Air compressor for HD trucks

jonathon

Active member
Spent quite a bit of time on the beach this weekend and aired down my tires accordingly. With stock 275/75R18 tires aired down to 25 all around I had an excellent contact patch and no problem with traction. Was pretty impressed, but it was my first time airing down my Ram 2500. My trusty Viair 88P took about 40 minutes to air the tires back up to 60f/65r, but it did so without skipping a beat. No big deal to air up 31s from 20 to 35 PSI, but I think it’s time to upgrade as these 275/75R18 tires really taxed it.

The ARB twin looks impressive airing up a 37” tire from whatever low pressure to 35 PSI on a Jeep, but how does it do filling E and F rated truck tires? I was casually looking at the Viair models and it doesn’t seem like they offer anything that is as quick, or am I missing something?
 

RoyJ

Adventurer
A friend's 88P eventually wore out airing up E-rated tires.

I use a Puma, not the fastest, but absolutely 100% duty cycle. About 15 min airing 265/75/16 tires from 28 to 80 psi. So probably similar times airing your tires to 65psi. Also have a Viair 440p, a bit quicker than the Puma, but with 33% duty cycle, I'm a bit worried about longevity @ 80psi.

No experience with an ARB twin, but I bought a pair of Viair 480 (crazy sale, half price of an ARB for 2 compressors). They're 100% duty cycle @ 100 psi, and 50% @ 200 psi. Should easily do 80 psi all day long.
 

Buddha.

Finally in expo white.
Spent quite a bit of time on the beach this weekend and aired down my tires accordingly. With stock 275/75R18 tires aired down to 25 all around I had an excellent contact patch and no problem with traction. Was pretty impressed, but it was my first time airing down my Ram 2500. My trusty Viair 88P took about 40 minutes to air the tires back up to 60f/65r, but it did so without skipping a beat. No big deal to air up 31s from 20 to 35 PSI, but I think it’s time to upgrade as these 275/75R18 tires really taxed it.

The ARB twin looks impressive airing up a 37” tire from whatever low pressure to 35 PSI on a Jeep, but how does it do filling E and F rated truck tires? I was casually looking at the Viair models and it doesn’t seem like they offer anything that is as quick, or am I missing something?
I had the same experience with my viair going from ~50 psi(non loaded) to 80psi(loaded), stock size 20’s. Looking at the specs you’d think it be fine but real life experience says otherwise.
 
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verdesard0g

Search and Rescue first responder
I have a vair 200 psi compresor mounted on the frame rail with a 120psi switch. @that pressure it's 100%duty cycle and airs up my 315-70-17 tires fine. From about 25 to 35psi. Big tires, no load only needs 30-35 psi on the road. I run 50-65 when towing though.
 

CampStewart

Observer
A big air tank can help make up for a small compressor. What kind of room do you have under the truck for an air tank? There are many different sizes available if you do some searching. Speedway Motors has a good selection
 

Mlachica

TheRAMadaINN on Instagram
I had a 2017 ram crew cab short bed diesel, flatbed and pop up camper. We were regularly hovering around 12k pounds on 37" tires. I regularly aired down and up with my arb twin air. I also used it to air up our paddle boards. I loved my air system so much that I'm currently replicating it in my 2020 crew cab long bed diesel (we sold the 2017 in october of last year to build this one). I don't post much on the forums any more but if you want to see the build, we're on instagram, check it out if you'd like. @theRAMadaINN
 

Mlachica

TheRAMadaINN on Instagram
A big air tank can help make up for a small compressor. What kind of room do you have under the truck for an air tank? There are many different sizes available if you do some searching. Speedway Motors has a good selection

if the air tank is full prior to filling first tire, it helps. Once the tank is equalized with the tire, it will slow the air up process as you're now filling the tire and the tank.
 

jonathon

Active member
Thanks all for the input. The Puma PD1006 looks awesome, especially at half the cost of the ARB. It’s a little large, but I definitely have space to spare with the long bed.
 
I have an ExtremeAir Magnum, their largest. It can really do the job when you have 275/85-18s on an F350, running 80 psi. Not cheap though...
 

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