Trimble releases tyre monitoring system

Trimble Navigation has launched a tyre monitoring system for commercial and off-road vehicles. The Trimble TirePulse Tire Monitoring System wirelessly measures tyre temperature and pressure data and conveys these from the jobsite to give real-time tyre pressure and high temperature alerts. Trimble says the system helps fleet managers and site supervisors schedule cost-effective preventative tyre maintenance, extend tyre life, increase fuel efficiency and avoid blowouts.

Fleet operators are well aware that tyre under-inflation can reduce fuel economy, increase overheating, tread wear and blowouts that take a machine out of production. Together, these factors can significantly affect fleet productivity and operating costs. Trimble says its TirePulse can improve tyre life while also reducing the need for fleet managers to drive to the site to carry out visual inspections. 

Using a Trimble TP920 Industrial Tire Sensor in the tyre valve stem and a Trimble SNM940 Connected Site Gateway for communications, tyre information is automatically relayed back to the fleet manager’s office for analysis. Trimble says the use of its VisionLink to communicate data enables fleet managers to proactively manage tyre maintenance on more machines across construction sites. VisionLink automatically alerts the fleet manager or site foreman when a tyre experiences a 20 per cent drop in pressure. It can also provide a high-temperature alert to indicate that jobsite conditions are likely to accelerate tyre breakdown.

“Preventative maintenance is more cost effective than a machine going down suddenly with a blown tyre,” commented Julian Dann, Trimble’s business area director for machine control. “But with equipment moving around so much from site to site, fleet managers struggle to stay ahead of the game. TirePulse is priced for installation across the entire fleet of on- and off-road machine tyres, regardless of make, model or manufacturer. Increased wear or breakdown can be reported and acted upon proactively. The system can often pay for itself by preventing just one blowout.”