Heavy Duty Trucking, December 2018

HDT DECEMBER 2018 74 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM ire pressure monitoring systems and automatic tire inflation systems have long been seen by fleets as competitive systems you opt for one or the other not both Curious as to whether that view still holds true in the face of rapid changes in truck technology including advances in data sensors and telematics connections HDT reached out to suppliers of both systems to find out what their take is now on TPMS vs ATIS and how they may work together Gaining situational awareness We view ATIS and TPMS as complementary says Jim Sharkey vice president of global sales and marketing for Pressure Systems International a longtime provider of ATIS The company is preparing to launch its TireView TPMS which will be aimed at tractors and straight trucks and also sold as an enhancement to PSIs existing ATIS which is also marketed as the Meritor Tire Inflation System TPMS provides a level of detail beyond knowing that a tire is taking air Sharkey explains It identifies which tire needs air as well as the tire temperature and the leak rate With TPMS alone you are still relying on the driver to report a problem He adds that TPMS requires warnings be set at some value below the cold pressure setting roughly 5 psi or more so while a tire is losing air prior to the pressure falling below the trigger point you suffer decreased fuel economy and increased tread wear TPMS by itself wont help if there isnt ready access to air when a driver finds a trailer has one or more under inflated tires But an ATIS equipped trailer can air up when connected to the tractor transport the load and then have the problematic tire repaired Sharkey says that by combining ATIS and TPMS with a telematics solution fleets will gain the ultimate in situational awareness identifying where trailers are individual tire pressure and temperature and if the ATIS is filling a problematic tire Fleets can also determine if a tire issue requires immediate concern or if it can wait until the vehicle reaches the terminal based upon the leak rate Thinking starting to shift Vanessa Hargrave chief operating officer of TPMS provider Advantage PressurePro says that historically TPMS and ATIS have TPMS or ATIS or both Installing either TPMS or ATIS can prevent catastrophic tire damage and reduce maintenance And now theres a trend to deploying both systems for maximum positive impact on tire costs Having two systems at work to protect your tire investment may be better than having just one been viewed as competing systems but this thinking is starting to shift Progressive fleets especially are willing to make an upfront investment that can bring them long term benefits in safety and savings She outlines the main differences between the two types of systems ATIS is a mechanical mechanism built to automatically trigger inflation in a tire if it hits a trigger point while TPMS is an electronic monitoring tool that provides tire performance information and alerts directly to the driver and or fleet manager so they can pinpoint tire problems before they become costly or dangerous ATIS a hands off unit can help remedy By David Cullen Executive Editor dcullen@ truckinginfo com TIRES WHEELS T PHOTO ISTOCKPHOTO COM RYASICK