Used to let my Jeep air down by eye for trail pressure but now I actually use a gauge

For like 3 years I'd just pull the valve stem and guess when it looked flat enough for the rocks. Worked fine on easy stuff but then I got stuck twice in Moab last fall because my front tires had way different pressure than the rears. Buddy handed me a $15 digital gauge and now I just set 15 PSI all around before hitting the trail. Makes a huge difference in traction. Anyone else just wing it with tire pressure before or am I the only lazy one?

3 comments

3 Comments

paige_ellis591d ago

Dude, winging it by eye is the off-road equivalent of checking your oil by how it looks on the dipstick without wiping it first. Worked great until it didn't and you're staring at a rock garden wondering why you're suddenly 4x4ing with three bald tires and one overinflated spare. Nothing sharpens the mind like staring at a stuck Jeep in Moab because you couldn't spend 12 bucks on a gauge. Glad you saw the light before you had to hike out for a tow truck.

charles6781d ago

Right? "Three bald tires and one overinflated spare" is exactly the kind of math I did in Moab once too, @paige_ellis59.

diana_king1d ago

Wait, are you saying you've never had to do that trick with the spare to get off a trail? I get what you're saying about proper gear, but sometimes you're out there and stuff happens. I've seen guys with a full gauge set and a pressure monitor system still end up stuck because they didn't know how to read their own tires in sand vs rock. A gauge is just a tool, you still need to know what the trail is telling you. I'd rather have a guy who can read his tires by sight and has a cheap gauge than someone with all the gear and no clue. But yeah, getting stranded in Moab would definitely change your mind fast.