Reducing Tire Pressures Lessens Rutting on Thawing Forest Roads: Results of Two Field Trials

Many forest companies in Canada experience operational restrictions when spring thaw conditions make their road infrastructures impassable. Trials conducted in the early 1990's by the Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada of chip trucks equipped with central tire inflation systems have shown that transport over thawing roads may be possible using reduced tire pressures. This paper discusses the results and implications of two road-rutting trials with variable tire pressures conducted on thawing block-entry and forest access roads.