Tire Pressure (How often do you check - strategies to remember?)
 

So the other day I looked at my truck tires to see them looking low and I have not checked the pressure in quite some time. Seen as I needed to drive a distance 70 miles I figured better fill them up. To my surprise they were ridiculously low... 20 PSI in 3 tires and the 4th was down to 12psi. :eek: For the record my tires are 265/70/17 so they are bigger and less air means a smoother more comfy ride when smacking the minefield of potholes in my area.

Crazy how the weather really changes them should have realized after my last tank of fuel was total garbage I attributed it to me towing a car on the trailer but It was more than that. Can't wait to see the difference on this tank :)

Does everyone here check pressure once a week month or what? what is a good rule of thumb for keeping up with it. think I will set an alarm once a month on my phone to remind me.

MY last tank of gas was really really crappy, and then I checked my tire pressures today. They dropped from 44psi to 30psi all around, in a month...

Depends. I haven't driven any of my motorized vehicles in about 2 months so they don't get checked. However it seems bicycles need it weekly.

NHRABill -

I am notoriously bad about this and have discovered really low pressures at times. It's almost never even, it's usually all over the place. I *should* check them once a week at home. I got a heavy-duty bicycle pump to do this last month.

CarloSW2

My wifes Cadillac has the TPMS monitors that warn you when pressure drops which is a nice feature it even e mails you if it is too far out of whack :) It is also nice to click a few buttons upon nitial startup to see all thepressures compared to getting down at each rim. They do make a set of valve stems that have a built in gauge i remember seeing.

What got me to thinking was how far off my tres were dissapointed that my mileage was so far off last tank mostly because of my negligence :(

I just checked mine and they are all at max sidewall.

I don't use a tire gauge and check the exact pressure too often, but I do thump the tires almost every day, guess it's just habit from being a bus driver. I keep a small air compressor that plugs into the cigarette lighter in the car so I can easily keep the tire topped up.

When the seasons change I try to check them more often. The change in air temp causes changes in tire pressure - especially important in fall when the temp drops. 20-30 degrees of temperature drop plus a very slow leak can mean pressure much lower than what you wanted.

I try to get a look at them every day, and I admit to putting the gauge on them only every 2-4 weeks.

I found one tire low (20 psi) on my old Volvo this week; I tracked it down to a cracked valve stem. First time I've ever seen that happen. Bought those stems at a big box parts store - should have just let the installer put in regular ones.

I like to check my tires every couple of weeks. If the ride feels softer or a tire looks like it just came from a tire shop (underinflated) I check em too. I get lots of weird looks at work every time I say a tire is underinflated....I hate having to set them at the sticker pressure all the time. I like doing the semi tires where I can set them to 100-120 PSI:thumbup:

I keep my tires at 50 PSI MINIMUM

Temps change - Check tire pressures more ofter
 

I usually check my tire pressures every couple of weeks but when the weather turns cold or goes back warm I know I will need to adjust the pressures to max even if there's no leak.