Checking tires

Trust the tire pressure gauge. TPI systems that report to an in-cab display often have faulty sensors. Either it is low or thinks it's low. And as it heats up it gets satisfied.

I assume we're talking about a trailer tire? If these have auto-inflate I don't know why they'd have a TPI system

 

You're not dumb.
Inspecting your tires even with a inflation system brings you to the head of the pack already.

That light in the morning or at a trailer you just hooked up to is usual.

The air in the system of a parked vehicle drops, some more, some less. When building up pressure in the morning, the inflation system just indicates of a inflation in progress. It could take up to 10 minutes.

Checking the tires only for leaks might not be sufficient. Sometimes the system itself has a leaking connection which could cause trouble.

Keep on doing your job. Inspect your equipment every morning and every time you hook up to another trailer.

An old DOT inspector once said "do your walk around in the morning and you're off the hook." It's true to this day with me.

 

Take a look on the inside of your tires as well.

 

You can also check the hub temperatures using an infrared gun. Hot tires equal bad things coming.

 

I'm in school right now myself. I feel I have the pretrip down pretty well beyond what they want to see for a road rest (clutch the pearls I know) but I've asked a similar question of these instructors and everyone dances around it.

Sufficient tire tread and inflation no separation or debris between the rims no rust streaks or signs of loosening from the lug nuts no visible damage to the rims no leaking from the hubs valve stems centred and capped. It sounds nice for a licence examiner but riddle me this. Surely you don't rely solely on a hammer a club or a boot to tell you what's in that tire.

Don't get me wrong I'm all for having a good melee weapon handy at your disposal for the occasional unruly lot lizard or persistent bum but doesn't anyone use a tire gauge?

 

Love's has a lane dedicated to checking your tires. The first time is free. That is the time it is well worth the price. The attendant will come out and check the pressure in all your tires. Follow him around and ask him what he is checking for. It is his job to sell you new tires so he will be happy to point out every little defect and things that might be correct now but could go wrong in the near future. You can also talk to any of the tire people at a professional shop. People love to pass on knowledge.

 

The auto inflating tires do not have the valves open to gauge. You would have to unscrew the inflation kit first then reattach when done on each tire. Much more efficient to just kick the thing!

 

I have one.
But what's normal/safe temp for the hub or tires.

 

I have the Hendrickson Tiremaxx Pro inflation system on my trailers. It has two regulators on it. One for how low the pressure is, the other for how high the pressure gets. They are set 10 psi apart to keep the tires in a pressure range. During normal operation during the day when temperatures get hotter, and tire pressure increases it will bleed off some of the air.
Then when you park over night and everything gets cooler the tire pressure now will be low in the morning. So you see the light come on until it gets things back to normal.
Thumping the tires is still a good idea to confirm that one of the tires isn't down.