I'm in the market for a 12v air compressor I can keep in the truck. this appears to be the top seller on Amazon but I'm not sure I trust the digital gauge in this application
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01L9WSTEG..._hb6BDb3ZJFZ0C
I just need/want to be able to inflate truck tires, kids' bike tires, pool floats, etc. I'm not looking to run tools off of the thing.
Anyone have one they like? Is there a "best" in the offroading or overlanding world that I should be considering?
Last edited by rob_s; 09-04-2019 at 06:34 AM.
I'm gonna geek out and say that getting one like this would be worth the extra cash.
#RESIST
That one specifically says no truck tires. Nothing over 70psi. I don't think that's the one you want.Originally Posted by rob_s
"Specialization is for insects." -Robert A. Heinlein
bike tires can easily run up to 100psi sometimes, so you'll want something that can do that kind of pressure.
of course the problem with that is they're slow as hell to fill big things like car/truck tires.
honestly, I just keep a cheap one in the trunk, and plan on replacing it every year or 3 of usage, as they all burn out eventually.
Looking at these now too.
https://www.viaircorp.com/portables
Looks like in order to get pressure up to do truck tires you gotta go from the cigarette-lighter plug to battery clamps.
That particular brand also doesn’t seem to have an auto shutoff feature which is nice to have.
The VIAIR ones are the supposed to be the real deal and some are designed to be installed/hard-wired into vehicles like RVs.
I almost went that route for my F-150 and Travel Trailer, but I also wanted 110v.
I ended up with this from Lowes:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-12-V...Car/1000092575
Figure there is always a Lowes nearby if it fails. It would take forever to air up a flat truck tire due to volume. If that is your mission then a VIAIR is probably what you need.
I'll second the Viair 87P. I have them in the cars and they've only been used a dozen times in the 6-7 years, but they've worked every time.
I'd be careful with it for bike tires, I aired up one the kids bikes with it, and it went from 30-60psi in about the time time than it took for you read this sentence. 26” Mountain bike tire would be fine, little tires not so much.
I'd avoid anything that plugs into a cigarette lighter. Seems to be a common point of failure on high draw devices.
Last edited by txdpd; 09-04-2019 at 11:49 AM.
Whether you think you can or you can't, you're probably right.
Expedition Portal is the place to look, if you want to find a lot of info. Airing up tires after airing down for trails and fixing flats, is what they are doing. This is including 32”+ off-road tires up to 60-65 PSI.
There are many that are satisfied running the Viair compressors. I’d just get one that seems a bit more than you need, and getting one that connects to the battery will perform better than one that connects to a 12 volt outlet.
I consider the ARB compressors to be at the front of the class of 12 volt compressors. The ARB dual 12 volt with a tank is I what I consider the best. I personally have everything in this kit, https://www.amazon.com/ARB-10000011-...motive&sr=1-28, and it has never let me down.
I bought one of these to fill the air tank I use to drive my turning targets. The first one was DOA, the replacement has run well.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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If you're going to pump up truck tires, I'd recommend the ones that connect directly to the battery (not the cigarette lighter). I usually wouldn't recommend Harbor Freight but I've had good luck with this one: https://www.harborfreight.com/12Volt...sor-63184.html
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