Nitrogen; An Extra-Income Opportunity for Expediters

[Turtle]

Timed saved is the most noticeable. But...
The thing is, the cold tire pressure is the pressure that allows for increased pressure at higher operating temperatures without compromising the tire and keeping the tire pressure in an acceptable range across a wide range of temperatures. But the optimal pressure tends to be at less than highway speeds and temperatures. When you pull off the highway and drive at considerably slower speeds, the pressure is still within the acceptable range, but not necessarily the optimal pressure. It's somewhere in the middle. You'd have to stop and pressurize for the different driving conditions every time those conditions change.

Because nitrogen runs cooler and causes the pressure to vary less within the wide range range of temperatures, the tires stay closer to the optimal pressure more of the time. Fill the proper cold tire pressure and things are more or less automatic. It helps especially with the widely varying altitudes and temperatures expediters encounter. A day or two out west or in the mountains while run running with are really needs a tire pressure adjustment. But not necessarily with nitrogen.

So, you save time having to check and fill tires all the time. They stay closer to the optimal pressure over a wider range of operating conditions, which means better tread wear and fuel economy.

Generally, most vehicles realize about a 20% increase in tread wear and improved fuel economy. $50 is nothing compared to 20% linger tread life.

 

[zorry]

I sold my 2001 Western Star at 445,000 miles.
Had the original 8 drive tires on. Not even planning for tires.
My friends were replacing tires as quickly as 250,000 miles in the same operation.
Its all about proper pressure,alignment,and good driving practices.
Ran 65-80,000. # about 2/3 of the time. Empty the balance.
Probably ran nitrogen at some point. That was a lot of miles ago......

 

[ATeam]

I understand about time savings, but when I am laid over for a weekend or passing time between loads, the time saved equates to no money since none would be made anyway (assuming no other income producing ability).

I understand about optimal tire pressure and would add only that in a straight truck, that would change with the load. The tire data book states a wide range of proper inflation levels but, realistically, there is no optimal pressure. You may be in the mountains in the winter with 1,000 lbs. on and then in Los Angeles the next day with 10,000 lbs. on, and then driving cross country with a variety of temperatures and elevations with 5,000 lbs. on.

Technically, the tire data book would have you adjust your tire pressure with each load but that is not practical with nitrogen or plain old air.

I'm not taking anything away from people who find benefits in nigrogen-filled tires, but considering the above, it seems best to keep the $50 in my pocket. Given how I keep my tires inflated and how we drive, a 20 percent increase in tread wear from nitrogen use seems like a stretch. For someone who neglects his or her tires, it may be a valid figure.

 

[Turtle]

20% is typical, but of course anyone who is vigilant (anal) about their tire pressure probably won't see that much. Between 5% and 10% really isn't a stretch, though, as it'll stay closest to optimal in both the mountains and in LA, and everywhere in between up and down those mountains, where it isn't practical at all to change pressures.

But even if it's on the very low end of 5%, that can still add up over the life of a set of tires, both in tread wear and fuel economy. You won't get the same percent increase in fuel economy as the tread wear, of course, but it will improve.

People in passenger cars who drive locally or few miles really won't see any appreciable monetary savings. But high mileage fleet after fleet continue to see the benefits. Walmart, for example, didn't move their fleet to nitrogen because someone fell for any hype.

 

[Moot]

If I put nitrogen in my tires, how do I make the $50 back?

Post removed.

 

[zorry]

If you're airing up your tires between loads that should ne logged as "on duty- not driving."
Ask your safety dept.

 

[ATeam]

If you're airing up your tires between loads that should ne logged as "on duty- not driving."
Ask your safety dept.

No need to ask. I knew that, as any trucker could be reasonably expected to know.

Every day that I drive and some days that I don't, my log book shows on-duty time for truck inspections and maintenance when applicable. Airing up tires gets logged there. (It does not take long).

Mindful that Diane and I could be involved in a major accident some day, and that our activities may be investigated well after the fact, we log as we drive, and as we behave. When we are on duty for truck maintenance, we log it.

That said, it can be a really, really stupid rule.

There was a time when our truck and the Caffee's truck were parked side by side a day before the Expedite Expo. Bob and I were both cleaning and polishing our trucks for display. That is loggable truck maintenance time (on duty not driving). But if we switched places, and Bob shined up our truck, and I shined up theirs, it would not be loggable as on-duty time.

If I am out of service at home and do a generator oil change, it is loggable as on-duty time. If I do my neighbor a favor and do an oil change on his or her lawn mower, it is not loggable as on-duty time.

If I am standing next to the truck with the hood open and the owner's manual in hand as I troubleshoot something, it is loggable as on-duty time. If I am in the sleeper reading a computer guide to troubleshoot an issue I am having with my laptop, it is not loggable as on-duty time.

If I was sitting in the FedEx Custom Critical orientation room to complete HAZMAT training, it is loggable as on-duty time. If I was sitting in the lobby outside of that room waiting for someone to come out of the office to talk to me about a pay issue, that time is not loggable as on-duty time.

If I had gone 12 hours without sleep and was sitting in the sleeper watching a Redbox movie on my laptop, it is not loggable as on-duty time. If I had just woken up after a good night's sleep and sat in the cab to watch a training video on the MCP 200 Qualcomm unit, it is loggable as on-duty time.

If Diane and I are at home and I ask her to steady the ladder while I wax the high parts of our truck, it is for her loggable as on-duty time. If I ask her to steady the same ladder while I clean out the rain gutters on the house, it is not loggable as on-duty time.

