Equipment

AirChex has mechanical TPM system

May 19, 2011

New York-based AirChex Corporation has released a new tire pressure monitoring (TPM) device for dual rear bus, truck, tractor or trailer tires that uses no electronics, batteries or processors and has almost no moving parts

Wendy Leavitt

The patented AirChex Tire Pressure Monitoring System is a set of four pressure gauges. The gauges slide into mounting “shoes” that permanently adhere to the wheel rim via a special 3M-produced tape. One gauge is connected to the inner tire valve and the other, also positioned on the outer wheel, is connected to the outer tire.

Gauges are available for 16-inch to 24-in. wheels and can be switched between wheels with the extra mounting shoes provided. Inflating the inner dual tires can be accomplished right from the device’s triple-seal, flow-through valve, according to the company.

Mark Wallach, president of AirChex, told Fleet Owner that the system allows drivers to check the air pressure on tires in less than two minutes by just walking around and reading the gauges. Optional plastic covers are designed to protect the gauge faces from road dirt, grease and scratches.

According to Wallach, the AirChex System incorporates high-quality parts throughout, such as a stainless steel bourdon tube in the gauge rather than a copper tube, to help protect the device against vibration and fatigue. It is certified as “leak-proof,” according to the company.

Air Chex is sold in multiples of four (or per-axle) only. Orders may be placed by telephone (845-358-8179) or by e-mail and are shipped without usable hoses included. Instead, customers receive a set of color- banded hoses with each color denoting a hose length. Using these different “sizing” hoses, customers determine which hose lengths are appropriate for their needs and call or email the company to request the hoses required. AirChex then ships the correct lengths to complete the order.

A ‘bent’ hose is also included with each order. The elbow section is plated copper and may be bent up to about 20 degrees in any direction for those valves that point a little high or low. “The objective is to have the hose meet the back fitting of the AirChex,” Wallach said.

“You almost have to custom make filler valves because there are so many different lengths,” Wallach said. “We have found this to be the most sensible and expedient method to help customers properly outfit a vehicle.”

About the Author

Wendy Leavitt

Wendy Leavitt joined Fleet Owner in 1998 after serving as editor-in-chief of Trucking Technology magazine for four years.

She began her career in the trucking industry at Kenworth Truck Company in Kirkland, WA where she spent 16 years—the first five years as safety and compliance manager in the engineering department and more than a decade as the company’s manager of advertising and public relations. She has also worked as a book editor, guided authors through the self-publishing process and operated her own marketing and public relations business.

Wendy has a Masters Degree in English and Art History from Western Washington University, where, as a graduate student, she also taught writing.