The Consequences of Wrong Tire Pressure and What You Can Do About it

11 May 2017

As a fleet manager, you can save a great deal of money down the road by ensuring your trucks’ tires are inflated properly.

Consequences of Wrong Tire Pressure

Even as little as 10 percent of tire under-inflation can lead to an almost two percent drop in fuel economy, according to the American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) in some research they conducted. Your tire life is reduced by 30 percent when tires are 20 percent under-inflated.

Furthermore, when your fleet drivers are driving on tires that aren’t inflated properly, it can damage your vehicles in many ways. Keep your fleet vehicles in better condition with the proper tire pressure education.

Implementing a preventative tire maintenance program can help you avoid these consequences. This maintenance program should include not just tire pressure, but everything else from servicing lug nuts to checking tread depths. However, tire pressure is the most important part of your maintenance program since it has a profound effect on your customer satisfaction, overhead costs, wear life, driver safety, and fuel efficiency.

Costs of these Consequences

When a tire blows out, the costs associated with it can add up fast. You have the cost of the new tire and the tow or roadside assistance charges to think about too. If your drivers replace the tire themselves, this costs you in productivity time. Blowouts can also lead to significant damage to your fleet vehicles which results in expensive repairs and insurance rates.

What You Can Do About it

Although it’s fairly simple to monitor tire pressure, it’s time-consuming as well when just one truck alone has 18 tires. Just imagine how many hours of labor it takes to check your whole fleet. You can reduce if not eliminate the time involved in monitoring tire pressure with advanced monitoring systems.

One option for keeping an eye on tire pressure is installing an automatic tire inflation system. This system takes the air from the trucks existing air supply and routes it to the control box of the system through each axle. Then the axles route the air through a rotary union assembly which maintains the tires air pressure by keeping them at optimal pressure while your drivers are driving.

Another great option is using a GPS fleet management and tracking device. GPS technology collects important information like speed and location. You can set it up to notify you when your tires need rotated or your oil needs changed.

Since you now know tire pressure can greatly influence your bottom line, you may want to invest in a GPS tracking system to automatically monitor the tire pressure for you.

More questions about how GPS tracking technology can help with your fleet maintenance? We’re here to answer those questions. Call us today at 1-888-544-0494.

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About George Karonis

George Karonis is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of LiveViewGPS Inc., a company he established in 2008 with the vision of making real-time GPS tracking more reliable, affordable, and accessible for businesses of all sizes. Over the past two decades, he has built a reputation as an innovator in GPS tracking, fleet management, asset monitoring, and Push-to-Talk over Cellular (PTToC) communications. Under George's leadership, LiveViewGPS has grown into a nationally recognized provider of GPS tracking solutions, serving businesses, government agencies, educational institutions, law enforcement organizations, and public works departments throughout the United States. The company's technology helps organizations improve operational efficiency, protect valuable assets, increase driver safety, and reduce operating costs through real-time location intelligence. Before founding LiveViewGPS, George developed a background in security, surveillance, and emerging location technologies. His passion for innovation and practical problem solving has driven the development of products that combine dependable hardware with easy-to-use cloud software, giving customers actionable information when it matters most. In 2018, George expanded into nationwide Push-to-Talk over Cellular communications by launching PeakPTT, providing businesses with rugged, instant communication solutions that operate over LTE and Wi-Fi networks. His focus has remained the same throughout his career: delivering dependable technology backed by exceptional customer service and long-term customer relationships. George regularly writes about GPS tracking, fleet management, asset protection, business technology, and communication systems. Through this blog, he shares industry insights, practical advice, and emerging trends to help organizations make informed decisions about tracking technology and connected operations.