Tire Air Compressor?????

BigJimCruising

Adventurer
I've used a Viar 195psi 100% duty compressor with 2 2.5 gallon tanks and couldn't be happier! Over 10 years and not a single problem with the setup. That's thousands of off road miles in South Western USA and it just keeps on pumping!! I recommend the tanks after having to air up in 100 degree plus temps in the summer!

Nothing worse then standing around trying to pump up 35 inch tires in that kind of heat. If I had to do it again the only thing I would change is maybe a larger tank, by the time I've gotten to the 4th tire I'm getting to the end of the tanks and it slows down a bit.

Can't recommend Viar highly enough!! I've seen friends buy the cheap stuff only to have it fail after a few uses. Spend the money now so you don't throw away those hard earned dollars!
 

Mgyver1

Observer
Just to offer one more option for tire pumps. Some maybe extreme but they offer a good range of quality pumps.
http://www.extremeoutback.com/products/2/Air+Compressors.html

If you’re going to go big, why not go all the way? ;)

http://aircompressors.oasismfg.com/...000-continuous-duty-air-compressors/item-1052

Back to the ExtremeAire. Their shape/case looks very similar to the Puma which looks similar to the MaxAir featured in this article:

http://www.trucktrend.com/how-to/parts-accessories/0703-8l-air-compressor-basics/

IDK if the Puma is a knockoff of the ExtremeAire or if it’s just a lower priced version of the same thing from the same factory. The Puma is slightly cheaper and my friend’s has been running for many years.
 

GB_Willys_2014

Well-known member
First post here. I know you guys can help. I have a 2017 Ram Promaster 2500 currently with the stock highway tires, Nexen LT225/75R16. I will be replacing these soon, maybe with some BF Goodrich All Terrain. The van specifies 65psi front and 80psi rear.

I go to Baja each winter and many times, I want to take a somewhat sandy dirt road. Or, take a washboard, hard packed road. I NEED to air these tires down to something livable. Washboards beat us to death at that pressure. I can get stuck in a couple inches of sand at that pressure. So - I'm in search of a portable compressor. There is no room under the hood. I can't reach the van battery without unscrewing the floor cover. There are jumping studs under the hood. I do have a house battery charged via solar or the isolator. 105Ah AGm. FYI - this is a FWD van, not 4WD.

Please give me your recommendations for a portable compressor that maybe will attach to the studs under the hood?. Many of you talk about 33" tires and I'm not sure how those relate to my size. I figure if I could reduce the pressure to something like 30psi, drive the road, camp, etc. , life would be good. Then, return to the pavement and air back up to 65/80 and continue the journey. Thanks!

I recently drank from the CO2 / Powertank KoolAid Pitcher, Oh Yeah!, and am now a convert.

Maybe, think about a CO2 system. Not having to spend 15-20 minutes airing up after a long hot day ... priceless.

Another KoolAid err PowerTank convert:

https://www.notarubicon.com/arb-air-compressor-vs-powertank-co2-system/

Otherwise, I have abused my Viair 300p (probably too small for your needs anyhow), for sometime without issue.
 

DzlToy

Explorer
Don't mess with compressors unless you are going to get a really mean one, something like an engine driven York 210 would be my choice. You can buy compressors, tanks and parts to complete the installation from Trail Head, Kilby, Oasis, ARB, Puma or any number of other manufacturers and one of two things will happen:

1) You will have a lot of money tied up in something that is "decent" - flow a few CFM at 90 psi, so it takes 15 - 30 minutes to air up your tires

2) You can buy something cheap from Amazon, Wall-Marts or Vato-Zone and have a REALLY slow compressor.

OR you can buy an out of date CO2 tank from a Beverage Supply Company or a Welding Supply store, fill it with CO2 and fill your tires in less than one minute each.

I have zero dollars in my tank, as I was given an out of date Nitrogen tank and swapped it straight across at a welding supply place for a CO2 tank. I added a middle of the road gauge, a handle and a quick connect air chuck. It will fill a 35" tire from 10 psi to 30 psi in under a minute.

