Observed this weekend...18 wheeler operator using a metal rod, strolled around his rig... whacked each tire. No TPMS, no digitaltire pressure gauge. The man makes a living driving big rigs. Hmmm... haven't seen that technique used for a bit. Hands on data gathering. (when I was kid , they all did it). No real reason for this post other then for historical import...maybe "pitch" served as a predictor for impending failure ??? At any rate, kind of cool to see an old school approach. Chas

I guess I am still "old school". I thump the rear duels with a small ball-peen hammer and use the hand test for temperature difference for the tires.

Maybe it wasn't the drivers truck and the company didn't install a TPMS?I carry a Tire Billy. But, I don't hit the tires. :)

This started a LONG time ago, before things like digital tire gauges or even radial tires. A driver could tell within a few pounds if his tire pressure was good by the sound it made when thumped. A bad recap, incorrect pressure and so on. I remember seeing my dad do it on his bus every trip.

It looked to be a modern era big rig... maybe just good practiceroutine to have a walk around (like pilots)at every start and stop. Or maybe just habit , even though he had new era diagnostics on - board ?I "try" to do a complete walk around at every stop...focus on tires and "hook-up"... sometimes not successfully.Chas

> and no inferred thermometer...> and no weighing each axle and each wheel individually before each trip... I have long believed that we RV'ers tend to make RV'ing more complicated that it needs to be.

old school observation.... tire whacker | Good Sam Community

beemerphile1
Explorer
Oct 24, 2014
When I went to school learning to drive truck, the instructor warned us we would look like an idiot thumping a front tire. The technique is used on duals because you can't necessarily tell by looking if one is flat. You can sure tell by the difference in sound and feel when they are thumped.
westend
Explorer
Oct 24, 2014
cdlaine wrote:
These thoughts trigger my cerebral quantum leaps...

Not to get all misty eyed nostalgic... but couldn't help
recall, (in childhood), every gas station stop the hood was popped
and all fluid levels were checked...100% of the time."You can trust your
car to the Man who wears the Star...the big bright Texaco Star".

Can't even tell you the last time I've seen a hood popped at a gas
station fill-up ...self included. I'm lucky if I wash the windshield.
What happened ???

Yep..I'm lazy. Dad would be stunned if he took a road trip today.

Chas
Hey, I used to wear the Star.:) It was called TBA (Tires, Batteries, Accessories), Texaco had a whole program for it. I can't remember how many V-belts I changed but it was a lot!:B
Yes, there was a whole litany for just a few bucks of gas: oil, tires, windshield washed in a special way (I still clean my glass the Texaco way :B).

If nothing else, as other truckers have said, tire thumping gets you looking at the rig.
Tom_N
Explorer
Oct 24, 2014
I do this with a small, short baseball bat.
Tiger4x4RV
Nomad
Oct 24, 2014
Ah, the memories. When I bought my DRW RV in 1991, I thumped the tires every morning. Also checked oil every morning. Now, I rely on the computer to tell me most of the time.

Thumping is also used for choosing melons and is part of telling when homemade bread is done baking.
navegator
Explorer
Oct 24, 2014
Electronics are great as long as they work, the whacker works without a battery or gismos, like GPS that send drivers the wrong way, a map or a chart and a compass gives me the correct direction at a glance, the whacker tells me if I have a tire with a problem.

I carry a whacker and also have a lasser pointer thermometer to check on the temps on tires when we make a rest stop, any anomally I imediatlly take action, taking air presure and looking at what may be the problem.

navegator
therink
Explorer
Oct 24, 2014
That is standard protocol and I believe is required in NYS, particularly with the driver pre trip inspection on school buses.
Wrace
Explorer
Oct 24, 2014
downtheroad wrote:

I have long believed that we RV'ers tend to make RV'ing more complicated that it needs to be.

Yes indeed, we make it way more complicated than it needs to be.
navegator
Explorer
Oct 24, 2014
A note or advice for having a whacker with you.

Do not have the whaker or hammer in the cabin under the seat or near you, if a police officer sees it they are considered a concealed weapon and it will be taken as such.

Keep the whaker in a compartment that is not accesible from the cabin.

navegator
TechWriter
Explorer
Oct 24, 2014
cdlaine wrote:
Observed this weekend...18 wheeler operator using a metal rod
, strolled around his rig... whacked each tire. No TPMS, no digital
tire pressure gauge.

A similar technique was used here.
Wrace
Explorer
Oct 24, 2014
cdlaine wrote:

Yep..I'm lazy. Dad would be stunned if he took a road trip today.
Chas

Yep, I can hear my father now...

"You pay how much per year to have somebody else come out and fix your breakdown, change your tire, jump your battery, put gas in your tank, open your locked door, and sooth your hurt feelings!?!?"

"Get up off your rear-end and fix your own damn rig!"

:D