SAN ANTONIO, Texas — In an attempt to reduced heat-related wheel-end failures, three US fleets have made Meritor Tire Inflation Systems (MTIS) by PSI with ThermAlert standard on trailers.

Old Dominion Freight Lines, Christner Trucking and Sunstate Carriers have found the system, which warns operators of excessive heat build-up in the wheel-end before a wheel-off incident or wheel-end fire occurs, to be a safety benefit worth paying for.

“An inherent concern in an LTL operation is getting proper air to the rear axle, on the rear pup,” said Tom Newby, director of maintenance with Old Dominion. “When this does not occur, we can have episodes of high heat, blown inside tires and at times a fire related to dragging brakes. Units equipped with ThermAlert not only give us a better feeling about overheated wheel bearing notification to the driver, but additional confidence that the driver will be notified prior to a fire episode due to dragging brakes.”

“We have over 800 trailers equipped with the Meritor Tire Inflation System by PSI, most of which include the ThermAlert option,” added Steve Dickson, vice-president of maintenance with John Christner Trucking. “We have lowered our tire cost and eliminated wheel-end run offs caused by premature wheel bearing failures on the trailers equipped with MTIS and the ThermAlert option. We have years of experience with this system and consider it a proven product, I would not spec’ a trailer today without this option.”

And Jack Arvan, director of maintenance with Sunstate Carriers said “I’ve been a maintenance manager of large over-the-road fleets for over 35 years. During this time I’ve learned that maintaining the correct tire pressure in both the tractor and trailer tires is essential to achieving maximum tire mileage and reduced tire cost per mile.”