The regulator above the one I have flows 45 CFM at 150 PSI. You are not going to get that out of ANY compressor that will mount under the hood of your van. Buy good regulators, hoses, air chucks and gauges and spend more time fishing or surfing and less time dicking with a compressor and waiting for it to air up your tires.
 

Betarocker

Adventurer
I've got an Air Zenith which I removed from my previous truck and yet to install on my new truck. Finding a suitable space is the challenge.
 

67cj5

Man On a Mission
I have had a few Compressors starting with the 20 buck cheapo's then the TruckAir 275 back in 2003 which I still have great back in the day but not compared to what we have now,

Then I bought a generic Twin which pumps out over 160psi and I have seen it go as high as 185psi, Then I bought the ARB portable High Output Single and it is a pleasure to use with the ARB blue inflator and Last week I also bought the ARB Portable Twin in the case, that thing is a beast and it will handle Tyres over 40"+, It will take a 37" Tyre from 15 to 35psi in 90 seconds flat,

Nothing comes close to the ARB Twin Portable, I have seen people with all kinds of real big Trucks using them.

Have a read of this, remembering they are not cheap but if you are serious about what you do then price does not come in to it,

https://topwiretraveller.com/arb-compressor/

Hope that helps.
 

Weeds

Adventurer
I've had great luck with a 110v unit and inverter. The 110v unit runs at much lower rpms so in my mind will last longer (forever with my infrequent use to air up 35" tires). Got it from Harbor Freight but it has held up in the last 2 jeeps very well - 15 years or so.

I have been thinking about going this route. How many CFM is the Harbor Freight compressor? How large of an inverter is required? I have a Viair 440 but am tired of the noise, coiled hose and the broken rubber isolators. I am looking for an easier way to reach the travel trailer tires.

Thanks.
 

67cj5

Man On a Mission
I have been thinking about going this route. How many CFM is the Harbor Freight compressor? How large of an inverter is required? I have a Viair 440 but am tired of the noise, coiled hose and the broken rubber isolators. I am looking for an easier way to reach the travel trailer tires.

Thanks.
Funny how all the companies list their compressors as quiet but each and everyone of them will wake the dead, The ARB Twin sounds like a Stereo version od the single but with a slight pitch change, My Generic twin cylinder compressor hose died for the second time yesterday so I am using the ARB's, I have had enough of fooling around with that generic twin, this is the second time it's messed around and it is only 6 months old and that is the second hoes that has failed. I think I will make one up that won't fail.
 

LandCruiserPhil

Expedition Leader
If you air down 12 or less times a year purchase a MV-50 MF1050
If you air down more than 12 times buy a Puma. 100% duty cycle and you will be hard pressed to find one that has fail. Search the failures on ARB twin before you consider one. If see no need to run air tools divorce the tank.
I own a couple of both for several years with excellent results
Co2 is fast but once you are empty you are done, not a good choice for Baja or anyone that travels a lot.
OBA engine driven is an excellent choice but the most costly with the most parts to fail.
My personal favorite is the Puma when you factor in cost, performance, and reliability its hard to beat. I have owned a Puma for over 10 years with 100's of hours that see regular use in all temperatures and altitudes. Will take 315/75-16 (35")from 14psi to 36psi in 2min5sec a tire and can do it all day long.

IMG_6386.JPGIMG_8741.JPG
 

67cj5

Man On a Mission
If you air down 12 or less times a year purchase a MV-50 MF1050
If you air down more than 12 times buy a Puma. 100% duty cycle and you will be hard pressed to find one that has fail. Search the failures on ARB twin before you consider one. If see no need to run air tools divorce the tank.
I own a couple of both for several years with excellent results
Co2 is fast but once you are empty you are done, not a good choice for Baja or anyone that travels a lot.
OBA engine driven is an excellent choice but the most costly with the most parts to fail.
My personal favorite is the Puma when you factor in cost, performance, and reliability its hard to beat. I have owned a Puma for over 10 years with 100's of hours that see regular use in all temperatures and altitudes. Will take 315/75-16 (35")from 14psi to 36psi in 2min5sec a tire and can do it all day long.

