John Morrow, owner of Pleasant Trucking in Connellsville, PA, experienced firsthand how the Truck-Lite Co. Road Ready trailer telematics system is able to communicate data from his trailers' STEMCO devices by way of the SmartBridge Integrator (SBI). When one of his trailers experienced a punctured tire and the STEMCO inflation system kicked on, Morrow says he was notified right away.
"I knew about it as soon as it happened," he said. "I got a notification on my cell phone."
Launched at the TMC annual meeting in March 2018, the SBI uses proprietary technology to integrate existing trailer devices into the Road Ready platform. Several trailer systems manufacturers have signed on as technical partners, including Continental (tire pressure monitoring), Purkeys (lift gate charging), P.S.I., Hendrickson and STEMCO (inflation systems). Any fleet currently using these systems can "seamlessly incorporate and benefit" from Road Ready.
The SBI bridges OE trailer products and systems with Road Ready by broadcasting data to the cloud for review on Road Ready's website, or even a fleet's own existing dispatching software through the use of an API.
"What's different about Road Ready is that we can tie different components on the trailer into the SBI," Morrow said. "It's more than just location. I can monitor tire pressure, what tires are taking air and how many miles I'm putting on the trailer."
With Road Ready's SBI, data from a network of OE trailer products manufacturers is communicated straight to dispatch offices, allowing fleets to make proactive and strategic decisions and avoid costly downtime and CSA violations, the company says.
"With my previous [telematics] system, I would know that one of my tires or axles was taking air, but I'd have no clue which one," Morrow said. "With Road Ready, I can integrate it with other STEMCO products that I use so I can tell which axle is taking air, which tire is taking air and what the pressure is in each tire."
Truck-Lite's Road Ready system is a solar-powered, wireless, multi-functional trailer monitoring solution that integrates existing trailer systems and is customizable for fleet requirements.
