The ONLY way to properly and accurately determine the amount of air in a truck tire is to use a tire gauge on a regular basis. To do otherwise, such as thumping a tire, is to kid yourself. If you believe you can determine the amount of air in your tire by thumping, you might as well thump the hood of your truck to determine how much oil you have in your engine.

But, and this is a BIG but, tire gauges take a lot of care. An expert engineer from one of the largest new tire manufacturers in the world had this to say recently.

I HAVE DONE A LOT OF WORK WITH TIRE GAUGES. MY CONCLUSION ARE:

1. A NEW TRUCK TIRE STICK GAUGE RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX IS ACCURATE TO PLUS OR MINUS 3 PSI, AND ONCE YOU DROP IT A FEW TIMES ON CONCRETE, IT GETS WORSE, DEPENDING ON HOW THE STICK HITS THE FLOOR.

2. IN MY OPINION THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE MANUFACTURERS OF TRUCK TIRE GAUGES.

3. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR A FLEET OR AN OWNER/OPERATOR TO CALIBRATE THESE STICK GAUGES USING A MASTER GAUGE ON A REGULAR BASIS. GAUGES CAN GO BAD ANY TIME, AND OF COURSE, IT IS IMPORTANT TO CHECK A RANGE OF PRESSURES WHEN YOU CALIBRATE, i.e., 50 PSI, 75 PSI, 100 PSI, 120 PSI.

Tires represent one of the highest costs of running a truck, second only to fuel. Truck tires properly maintained and not run underinflated will be much more retreadable, and retreading is an excellent way to cut your tire costs by 50% or more.

The Tire Retread Information Bureau urges all truckers to have their gauges calibrated regularly. This can often be done by a reputable tire dealer or retreader, or at a large truck stop. This service is usually offered at no cost and it only takes a few minutes. The time it takes is well worth the effort and can pay off by helping to make tires safer and by extending their life.

Properly maintained tires that are driven with the correct amount of air for the load will last longer, cause fewer tire related problems, be more retreadable and will increase your fuel mileage. For more information, visit the TRIB web site, www.retread.org, or call our toll free number 888-473-8732 from anywhere in North America.