Today, I would like to continue my “back to basics” saga as I have stumbled upon yet another luxury I’ve come to take for granted. As many of you are aware, I’m driving a rental truck for the next few months.
This morning, as I conducted my daily pre trip inspection I came to realize just how convenient the T.P.M.S. (tire pressure monitoring system) can be. In my Cascadia Evolution, I was fortunate enough to have this luxury good readily available to speed up the daily inspection process.
Since now equipped with the rental truck, I’ve been forced to reunite with some old friends in the form of a tire gauge and 2 and ½ LB sledge hammer. Each morning, I must begin the day by carefully checking the pressure of each tire. This
morning, while performing this inspection, I was reminded just how easy it was to simply look at my PST tire monitoring system for a quick digital reading of my pressures and make a brief visual inspection of my tires before hitting the road.
Each time that I stop during the day, I make a habit of inspecting my truck while keeping an eye out for any abnormalities. Today, I used my hammer to strike my tires for an acoustic test to see if any tires produced the distinct sound of a low tire. I confirmed my suspicion by checking the pressure with my gauge only to find that, indeed, the outside left rear tandem tire was 5 Lbs. under inflated. I then checked
to see if any punctures were to blame for the problem. I found no signs of such a puncture and then moved to the only other possible culprit. Spraying the valve stem with 409 cleaner, I noticed it was bubbling; indicating a leak. I whipped out my wrench and tightened the loose valve stem and then filled the tire back up with my air hose. I was back on the road with a new appreciation for another modern convenience of today’s generation. I also reflected on the importance of conducting such a test every day to avoid discovering this problem on the road. The purchase of a T.P.M.S. system is a worthy investment for any driver to install in his/her truck.
This experience has, yet again, reminded me of how many new technologies have improved the lifestyle of the truck driving profession and made each of our lives just a little easier.