Portable Air Compressor

[grill-n-go]

The black/yellow 18V NiCad batteries are "okay" to bring truck and TM tire pressure up to snuff, say 5-10 Lbs, without having to recharge. The newer ($$$) Lithium Ion battery got me through all of the above, plus raising/lowering the TM stabilizers, and adding about 30 Lbs to a very low spare when I got a blowout. I do have a small 120 watt DC/AC inverter which I plug the battery charger to inside my truck to ensure at least one battery is always fully charged. The charger only uses about 80 watts and the Lithium Ion battery takes about an hour to recharge.

A compressor with tank is a little big. I'm running out of room. I fill up two trucks with the stuff that will not fit in the TM, plus an ATV trailer.

I had not thought about a 110 volt comp[ressor. I have a Honda 2000 that I almost always have with me, even if I think I won't need it fo the weekend. Mainly so I can run the Margarita machine.

I stil need a very small 12 volt compressor, like the Slime, to stay in the ATV off road. An ATV tire only needs 7 psi. It is my truck that I am more worried about. I haven't been to the sand, yet. Just planning ahead.

Too bad TM does not build a Toy Hauler.

[Wavery]

I've got a 110V compressor without a tank. It may do what you want. You can have it if you pay the freight to send it to you. It's not a big compressor but it probably puts out about 5X what one of those mini-compressors puts out.

I used to spend a lot of time off-road (1968-1980). Dune-buggying and off-road racing. We went to Pismo Beach a few times a year and camped on the beach. I would let the air out of my truck tires, down to 10#. It was a '75, 1-ton dually with a 12' camper on the back, towing a double dune-buggy trailer.

My trailer had a full work-shop with welding equip, air compressor and generator. Pumping up my tires was not a big issue.

[ShrimpBurrito]

Here are some more options....appear to be more hefty than your typical 12v job. They are sold by an offroading outfit, so perhaps Lars could comment on their reputation/capability.

http://www.4wheelparts.com/Towing-To...4644&t_pl=5822

Dave

[Speckul8r]

For just the "going Home" tire inflation routine, I use a $30 portable air tank. Inflate the tire at home b4 the trip to the rated (50# for mine) level from the big garage compressor. Fill the portable tank to 100psi. Go, camp for the weekend and on the depart for home morning, check the tire pressure and reinflate from the tank if necessary. If we're on the road and camp in several spots, I have refilled the tank at local air stations. Look for ones that do not have the "quarter for a whiff of air " thingies. Needless to say, I've also crawled under the trailer at home to check the spare.
Sometimes, when we camp at a higher altitude or the weather has turned warmer, I have found the tires at the morning air check to be higher, 2 psi ish, than the 50# rating. I have not been defalting the tires. Should I?????

[Bill]

Wayne, you've got a little different problem from most of us.

For home use - in other words, shore power available - I bought a Husky Easy-Air from Home Depot for about $100 including some accessories. It is a pretty nice unit, not too heavy (24 pounds), has a 1.75-gallon tank, and is fairly compact. It airs up my TM and TV tires quite adequately.
http://www.beletti.com/ram/aircompressor.htm
I can't find it on the Home Depot site at the moment, but there is something similar called the Air Scout.

Since you have the ability to carry something of this size, and the need for it, and a generator, I think this kind of thing might be a good solution. I can't imagine any 12-volt unit or cordless unit doing what you want.

Actually, I ended up buying four of these things - one for my stays at each end of the country, and one for each of my kids and their families - who, of course, wonder if Dad is crazy, why would we ever need a compressor?

Bill

Dave's links are pretty good. I can't ID the top one but it looks like a ViAir which is a good brand. The bottom is often sold in autoparts stores like Kragen/Checker. I have a handfull of friends with those red ones and they are pretty good.

There are basically two types of compressors. Those designed to air up a low tire and those that are designed to air up lots of low tires. The little cheapies have a very low duty cycle and will over heat after ten minutes or so. They are also too slow. The easy way to tell. If it provides a CFM rating it's decent. Otherwise it is for very occasional use.

I think everyone should have at least some sort of compressor, even if it is a cheapie. BTW the Truck Air is the best of the cheapies. The Red one in Dave's link is first more serious one.

Shop at any 4x4 parts site. 4Wheelers are endlessly rotating the air in the tires and shops cater to them.

I have a 3/4hp permanent mount compressor that runs on an 80A breaker. It is 100% duty cycle. It's plumbed with an unloader valve and dryer along with two gallons of air storage. That allows me to inflate a 33" tire from 15psi to 35psi in under two minutes which is faster than airing it down. The stems are small on a wheel. The compressor also operates my air bag suspension and two locking differentials. I have remounted tires that have come off the bead including backhoe tires. More compressor than anyone really needs here to just make sure they have enough air in a tire.

I too like the idea of a small portable compressor for camping, but wanted to advise what I've used up until now.
I have always had a shop compressor so I took an old freon tank and adapted a few fittings on it and made it a portable air tank. You can also buy tanks that do pretty much the same thing. My freon tank holds enough air to either mostly fill a very low tire, or top off all four with a little air.
We came up with this idea back in our boating days, but those trip were usually within an hour from the house.
It's not a compressor, but it's worked for me over the years.

[Wavery]

I know that this is an old thread but I thought that I would revisit it.

I found a really good 12V compressor that really puts out a good amount of air. It's a 30A motor so it doesn't plug in the cigarette lighter socket. It clamps directly to the battery (TV or Trailer). My wife got it for me for Christmas. She researched all the off-road forums......

One of my camping buddies got a nail in his tire last weekend. It took the tire from dead flat to 35# in about 2 minutes. I was really impressed. I think that you could even run some small air tools if you added a tank. It's rated at 150PSI but it does not have a regulator.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ss_T15_product

For the price, I think it's the best thing out there. Read the reviews. The compressor works well as-is but there are some mods that some have done that make it even better.

That is the compressor that I have been looking at. It is very frequently mentioned at RV.net forums.

I need two 12 volt compressors. I already have a very tiny one that I can keep in the ATV, which only needs 7 psi and it can handle the motorcycles that need about 20 psi.

I want one for the 75 psi I use in the trucks, and the 50 in the TM.

I may order it tonight. Thanks for reminding me about it.