The Puma is ok but the trouble with most things from china you can't gets parts for them "And" they are only available in America and ARB have sold well over a few million ARB compressors so there is bound to be the odd few that break down but at leased they can be repaired just the same as Vehicles can, I have only seen 2 people here on the forum that own the puma's, My ARB Twin will blow up the same 35" Tyre in 1 minute 14 seconds, that's almost twice as fast. My ARB is 100% serviceable and parts are Available in nearly every country in the world which is a far safer option if a person travels further afield. I have known people who have owned ARBs for over 20 years and they are still going strong, The Puma like my Generic Twin is a Throw away Item,

So many people resent ARB because of the price, But it boils down to do you want the Compressor you would rather Have, Or do you want the Compressor you would rather pay for, Like everything you buy for your Truck you should always buy the best when it comes to these type of things because Out in the Bush your life depends on it, I have seen People Die out in the bush through the silliest of things, I still have my interdynamics TruckAir 275 and because my brand new Generic Twin broke down with a month and I could not get a new hose for it I went bought the ARB High Output Single Portable and because I was so impressed I went and bought the Twin as well, The only thing faster is a power tank but they are only a short term fix/supply. You can spend a million dollars on your Truck but it is only as good as it's weakest link and a good back up plan is cheap insurance.
 

LandCruiserPhil

Expedition Leader
The Puma is ok but the trouble with most things from china you can't gets parts for them "And" they are only available in America and ARB have sold well over a few million ARB compressors so there is bound to be the odd few that break down but at leased they can be repaired just the same as Vehicles can, I have only seen 2 people here on the forum that own the puma's, My ARB Twin will blow up the same 35" Tyre in 1 minute 14 seconds, that's almost twice as fast. My ARB is 100% serviceable and parts are Available in nearly every country in the world which is a far safer option if a person travels further afield. I have known people who have owned ARBs for over 20 years and they are still going strong, The Puma like my Generic Twin is a Throw away Item,

So many people resent ARB because of the price, But it boils down to do you want the Compressor you would rather Have, Or do you want the Compressor you would rather pay for, Like everything you buy for your Truck you should always buy the best when it comes to these type of things because Out in the Bush your life depends on it, I have seen People Die out in the bush through the silliest of things, I still have my interdynamics TruckAir 275 and because my brand new Generic Twin broke down with a month and I could not get a new hose for it I went bought the ARB High Output Single Portable and because I was so impressed I went and bought the Twin as well, The only thing faster is a power tank but they are only a short term fix/supply. You can spend a million dollars on your Truck but it is only as good as it's weakest link and a good back up plan is cheap insurance.

Puma is not a China product
Puma can run air tools, ARB twin - nope
Your ARB twin is one of a kind as most test only see a small increase per tire difference at twice the cost
https://expeditionportal.com/forum/...arb-twin-vs-arb-twin-kit-test-results.135582/
I like ARB and own many of there products but I need a reliable compressor and Puma has proved itself
Good thing ARB twins are serviceable they need the support
Search 'ARB twin air compressor problems' - many pages of failures
Search 'Puma failure' - crickets

Your ARB twin is less than 6 months old makes for a hard comparison to my Puma at 10 years old with 100's of hours.

enough said :)
 
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67cj5

Man On a Mission
Puma is not a China product
Puma can run air tools, ARB twin - nope
Your ARB twin is one of a kind as most test only see a small increase per tire difference at twice the cost
https://expeditionportal.com/forum/...arb-twin-vs-arb-twin-kit-test-results.135582/
I like ARB and own many of there products but I need a reliable compressor and Puma has proved itself
Good thing ARB twins are serviceable they need the support
Search 'ARB twin air compressor problems' - many pages of failures
Search 'Puma failure' - crickets

Your ARB twin is less than 6 months old makes for a hard comparison to my Puma at 10 years old with 100's of hours.

