Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK and Continental Tyres have joined forces to create a fully integrated trailer tyre pressure monitoring system.
The system matches the existing standalone ContiPressureCheck, which traditionally uses an external warning light on the trailer to indicate a tyre pressure issue, with the Mercedes-Benz Truck App Portal, included with the 12” Multimedia Cockpit which is standard on UK market Actros models.
Each trailer needs its own set of sensors fitted within each tyre, and the electronics to transmit real-time pressure information via a high-power Bluetooth link to the Truck App Portal. The cost depends on the number of tyres fitted, but would typically be in the region of £700 per trailer, while the app is free when the Multimedia Cockpit is fitted. The first time that each tractor and trailer combination is used together, the two have to be paired, which takes about 30 seconds as part of the daily check routine, but subsequently, the connection is memorised.
In normal use, the pressure of each individual trailer tyre can be displayed, but when a pressure variation, either downward indicating a puncture, or upward indicating overheating, is detected, the app provides multiple warnings, including muting the in-cab audio.
This is the first significant third-party app to take advantage of the Truck App Portal. Despite both company’s German heritage, the project was actually undertaken by engineers from their UK arms, working in collaboration at MB’s Wentworth Park facility. According to Richard Skidmore, head of connectivity at Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK, “The attraction to the UK market is down to our greater use of double-deck trailers, whose smaller wheels are more vulnerable to tyre failure events.”
Continental Tyres digital solutions manager Ian Jackson elaborated. “There’s a lot of demand from the supermarkets who are major users of these trailers to monitor thermal issues.” Their chassis and body design means tyres, especially the inner ones with limited cooling air flow around them, are susceptible to over-heating due to a binding brake, and will eventually reach the flash point where they ignite.
This joint UK development is actually destined for the rest of the world, with interest already being shown from France, Dubai and South Africa.
