10% 10%


[PDF]10% 10% - Rackcdn.comb776141bb4b7592b6152-dbef5d8ae260c3bb21474ba0e94bcba6.r94.cf2.rackcdn.co...

2 downloads 193 Views 2MB Size

C

30% reduction in tire life. HECKING AND MAINTAINING PROPER AIR PRESSURE “Another pressure-related issue is that of dual-tire imbalfor truck and trailer tires is probably one of the more irritatance,” he added. “When you’ve got a pair of tires side-by-side ing and time-consuming maintenance tasks faced by drivers on an axle, if one is running at a lower pressure, it’s essentially and fleet managers alike. And that’s doubly true for highgot a different circumference than its neighbor. This means way tractor drive axles and trailer axles spec’d in traditional that as the axle rotates, that tire’s going to drag and experi“dual-wheel” configurations, as checking and maintaining ence excessive wear, increasing the chance that it’s going to air pressure on the inner dual tire position is a physically fail prematurely.” taxing chore in numerous ways. There’s also another safety aspect of under-inflation to conAll the stretching and straining required for reaching the sider as well beyond just a heightened risk of tire blowouts, he valve stem on an inner dual tire sometimes convinces drivers emphasized. to skip this important step—required by pre-inspection pro“Advanced safety technologies really do rely on maintetocols—or use dubious methods for attaining the air pressure nance of basic components like tires to ensure best perforlevel within a tire, e.g., “thumping” tires with a baton or other mance on the road,” Intagliata said. such object. “If you’ve invested in systems that help prevent or mitigate Ralph Dimenna, COO of Michelin Americas Truck Tires, a forward collisions or that intervene through braking power division of global tire maker Michelin, noted that a tire that is to help prevent rollovers, the last thing you want is to reduce 10% underinflated will lose 10% in tread wear and will come their effectiveness through something as easily preventable out of service quicker. He added that a tire that is 20% below as poorly inflated tires,” he pointed out. the optimal air pressure is considered a flat tire and warned Brian Buckham, general manager-product marketing for that tires operated in such underinflated conditions will expeGoodyear Tire & Rubber Co., stressed that while it’s difficult rience “casing fatigue” that could lead to a catastrophic failure to predict what will happen to a tire when it’s rolling down or a zipper rupture. the highway, preventive maintenance is the one thing that “If the tire has been run 20% underinflated, it should be helps ensure tires are in optimal condition before they hit removed from the vehicle and scrapped,” Dimenna stressed. the asphalt. Under guidelines established by the Federal Motor Carrier “Like other truck components, tires require post-installaSafety Administration under its Compliance Safety Accounttion maintenance—and good truck tire mainteability program, a tire that is found to be operating nance starts with frequent air pressure with less than 50% of its maximum pressure is checks,” he emphasized. considered to be in an out-of-service con“Generally speaking, maintaining dition, putting a truck or tractor-trailer proper tire inflation pressure is on the side of the road until it can be probably the single most effecreplaced. tive maintenance practice that The reason commercial vehicles a fleet can employ to positively are sidelined in such situations is impact tire wear, casing life that underinflated tires experiunderinflation and overall tire performance,” ence higher temperatures and can make tires lose Buckham noted. “As such, greater stress, thus presenting both over- and under-inflaan increased risk of failure, extion should be avoided. Unplained Jon Intagliata, product in tread wear der-inflation can be particumanager for tire pressure monilarly harmful, as running a truck toring systems at Bendix Commertire under-inflated for a long pecial Vehicle Systems. riod can induce excessive heat “Industry research has indibuildup.” cated that about 90% of tire In fact, a study conducted blowouts can be traced to unby the University of Michigan der-inflation, and almost half of Transportation Research Inall emergency service road calls stitute eight years ago— are tire-related,” he added. an effort sponsored by Intagliata noted that research the National Highway by the Technology & Maintenance Traffic Safety AdminisCouncil, which is an arm of the Amertration—discerned that ican Trucking Associations trade improper tire maintegroup, found that tire under-innance and operational flation of just 20% results in a

10%

Photos: Thinkstock

10%

VISIT FLEETOWNER.COM

708FO68-72.indd 2

AUGUST 2017 / FLEETOWNER 69

7/18/17 6:33 PM