Saved By Technology

Having that little hose from the PSI system saved me thousands of dollars

On my previous blog, I wrote about safety systems and not using them. The subject was regarding attempts to avoid having to use safety equipment if and when possible. I try to look at safety feature technology as a safety net and not something to be used in place of proper driving techniques.

Sometime between Thursday night and Friday morning, one of these safety nets saved me. I parked my truck at the travel center for the night and completed a walk around inspection of the truck and trailer. Everything looked good and so I went to sleep. Before heading into the truck stop for breakfast, I did another lap around the truck and trailer and

noticed the left rear trailer tire sidewall to be half way flattened to the ground… not the way you want to begin your morning. The positive in this case is that the tire was not driven low on the highway the day before. I run the Meritor Tire Inflation System by PSI on my trailer. Therefore, the tire didn’t show that it was low the evening prior and lost pressure during the night. Luckily, the tire remained inflated the day before as it would have destroyed the tire.

I started the truck, released the trailer brakes allowing the PSI system to inflate the left rear trailer tire. While the tire was inflating, I walked over to the tire shop which was across from the travel center in order to make an appointment to get the tire fixed. After returning back to the truck and trailer, the tire was re-inflated. I didn’t notice any cause on the top or sides of the tire as the two nails were punctured into the tire on the bottom.

Having the P.S.I safety net, allowed me not to destroy my Michelin wide base single tire, components on the trailer or any other vehicle on the highway. Once again, the object is to not get a puncture in your tire but if you do, the PSI system acts like a life line to save the tire as well as much more.

Henry Albert

Henry Albert is the owner of Albert Transport, Inc., based in Statesville, NC. Before participating in the "Slice of Life" program, Albert drove a 2001 Freightliner Century Class S/T™, and will use his Cascadia for general freight and a dry van trailer. Albert, who has been a trucker since 1983, was recognized by Overdrive as its 2007 Trucker of the Year.