enough said :)

I tried for quite a few weeks to buy the puma model but no one would send me one and by time import duty was added on it came to half the cost of the ARB, I liked the physical size of the Puma and every thing about it, I also looked at Viair but here they were/are way over priced and are not as good as the ARB, The big Twin Portable is nice but it is heavy and the balance of the case is heavy at one end, Apart from that it is a work of Art, but saying that 90% of the time I prefer to use the ARB High Power Single Portable, It's light and balanced and just nice to use, There is nothing that I dislike about it, The Twin on the other hand is Great for those Big jobs and does every thing they say it does. If I had a fleet of Trucks or a Unimog type/Sized Truck then it would be the go to Set up and On my Road tyres it is over kill It is crazy fast because it will Air up 30"x 9.5's in under 30 seconds and it would be dangerous to use on smaller tyres.

I have the Twin Portable/Kit version which runs at about 27 to 30% faster than the ARB on board Twin because of the Tank, I bought it because of reviews by people who own those Mitsubishi Overland Trucks the size of Unimogs where they are Airing up proper Truck sized Tyres from 45psi to 90/95psi and then I also found an article by 4x4 Australia who then went on to use it on their Expedition Vehicles for well over a year and a half each and every day, Along with the fact that they were designed and built for the Military, Plus it will Air Up 37's in under 90 seconds.

The final reason for buying it was because I had tried 4 or 5/6/ "can't remember now" Compressors and I had enough of buying compressors that either did not work as stated or broke within weeks, IE Back in the early days the go to Compressor of 4x4 Compressors was the TruckAir 275 so I bought it and on the Box it clearly states that it will Air Up a 33x12.5 in 9 and a half minutes from 0 to 30psi well it never did manage those times, more like 17 minutes would be close to the truth, I still have it to this day and it still works along with it's claimed fancooled 100% Duty Cycle, LOL. and a wopping 47 CFH "cubic foot per hour" or 0.783 cfm lol. So The ARB Twin became a Do or Die Purchase because I knew their Gear was good and I was determined to get this Compressor War over and done with. Yes it is Very Good and yes it was expensive, but the only other options were the WARN V-TWIN or the YORK version that has a Winch motor attached and they wanted $3000.00 for that one, And WARN stopped making/selling the V-Twin so that just left the ARB Twin.

The ARB happens to be the best compressor on the market, I know of plenty of folks who have had theirs ARB's for over 15 years and some even longer, there are good and bad in every brand in every product ever sold, Seeing as they have sold over 5 million of them and supply them to the military then they have to be good to win the government contract, IF there are 10,000 people out there that have had problems that is only 0.2% which leaves a 99.8% success rate. Along with the fact that they will work perfectly at -30*f/-35*c and in temps of 212*F makes them pretty special. Oh and it does and will run power tools. You just need the portable version or fit the ARB Tank, I know because mine will run them.

See here,
The whole saga has had it's ups and down and has cost a few bucks to get here but at last I got it right in the end.

https://topwiretraveller.com/arb-compressor/

http://4wheelsandamotor.com/reviews/review-arb-twin-air-compressor-kit-ckmtp12/
 
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67cj5

Man On a Mission
This might be interesting...
Puma site for 12v / 24 compressors. Made in Taiwan.
Scroll down for specs - there's a page for "Professional Direct Drive Oil-less 12v/24v"
Bob
http://www.pumaair.com/E-PAC-PS.html
Thanks Bob, I would like to get that DC 1 or the DC076 which would be better having a Tank as an all in one unit, but that DC 1 has the Air Flow needed for bigger Tyres,

I really like the appearance of their gear which is why I wanted one in the first place, Someone here posted pictures of theirs and I just had to have one, the biggest shock I got was Viair being made in china, I wanted one of theirs with the Twin motors and the Tank but they wanted $1128.55c. where as I only paid $721.06c at todays exchange rate for the ARB Twin Portable.

Thanks for that link, I have saved that one.
 

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