BOTIRES buyer guide

OTR Tire Buying Checklist for Quarry and Construction Buyers

A practical OTR tire checklist for quarry, loader, dump truck and construction buyers before asking for 17.5R25, 20.5R25 or 23.5R25 prices.

OTR tire buying is easy to get wrong if the first message only says “send 23.5R25 price.” For quarry, construction and loader work, the same size can fail in different ways depending on speed, load, road surface, turning, heat and operator habits.

Start with machine and work cycle

Before comparing price, write down the machine type, tire position, working distance, average load, surface condition and whether the tire usually fails by cut, heat, shoulder wear, impact or separation. This gives the supplier a real reason to recommend one pattern over another.

Buyer detail Why it matters Example answer
Machine type Loader, grader and dump truck tires face different stress Wheel loader in quarry stockpile
Size Base quote and container plan 23.5R25, 20.5R25, 17.5R25
Surface Cut resistance and tread pattern choice Sharp stone, muddy site, mixed concrete
Load and distance Heat and casing stress Short cycle, heavy load, slow speed
Failure mode Prevents repeating the same mistake Sidewall cuts or shoulder chunking

Do not compare OTR tires like truck tires

TBR buyers often compare fast-moving sizes and container quantity first. OTR buyers should be more careful. A cheaper tire that cannot survive the site condition can be more expensive than a better-matched tire.

For OTR, send photos if possible. A current tire photo, machine photo, worksite road photo and failure photo can shorten the discussion more than a long text message.

Useful first-message template

“We need 23.5R25 loader tires for quarry work. Machine is wheel loader, short-distance loading, sharp stone surface, current tires have sidewall cuts. Please suggest pattern and quote 8 pcs or one small mixed order to Mombasa.”

This message tells the supplier size, machine, condition, failure mode, quantity and destination. That is enough for a meaningful first reply.

Where to go next

Sources checked

For general OTR category context, public tire manufacturer references such as Yokohama OTR tires and Goodyear OTR were reviewed. Final choice still depends on the machine, site and failure mode.