Extending Useful Tire Life

The detection and prevention of under-inflation can help to reduce occurrences of accelerated treadwear, zipper ruptures, overheating and devulcanization, all of which can be a direct result of under-inflation and often resulting in casing damage to a point where retreading is no longer an option.

Since tires are a major maintenance expense for a fleet vehicle, the Tire Sentry ® System promises to be an invaluable tool for efficient tire maintenance and a key component for most any effective Preventive Maintenance program.

Fleet operators know that tires can account for as much as 36% of a vehicle's maintenance cost. Yet this important maintenance procedure of regularly checking tire pressure is one of the most difficult to enforce. Even the best Preventive Maintenance programs will find that maintenance personnel too often short-cut this time consuming, yet all too important procedure by overlooking some tires, (or even entire vehicles). However, even the best of maintenance programs can not prevent air pressure loss resulting from road hazard or tire damage while on the highways.

With recent advancements in microchip technology, electronic tire pressure monitoring is now an affordable reality for both large and small fleet operations. The Tire Sentry ® System uses advanced RF microchip technology to continuously monitor tire pressure from inside the cab without having to connect wires or hoses to the wheels. This remote sensing system enables low tire pressure to be detected by using an electronic sensor on each wheel to warn the driver, or a yard maintenance man when any tire has lost as little as 10% of its normal operating pressure.

The award winning(1) Tire Sentry ® system operates by installing a set of special electronic valve caps that contain a pressure sensor and a microchip transmitter. They continuously monitor the pressure of each tire, and signal the operator when tire pressure drops below its normal operating level. The Wheel Sensors are pre-set for each tire’s recommended operating pressure, and coded for each wheel location.

An instrument display identifies which tire is losing air pressure usually long before the tire is damaged or has undergone extensive tread loss. The instrument display will also identify which tire on a truck (or) trailer is losing air pressure.

Due to the wireless remote operation of the system, no wiring is necessary to the trailer enabling trailer fleets to also be monitored just equipping the trailers with wheel sensors. The Tire Sentry’s unique coding system prevents "cross-talk" to other fleet vehicles.

Electronic tire pressure monitoring can be a particularly useful tool to support (or enhance), most any Preventive Maintenance program, while also providing the following benefits associated with good tire maintenance:

a. Automatically monitors for low tire pressure, thus reducing the need for manual pressure checks.

b. Frees yard personnel for other task (some fleets expend hundreds, and sometimes thousands of man-hours a year to do this task).

c. Helps to extend useful tire life of both new and retread tires.

d. Helps to reduce road service calls.

e. Helps to increase fuel efficiency.

f. Increases the efficiency of PM programs.

g. Helps to reduce overall tire and maintenance cost.

Tire inflation also has a direct impact on fuel efficiency since under-inflated tires can consume over one third of each gallon of fuel just to overcome rolling resistance. The Michelin Tire Co. advises that tires can account for as much as a 4% difference in fuel efficiency. (D.O.T. studies show that we (the USA), could save over 4.2 million gallons of fuel per day just by keeping tires properly inflated).

The Maintenance Council advises their fleet members that proper inflation is a must. "The most critical factor in tire maintenance is proper inflation"(3).

The Tire Sentry ® system offers such outstanding potentials for extending useful tire life and reducing maintenance cost that it was awarded the "Best New Product of the Mid-America Trucking Show", and "Top Product of the Year" by an official publication of the Society of Automotive Engineers.

There is a Tire Sentry ® system for most every class of vehicle on or off the highway today with the 6, 10 and 18 wheel models being most popular. Prices vary depending on the number of tires to be monitored. The cost of the complete system is often little more than that of a single new tire.

Whether operating 1 vehicle or an entire fleet, the Tire Sentry ® system supports all Preventive Maintenance Programs, and can help to reduce tire maintenance cost and increase useful tire life by thousands of miles. Installation takes only about 1 hour, and does not require special tools or any technical knowledge.

This next generation Tire Sentry ® systems incorporate several new features, such as sensor batteries that last up to 3 years, and a new Low Battery warning feature. Production of all next generation systems is done in the U.S., and built to ISO 9000 Quality Standards using advanced aerospace, NTSA and DOT qualified materials.

(1) "Best New Product", International Truck Show
"Top 100 New Products", Construction Equipment Magazine
"1998 Top Products Of The Year", Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) official publication.

TMC; (Maintenance Manager, 1st Quarter 1995)
SAE; (Report #932975; "Tomorrow's Trucks")
TMC; (Guide to Tire-ware Conditions and Causes)

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