Sometimes a low-tech solution is more than enough to get the job done. A great example of this is something truck drivers do called “tire thumping.” It’s exactly what you think it is. Truck drivers use a wooden stick, hammer, rod or bat to thump their tires before they hit the road. While it might seem like a silly exercise, it’s actually incredibly important to their safety and the safety of drivers around them.
I’m sure you’ve seen a trucker whacking all 18 wheels of their big rig at a truck stop before and wondered what the hell they were up to. Well, wonder no more — it’s a simple, low-tech way to check a tire’s air pressure. Checking tire pressure on a huge truck isn’t always easy to do since they can look inflated when their air is low, but just through thumping they’re able to tell how inflated their wheels are. Online trucker forums (a slightly scary place) say that if you know what you’re doing, you can usually tell how inflated a truck’s tire is within 5 psi. That’s mighty impressive and far easier than going to each wheel with a tire pressure monitor and measuring. It’s also much more reliable than the on-board tire pressure monitors some trucks have.
Truckers want to make sure their tire pressures are correct for the same reasons everyday drivers do. If pressure is low it can lead to a blowout at worst, and at best it’ll hurt their fuel economy.
What to look for when tire thumping
If you want to try some thumping yourself — which I’m sure any trucker would love — this is how you do it. First, you can head over to Amazon for designated tire-thumping sticks (though, as I said, a simple hammer will do). Next, you’ve got to find yourself a truck. Simple enough, right?
Now that you’re at the side of your newly found truck, firmly strike the tire on either the tread or sidewall. As you do that, pay attention to whether the thumper bounces back quickly. If it does, the pressure should be just fine inside the tire. If it doesn’t, air pressure might be low and you should fill it up for the truck driver you’ve befriended.
There are also auditory cues you should listen for — other than the trucker asking what the hell you’re doing. Listen to the sound the tire makes when you whack it. Specifically, you want to make sure the tires all make the same noises when you strike them. If one sounds different, you’re going to want to check it out before you hit the road (to the hospital, because the trucker has beaten you up).
