The Pressure's On For Tire Checks
A survey of leading fleets shows pressure checks aren't done on some trailer tires for two or more months.
Jim Winsor
Executive Editor
How often does your fleet check tire pressures? I mean really check inflation levels with an accurate tire gauge?
For many fleets, it may not be often enough. Road calls due to tire problems continue to be the No. 1 reason for on-road downtime, according to figures from FleetnetAmerica, the country's largest provider of road service.
If you missed it, check out our cover story in the January issue, which lists the top 10 causes of road breakdowns. Year after year, tire problems prompt more than 50% of calls for service.
Obviously not all tire failures are caused by underinflated tires. Nails and other road hazards top the list.
But experts tells us that prolonged running with one or more underinflated tires builds heat in casings, stresses tire cords and contributes to shorter tire life and/or casing failure. And every failure is one less tire that might be retreadable <->— an important consideration.
As a direct result of the TREAD Act, the federal government has mandated the use of tire pressure monitoring on passenger cars and DOT is now turning its attention to commercial truck tire applications. The Technology and Maintenance Council (TMC) of the American Trucking Assns. wasted no time in gathering survey data to learn what fleet tire inflation practices are and what their preferences are for different types of tire pressure monitoring devices.
Here are a few highlights of a detailed 30-question survey, which prompted responses from a number of leading fleets. Respondents represented 33 long haul carriers (over 500 miles/trip), 35 regionals (250-500 miles/trip), 24 short haul (under 250 miles/trip) and 12 local and pickup/delivery fleets. The survey response covered 53,053 tractors, 187,710 trailers,147,082 trucks and 44,076 dollies. In total, it covered 2,414,917 tires.
How often is each truck/tractor tire pressure checked?
A total of 15.1% said they checked tires weekly; 3% said twice weekly; 43.9% monthly; 12.1% twice monthly; 19.6% two months or longer.
For trailers, the frequency pattern was different:
Only 16.7% said they did a weekly check; 3% twice weekly; 28.8% monthly; 7.6% twice monthly; 10.6% every two months; 19.7% three months.
It's apparent that trailer tires really get the short end of the inspection stick. In fact, the survey shows that nearly a third of all trailer tires go two or more months without a pressure check. Not good news.
Many of these pressure checks coincided with vehicle preventive maintenance service intervals. This suggests that many units — and especially trailers — weren't pressure-checked between PMs. Whether drivers did actual inflation checks was not surveyed.
When fleets were asked how many tire-related service calls could be eliminated if that fleet had a tire pressure maintenance system, the average response was 49% might be eliminated.
When asked what kind of payback period fleets need to justify buying a tire pressure monitoring system, 30% said only a year. Another 25% said two years.
As for types of monitoring systems fleets favored, 48.5% said tire inflation systems. Next highest, at 21.2%, were tire pressure equalizers, followed by tire-mounted pressure monitors and wheel-mounted pressure monitors, each at 12.1%.
System costs varied considerably depending on whether it was an on-board inflation system, on-board monitoring system or dual tire pressure equalizing.
Most thought a price under $30 per wheel position for the type of system they favored was very affordable. More than half thought they'd consider the type of systems they liked at costs between $40 and $50 per wheel position.
Perhaps it's time for your fleet to review tire and road call costs to see if better inflation monitoring through automation would be a good investment.
