Tire thumpers are an actual thing that truck drivers use to check tire pressure. Unlike cars, you can't just visually inspect tire pressure on empty trucks, bec

Tire thumpers are an actual thing that truck drivers use to check tire pressure. Unlike cars, you can't just visually inspect tire pressure on empty trucks, because dual-mounted tires with one tire completely deflated will still "look" normal. Checking with a small bat is something so routine, I would wager on you never finding a truck anywhere that doesn't have one readily accessible in the cab, and that tire thumpers are used to thump tires over thumping humans 10000000:1. Source: I paid for college as a class A truck driver, and I used one to check every single dual-mounted tire every single day.