If I stop in a winter storm in a chain-up area to chain up the truck, it is loggable as on-duty. If I take an extra half-hour to walk up to the next truck to show a rookie driver how to chain up his truck, or to chain up a truck for an elderly or handicaped driver, it is not loggable as on-duty time.

If I am at a tire shop, watching a worker pump nitrogen into my tires, that time is not loggable as on-duty time. But if I decide to multi-task at that moment and spend five minutes calling dispatch to confirm delivery and clarify delivery instructions, those five minutes become loggable as on-duty time.

And remember, campers, one of the advantages of the MCP-200 Qualcomm unit is that it makes minute-by-minute logging possible. I know that every driver who has one in his or her truck would log those five minutes on the phone as on-duty not driving because failure to do so would be to falsify a log book (electronic record), which is a felonly.

So too with assisting with a truck DOT inspection in a truck stop shop. The one minute you spend in the driver's seat to help the inspecting mechanic check your lights, wipers and horn, and to show him your fire extinguisher and triangles is one minute on-duty. Be sure to enter that one minute on duty in your MCP-200, folks. It's a felony if you don't.

Other than give a trial lawyer everything he or she needs to put you on the stand and prove to the jury that you are a log book liar, what do those rules accomplish really?

 

[pearlpro]

I think where Nitrogen really makes the difference is the gas mileage as you will save after preventing the tire pressures from fluctuating, everyone doesnt have a air hose to fill and regulate tires, some guys NEVER check tires other then a quick bumper...it keeps tire pressures constant, and it makes tires last longer. You may test your air pressure daily some folks again wont and a Owner can be more secure knowing hes using Nitrogen, again the constant tire pressure keeps rolling resistance to a minimum keeping fuel mileage higher and tire wear longer...

A-TEAM your the exception to the rule...and you know that there are lots of guys who get in these trucks turn the key and drive, they only deal with tires when one blows out, goes flat or is worn out...I think using Nitrogen can alleviate allot of that since its not subceptible to temperature changes while driving from Canada to Texas or Mountains to Deserts....This Summer has proven it to me in my car alone...

If I spent the money on tires that you do I would definelty use Nitrogen, but thats just me....I dont enjoy trying to use a gauge on all the tires and pushing on valve stems and caps and such, But I do check my tire pressure weekly.

 

[ATeam]

A-TEAM your the exception to the rule...and you know that there are lots of guys who get in these trucks turn the key and drive, they only deal with tires when one blows out, goes flat or is worn out...

Which is probably why some fleets find it wise to use nitrogen. Their drivers neglect tires and nitrogen partially compensates for that.

....I dont enjoy trying to use a gauge on all the tires and pushing on valve stems and caps and such, But I do check my tire pressure weekly.

That's probably the biggest reason I resist nitrogen. I actually enjoy airing up our tires. Don't ask me why. It's just one of those things. Maybe it goes back to my first bicycle when I felt like such the little man working on it and keeping it up.

Flow-through valve stem caps make it easier and faster to check and air up tires.

 

[scottm4211]

Phil, any truth to the rumor you have baseball cards clothespinned to your wheels?

 

[layoutshooter]

Phil, any truth to the rumor you have baseball cards clothespinned to your wheels?

Nope, I have seen his truck, it's a real one. Not a sprinter.

 

[Turtle]

I know there are people who do recreational oil changes, regardless of whether the oil needs to be changed, often every weekend, because they like the feel of getting down and dirty, the oil between their fingers, the process of changing the oil. That's pretty "out there". But recreational tire airing?

In your case, I really and truly and quite honestly can highly recommend against nitrogen for your truck. You will let out more nitrogen by checking the tire pressure too often than will ever leak out.

 

[scottm4211]

He'll get it.

 

[highway star]

Post removed.

Moot, removing that post has created a very poor ROI on my "like". This is a risk I was not made aware of when I invested my "like".

 

[ATeam]

Phil, any truth to the rumor you have baseball cards clothespinned to your wheels?

Wow, scottm4211, wow!

You just brought back a wonderful memory that I have not thought about in a very long time. Bless you, brother. You warmed my heart and brought a smile to my face.

We hope and dream and strive and work all our adult lives, but when it comes down to it, there are few moments in life greater than those spent as boys, riding bicycles with friends with baseball cards clothespinned to our wheels.

 

[LDB]

This may have been covered but I admit to not reading every word as it got rather involved. Your $50 is repaid in part by longevity. Air is damp and nitrogen is dry. Tires decay from the inside out due to the moisture in the air used for inflation. Nitrogen filled tires are said to give significantly longer life due to staying dry inside. Tire life can increase by 20-25%. It also prolongs the life of the wheels by keeping them drier as well.

 

[scottm4211]

Glad you saw the spirit in which it was posted :waves:

 

[layoutshooter]

Glad you saw the spirit in which it was posted :waves:

LOL!! Yep! ANYTHING less than 400HP NEEDS baseball cards to sound right!

 

[Mdbtyhtr]

Nitrogen can be bought at any bottled gas dealer. I have two bottles mounted in my race trailer as we use them to air up the tires on our stock car as well as run all air tools. We no longer even carry an air compressor in the trailer. The bottles have 3000 psi and we regulate it down to 120 psi and generally consume 3-4 bottles during an entire race season, cost is under $250.00 annually, including demurrage charges for the bottles. Nitrogen is a waste by product when generating oxygen and has no moisture content and in tires, that means minimal circumferential growth when hot. Pressure fluctuation cold to hot does occur, but is predictable.

Scott

 

[layoutshooter]

I tried it, not practical way for use in straight trucks that I could find.