Truckers that drive with under inflated tires for commercial fleets are a serious safety risk. They not only lack the optimum grip to refrain from accidents, but also pollute the environment. Each year, at least one tractor trailer calls the service station to help with tire under inflation. Problems with tire pressures is incredibly costly for the truck drivers, not just in the face of an accident, but also due to increased fuel economy from driving on an under inflated tire. The importance of tire pressure while OTR trucking cannot be understated.
Importance of Tire Pressure
Inflation pressure is often the cause of breakdowns, headaches and breakdowns for the truck fleet and their customers. A disabled tire not only costs money in expenses, but also time. Despite all the technological advances in truck tires, it is always the inflation pressure inside the tires which allow the tire to support the load, absorb the bumps, and grip the pavement.
What goes on inside the tires?
When a truck is lifted with the help of the jack, and the load is lifted from the tire, the tire displays a perfectly rounded shape. When in contact with the floor, the shape of the tire changes according to the load on the truck. Inflation pressure can therefore only be determined by a certified inflation gauge.
You cannot determine the inflation based on solely the shape of the tire. The shape of the top section of the tire changes very slightly. Despite the fact that the upper section of the shape does not change, the total air pressure is the same throughout the tire.
When back on the road, each part of the tire is constantly changing shape hundreds of times a minute. This causes additional stretching of the interior tire walls, or in other words, extra flex. The flex and air pressure inside the tires should correspond with the load that trucker is hauling.
Too much flex and too little flex both can result in costly breakdowns. Too much flexing causes the tire to build up excessive heat, which leads to higher fuel costs and heat damages. Overall, to maintain tire health, a trucker should routinely use a tire gauge to ensure that tires are at optimum PSI.
Doing an inflation check should be a regular task. Additionally, it is important to use a good inflation gauge and test it against the master gauge on a weekly basis. Gauges are very sensitive, and truckers must replace or recalibrate inaccurate gauges.
Halo Tire Inflator from Aperia Technologies
Bay and Bay uses the Halo. This device rids truckers from worrying too much about tire pressure and damages. It is a simple bolt-on device that automatically maintains optimum tire inflation pressure. This innovative and reliable device uses the rotational movement of the spinning wheel to power a pump.