Riding on Alliance 390 radial flotation tires from the Alliance Tire Group (ATG), a German team scaled the world’s highest volcano, which is also South America’s second-highest peak. The trek set a world record for a climb by a truck - 21,899 feet above sea level to the summit of Ojos del Salados in the Chilean Andes.
The Alliance 390 flotation radial tires were ready for the expedition presenting a wide variety of conditions, from rock to snow and ice. ATG says the 390 was developed to excel both on the field and on the road, and is widely used around the world for heavy agricultural machinery as well as for trucks carrying crops from harvest sites to distant storage or processing facilities.
ATG and Germany-based Bohnenkamp, Europe’s leading marketer and wholesaler of agricultural tires, sponsored driver Martin Jeschke and his Extreme Events Team from Limburg, Germany, in their quest for the world record.
ATG and Bohnenkamp supplied 560/60R22.5 Alliance 390 flotation radials to the team, which mounted them on an 11-metric-ton Mercedes truck.
“Awesome tires that have climbed across loads of sand and rock without so much as a squeal during the test runs!” reported Jeschke during the team’s first trials in Chile.
On Nov. 30, 2014, the team piloted its truck to the base camp for four days of preparation to scale the volcano. On Dec. 5, they set off on a two-day quest for the record.
At 8 pm the next day, Jeschke texted from the final push: “Truck runs like a clockwork, tires eat up ice and sand.” Shortly after midnight, the message arrived from the summit: “The record is broken! Truck at 6,675 meters, no truck ever ventured higher!”
Upon returning to the base station, Jeschke described the adventure.
“The performance delivered by the vehicle and the Alliance tires is an absolutely fantastic feat and lacks any comparison,” he said. “The performance of these tires was unbeatable! Ice, snow, extreme inclines and very sharp-edged rocks…these pneumatic tires dealt with all of it flawlessly, and none of the spare tires had to be used!”
The record-breaking truck has returned to Germany and will be displayed at several trade shows to celebrate Extreme Events’ achievement.
For more information on Alliance tires, visit www.atgtire.com, call toll free (800) 343-3276 or (781) 321-3910.
