PRESSURE'S ON TO PERFORM SIMPLE TIRE MAINTENANCE
Evan Lockridge
Contributing Editor
Some people will do anything to avoid a little work. A guy I used to know who worked at a greenhouse was like that. When he was told to put a plant on a truck, he'd take the most indirect, meandering and scenic route to avoid the task.
Some people have the same attitude toward checking air pressure in their tires. They'll hit a tire with a billy, kick it or stare at it intensely, as if that will help them determine if it needs air.
Any tire manufacturer or tire expert will tell you there's only one way to properly check tire pressure: with a proper, working gauge.
Harvey Brodsky and the rest of the crew at the Tire Retread Information Bureau came up with a novel way to drive this fact home. At the Mid-America Trucking Show in March, they hosted the Pump 'Em, Don't Thump 'Em Tire Contest at their booth. CDL holders tested their ability to determine the inflation pressure of tires without using a gauge. Three Hankook truck tires on wheels were inflated to different pre-set pressures. Contestants were encouraged to kick, thump, bang or hit a tire, then offer their professional estimate of the tires' inflation pressure.
"No one came within 5 psi of the air pressure of any of the tires," Brodsky said.
A number of truckers, after failing to determine inflation pressure by thumping the tire, insisted they could at least tell which of the three tires was the most inflated and which was the least. Out of the eight who attempted this, only one managed to guess correctly.
The contest made believers out of some of the contestants. Many drivers said the experience was enough to get them to make a habit of checking tires with a gauge rather than a tire billy.
"As we demonstrated through our contest," Brodsky said, "trying to determine if tires need air by thumping them is as effective as trying to determine if the vehicle's engine needs oil by thumping on the hood."
Drivers and owner-operators aren't the only ones laboring under the misconception that you can actually tell something about a tire by thumping it. I recently interviewed an executive with a fleet known for its innovative operations. This person went on about how good they were at performing preventive maintenance on their trucks and trailers, including doing yard checks three times a day. But how did they check the air pressure? With a tire billy.
There are many reasons it's important to make sure tires are inflated properly, including better fuel economy, reduced tire wear and tread separations, and fewer roadside emergencies. In fact, FleetNet America, the nation's largest independent road service provider, says tire problems make up more than half of the calls it receives.
The good news is, all it takes to check pressure properly is a good gauge. Don't have one? Call Harvey Brodsky, who has made it his personal mission in life to see that the only way people check tire air pressure is with a good tire gauge. He's always happy to send some out to almost anyone who calls.
Most gauges are very reliable straight out of the box, but drop one a few times and the accuracy may be compromised. That's why it's important to check gauges using a master gauge on a regular basis with a range of different pressures.
Shop personnel need to have it drilled into their heads that they need to check tire pressure every time they see a tractor or trailer. It's also important to keep complete records of when tire pressure checks are made and how much air is added to each particular tire, so you can track down tires that are constantly losing air – and the cause.
Constantly checking tire pressure is not one of life's highlights – especially those hard-to-reach inside duals – but there are some things that can make life easier. Consider tire pressure monitors or tire inflation systems. The former alerts drivers when tire pressure is low, but someone has to fill the tire back up. Tire inflation devices also monitor tires, but they also automatically fill tires to the proper level.
If such a system is more than you want, there's absolutely nothing wrong with manual checks – provided they are done at least weekly. The few minutes it takes to check all tires with a gauge will save you money and other problems down the road.
In the meantime, you may want to consider taking a chapter from the TRIB playbook and host a tire-thumping contest the next time you have a driver meeting.
While you may not convince every driver in your fleet that thumping is better left to melons in the grocery store, it might just raise their awareness – and your bottom line.
|
