A Tire Knocker

Time and place for both. Knocker for everytime you check truck, gauge on a regular basis, I use it every week.

 

if the tire sound low ill use the gauge and air it up.

 

I use a gauge once a week. Thump them every day.

 

The "knocker bats" you see for sale in the truck stops suck for knocking tires to determine if they are sufficiently aired. Use a medium or larger size ball peen hammer or other hammer face. It's somewhat of a learned technique. If 15 tires are at 100 and 1 is at 90, I'll know which one is low by "bumping the tires". When it's real cold and the tires are cold, this becomes a little more difficult to pull off by bumping them.

I will gauge the steers about every other day or if one doesn't "look right", and gauge the rest about once every 5-6 days or so.

I laughed so hard the other day ... I watched a gentleman go around his truck and "bump" the tires with a light kick with the toe of his boot, and darned if he didn't bump the steers too

I guess you had to have been there.

 

A knocker doesn't really tell you any more that you can get with a visual or thumping it with your hand ... but a knocker is the trucker thing to do. No harm in it. Besides there's other reasons to keep a knocker on your truck ... I prefer a more multipurpose tool.

 

A tire can be 20+ psi low and not show anything by thumping it. Always gaudge or use a tpms.

 

Was going to reply. But you said it for me. Well done.

 

Not common at all, but you can easily install on your truck without anyone saying anything. If you swap trailers its a little harder, but having it on the truck is better then nothing, just take the tpms caps off when going in for service.

A kit cost around 300 bucks for 6 tires and a few bucks more for 10. It can easiy be wired to cigerette lighter for easy removal. You may say, its not my truck, so why do I care...but, if you prevent a tire blow out with it, you save time and make more money.