Daimler Trucks North America on Monday, Sept. 24, announced the launch of new tire pressure monitoring technology as an aftermarket offering for its Freightliner, Western Star and Thomas Built Buses commercial vehicles. Introduced during the 2012 Great American Trucking Show in Dallas, the new system is designed to allow real-time tire performance monitoring for better fuel economy and safety.
The new system provides air pressure and tire air temperature data while driving or stationary, helping drivers to preemptively address tire issues. The system reports per-axle high and low pressure and rapid pressure-loss alerts. Customizable axle settings also allow driver notification of other issues, including hanging brake calipers, bearing failures and individual tire defects.
“It’s always a great benefit to be able to offer drivers and fleets more information about the performance of their vehicles,” said Todd Biggs, DTNA director of aftermarket parts and service marketing. “Blown tires are most often caused by under- or over-inflation. Running the proper air pressure prolongs the life of the tire, increases fuel economy and improves safety through fewer on-road tire failures.”
The exterior sensors screw on to standard tire valve stems and communicate wirelessly every two minutes with a central control unit. The system can be added to any 12V power system and is offered in six- and 10-sensor kits for tractor setup, with additional sets of two available for monitoring up to 34 different tires at a time.
A trailer exchange feature is designed to synchronize the control module to the tire sensors on a new trailer automatically with no loss of data reporting. The exterior fully-sealed sensors feature durable brass threading and military-grade five-to-seven year lithium-cadmium batteries. The system is backed by DTNA’s one-year warranty and support at more than 800 U.S. and Canada locations.
