Employee Fills Boss’s Jeep Tires to 97 PSI, Reports ‘It Doesn’t Go Up to 100 Percent’
The employee who filled the tires thought they had to go to 100 percent.
Tire pressures are measured in pounds per square inch, not percentages. That's a lesson one employee of a demolition company in Iowa learned the hard way.
If you haven't seen the viral Reddit post, it's certainly something and the full story is here. On a chilly day last year with tire pressures getting low due to the ambient temperature, Robert, who owns the aforementioned midwestern demolition company, told The Drive he instructed one of his workers to pump up the tires in a 2016 Jeep Cherokee used by the business. Robert speculated that since the employee's family is not native to the car-crazed United States, he wasn't as familiar with the right figure. He must've thought "filled" meant "100% full."
"He calls me, and he’s like, 'Hey boss, just taking care of fixing the pressure for you. I don’t know what’s going on, but it doesn’t go up to 100%.'"
“I’m like, what are you talking about? Show me a picture,” he said.
“I call him and I’m like dude, get the fuck away from the car right now, man," Robert said. For reference, normal tire pressure is typically between 25 and 50 PSI. Overinflated tires can explode, sometimes with lethal consequences. The employee also said he had driven the SUV for roughly a mile before the call. That was probably a very bumpy ride with tires that were almost definitely rock-solid. And a very dangerous one at that.
With the tires now inflated well past the point of safe operation, Robert now had to deflate them. He said he approached the Jeep with extreme caution: Army crawling on his belly. “I’m (approaching) with a night-vision helmet and a bulletproof vest in case this thing freaking blows up on me," he recalled.
Robert said the Jeep looked like it was riding on four balloons. "I’m just trying to get this thing to not blow up. I’m surprised it didn’t. It would’ve been hilarious if the thing blew up and lifted the Jeep into the air." It may seem strange he would find this funny, but Robert, who told us he enjoys the occasional outing with a firearm, reacted positively to the idea of simply shooting the tires. "Yeah, that would've been hilarious."
When he finally managed to reach the SUV to deflate the tires, he said the gust from the valve was immense: "It was insane, the pressure. I can’t even explain to you. It just shot out so much air." Despite the danger, all four Michelins were deflated without incident.
The Jeep is still operating for Robert’s company, although the employee isn’t any longer. Despite the initial scare, Robert said he’s happy to tell the story.
"It’s just hilarious as hell. I’m all about making people laugh about stuff. I had a bunch of people message me like, ‘hey, you made me laugh, that was really funny.’” Robert said. “To me, that’s what I like to hear, if I can make someone’s day, even with a small thing like this."
Email the author at peter@thedrive.com
