is probably 70% maybe 75. I think the previous owner swapped them when he decided to sell the truck and buy another one. That's why I was looking at recaps vs a new tire.

Here's a really good information source on retreaded tires...

http://www.retread.org/

They are a wealth of information on recaps.

Personally I use them exclusively on my drives, never had a problem with them, company I pull for uses them on all their equipment.

BTW, it is against the law to run caps on the steering...

Thanks for link wildcat, I'll be sure to read up. :)