Tyre pressure is the cheapest thing you can get right on a 4WD, and the easiest to get wrong if the gauge on the servo hose is all you have. A gauge of your own takes the guessing out of it. The Dune 4WD Tyre Pressure Gauge is the old-school kind: a needle on a dial, with nothing to charge. I paid $20 for it, and we’ve used it on trips north of Sydney, to the Hunter Valley and further up to Seal Rocks for beach driving.
Featured inBest Tyre Deflators of 2026
What You’re Getting
An analog pressure gauge with a round dial in a red rubber surround, a brass body, a red braided hose and a chrome chuck that goes on the tyre valve. On the brass body is a small release button. There are no batteries and no settings.
The good
- Big, clear analog dial
- No batteries needed
- Holds the reading until you release
- Release valve lets air out
- Flexible hose reaches the valve
- Rubber surround protects the dial
The not-so-good
- Tops out at 60 PSI
- Bulkier than a digital gauge
- A drop can affect its accuracy
Quick Specs
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| Brand | Dune 4WD |
| Weight | 215 g |
| Type | Analog dial gauge |
| Range | 0 to 60 PSI (0 to 5 bar) |
| Operating temperature | -20 to 60 °C |
| Power | None needed |
| Extras | Release valveFlexible hose |
Taking a reading
Unscrew the valve cap, press the chuck onto the valve and the needle swings round to the pressure. The hose is the useful part here. With a gauge that sits directly on the valve, you end up crouching and twisting to read it. With the hose, the chuck stays on the valve and the dial sits in your hand, facing you.
The dial is big and easy to read, with a mark for every PSI and numbers every ten. On our Prado’s tyre the needle settled a little under 40 PSI.
The gauge holds its reading. Take it off the tyre and the needle stays where it was, so you can stand up and look at it properly. A press on the release button sends it back to zero for the next wheel.
Letting air out
That release button has a second job. With the chuck still on the valve, pressing it lets air out of the tyre, and you watch the needle drop as it goes. That makes the gauge handy for taking a few PSI out for a gravel road, or for getting four tyres to exactly the same pressure.
Beach driving is where a gauge like this earns its keep, as on our trips up to Seal Rocks: you need to know what the tyres are at before you go onto the sand and again before you’re back on the bitumen. For airing all four tyres right down, though, it’s slow going one press at a time. That’s a job for a set of deflators: see our guide to the best tyre deflators. To work out what pressure to aim for, see how to determine PSI for your 4WD tyres.
Keep in mind that a gauge only checks pressure and lets air out. To get the air back in before the bitumen, you still need a compressor: see our guide to the best tyre inflators.
Range, size and build
The dial reads from 0 to 60 PSI. That covers normal 4WD and car tyre pressures, both on the road and aired down. It’s not enough for tyres that run higher than 60 PSI, as some light truck and caravan tyres do.
The gauge weighs 215 g on our scale, and with the hose it’s a fair bit bulkier than a pocket digital gauge like the AstroAI digital tyre pressure gauge. It’s one for the door pocket or the recovery bag, not the glovebox tray. The red rubber around the dial takes the knocks. Even so, the pack warns that a drop or a shock can damage the accuracy of an analog gauge, so it’s worth treating it with some care.
Conclusion: Dune 4WD Tyre Pressure Gauge
The Dune 4WD Tyre Pressure Gauge is a simple analog gauge with a big 0 to 60 PSI dial, a flexible hose and a release valve for letting air out. It needs no batteries and holds its reading until you release it. It tops out at 60 PSI, it’s bulkier than a digital gauge at 215 g, and it doesn’t like being dropped. For $20, it’s a dependable gauge to keep in a 4WD.
An analog 0 to 60 PSI gauge with a big dial, a flexible hose and a release valve for letting air out.
No batteries. 215 g, and it doesn’t like being dropped. $20.
- 4WD tourers
- Caravanners
- Car campers
Yes. I paid $20 for a gauge with nothing to charge and nothing to go flat, which is what you want in a tool that lives in the car.
