Continental Ag presented its new stand-alone tire pressure monitoring system for trailers, called ContiPressureCheck Solo, at the Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association (TTMA) Convention in New Mexico.
The tiremaker and technology company says its ContiPressureCheck Solo is a low-maintenance solution for trailer tire monitoring which notifies the driver of tire pressure issues in real-time while keeping the trailer system completely separate from the tractor. It offers fleets a solution to reduce trailer tire costs and stay compliant with pending greenhouse gas regulations from the EPA, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and California Air Resources Board. The solution is expected to be commercially available by the end of 2018.
“This new solution keeps fleets and trailer manufacturers ahead of pending legislation, and demonstrates our commitment as a partner to the commercial vehicle industry,” said Paul Williams, Continental’s executive vice president of commercial vehicle tires in the Americas. “With this addition to our digital tire monitoring portfolio, we now offer solutions for long-haul fleets and owner-operators, for fleets who return to the yard daily, and for trailers.”
ContiPressureCheck Solo is mounted on the inner liner of each tire to be protected from weather, theft, curbing and damage during tire mounting. Sensors can be retrofit into existing tires, or intelligent tires with preinstalled sensors can be ordered directly from the Continental factory.
The device has a Central Control Unit, mounted on the trailer, that continuously receives data from the tire sensors and activates alerts if needed.
The notification light, mounted in an industry-standard position and visible in the driver’s side mirror, is activated if low pressure is identified in any of the trailer’s tires. Multiple levels of low-pressure alerts ensure notifications reflect the severity of the issue.
Trailers equipped with telematics systems can also transmit tire data into the telematics dashboard, allowing back office support personnel to view trailer TPMS information remotely.
Its battery-powered sensors last six years or 400,000 miles, keeping maintenance to a minimum. Continental’s solution is not connected to trailer air hoses, so it does not introduce additional leak points into the air system or require intensive upkeep to prevent air leaks. As a stand-alone trailer TPMS, it is best suited for drop-and-hook scenarios since there is no connection needed to a specific tractor, the German tiremaker said in a press release.
ContiPressureCheck Solo is designed to meet greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency standards from multiple regulatory bodies, which are currently pending implementation: GHG Phase 2 for Trailers set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA), and CA Phase 2 GHG Trailer Rules set forth by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) which go into effect in 2020. Both sets of regulations currently contain provisions for certain trailers to install either a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) or an automatic tire inflation system (ATIS). Continental’s new trailer TPMS makes GHG 2 compliance as simple and affordable as possible for fleets, Continental says.
“If the legislation stays as currently written, fleets will be able to meet all GHG 2 regulations with just two simple items from Continental: the ContiPressureCheck Solo trailer TPMS and our extremely low rolling resistance tires,” explains Michelle Reinhart, head of Continental’s digital solutions for the Americas region. “That’s it, just two products and your trailer can be GHG 2 compliant. You won’t need an aerodynamic kit or any additional products.”
