Tire Pressure and tips for proper tire maintenance

Seriously ?!

 

Just inflate it with strawberry or grape flavored air and you should be good .
...they should explain it to you basics at CDL school ... unless its chicongo driver conveyor

 

What would suggest, thumb the tires anytime you stop for anything. Carry a tire gauge if you have doubts if a tire is low. Usually when you thumb them, you’ll be to tell if one is a little low. When the tire is hot, it will read a little higher in air pressure, so just make sure you keep both tires on the same side the same pressure. If one reads 120 when hot and other is 90, get the low one to 120 even if the casing says 110 for an example. Most tires read a little higher when hot then cold.

 

1. Tires don’t usually blow out parked. Usually it is a slow leak. When loaded, you can spot a low tire, as it will be squatted down lower than its mate.
2. If a tire is low on air, the tire will eventually get hot, quicker if loaded, and could blowout as a result.
Most blowouts are due to recaps coming off, even if kept at correct pressure, so they are not allowed on the steer tire. A steer tire flat is pretty rare, but check them for sidewall bulges, and the tread for wear.
I carried a non-contact thermometer and would check tire temps when I stopped and was loaded. My drive tires on the right side always ran 10° -15° hotter than the others…air pressure was right on. Turns out the drives needed an alignment.
3, Tire thumping is not an accurate way to detect low air pressure. I never did it.
4. Always inspect your tires when you are loaded, if there is a low pressure tire, you should be able to see it.
The shop guys are likely going to be checking air pressure, so ask them how often they do that. My boss never expected me to check air pressure, unless I saw a problem, and at that point I would be heading to the shop anyway. I carried a gauge, but never used it.
5. See comments.
6. One night I had a tire that was low and I needed to put air in…every place I stopped at, after midnight, was closed. So I had to pull into a tire shop and camp out until the next morning when they opened. If you need air, and can find some, go ahead and do it.
7. Same pressure year round.
8. Yes.

 

You should try number “3”…… how would know you if you’d never tried it ? Been doing it for 42 years and never has failed me.

 

I agree. Thumping is not going to give you the actual air pressure and sure they might not all be at the "same" air pressure, but thumping is pretty accurate. If you use the same tool to thump with you will be able to tell by the sound and the bounce back. Dave, you had me going for a minute when you said "thumb a tire" lol