I installed it permanently on the truck. Flip Upfitter #5 to air up my airbags, Upfitter #6 to dump the air out. There's a coupler on the side of my truck and I carry a 50ft air hose so I can air up/down my tires and my toy hauler tires. Works dang good, heck of a lot faster than my Slime brand air compressor.

 

Here is a limited comparison of some good choices. They all come in a easy carry bag/case with air hose/parts. I don't believe any of these are continuous duty except maybe the ARB listed. There are many continuous duty models from Viair and others.

Superflow MV-50 - 2.54cfm - $63 ($79.99 currently at O'Reillys) = $24.80/cfm
- 2.3cfm - $239 = $103.91/cfm
- 6.16cfm - $518 w/o tank = $84.09/cfm

Klutch Heavy Duty Inflator - 5.3cfm - $150 = $28.30/cfm
Superflow MV-90 - 3.71cfm - $136 = $36.66/cfm
- 5.65cfm - $165 = $29.20/cfm
(these 3 'look' to be exactly the came other than color/stickers. who knows, but they are all rated a little different)

There will be some that will say "you get what you pay for". They should research a little further on this one.

I used the Superflow MV-50 for over 8 years, hardwired under the hood of my 2006 F-150. It was still going strong when I sold the truck last year. You can read for days online about the MV-50 which has been heavily used by offroaders for 15-20 years. There are a number of comparisons online where MV-50 has outperformed many Viair and other compressors costing $200-$400. Anyway......... you cannot beat the MV-50 for performance/price.

But..... the more cfm you have the happier you will be (less time re-inflating).

I bought the Klutch HD Inflator. It will fit under the rear seat. Therefore, I would think the MV-90 and Smitybilt would as well.

As for me....................... I prefer a system bolted in with a tank. There is no question that it will be where I am when I need it 100 % of the time. Like this:


Klutch HD Inflator from Northern Tool mounted on 6.2L second battery tray.

The Klutch HD handle was removed and the 3/8" braided leader was directly attached to the compressor head. From the leader, a 3/8" air hose goes to the 5 gallon tank on the passenger frame rail where a second AirMaxxx 580 Compressor is mounted.


Airmaxxx 580 compressor and 5 gallon aluminum tank on passenger frame rail.

With this system I have 7.05cfm at a cost of $214 (Klutch HD $115 + Airmaxxx 580 $99) = $30.35/cfm

I am running the system to 145psi. So far I like it but it's only been in a week.

I know lots of people that like bags. I know me, and I know when I needed it the most I would not have the bag with me. It would wind up left at the house,or borrowed by a wife, son, friend, etc. Bolts are the only insurance that I will have it when I need it. Plus, it's much easier to pull out my 35' coil hose and plug it right here:

 

I am looking for portable air that does NOT require me to clip to the battery. I'm okay with an installed system but I would prefer something I can plug in. I'm 5' tall, female, and cannot get into the engine bay unassisted to clip anything anywhere. So, best one that connects elsewhere?

 

You need to hard wire a system similar to the 2 above (or buy an MV-50 and a step stool )

You cannot get a decent compressor that plugs into the cigarette lighter (12/v) plug. You simply cannot get enough amps. If you do not get something that clips or hardwires to the battery (or upfitter switch) you will not have much. Everyone of these type compressors I've bought have not lasted more than a year or so. They are OK to pump a bicycle tire or 4-wheeler tire. But, they don't have enough power/air flow to do much with a 60psi+ tire. When you 'need' air, you will mostly likely be sitting with burnt up compressor that is about as useful as the $1 compressors at the convenience store. I've been through several of these and IMO.......... that are simply a waste of $$ and total aggravation.

 

Another solution. My son is planning to get a small weathproof tool box/container and put in the bed of his truck.

He plans get a small (i.e.) 2 gallon tank and an MV-50 to mount in the box along with a 12v battery......... possibly a small lawn mower or motor cycle battery. He is going to mount a small solar panel to the top of the box, like this, to keep the battery maintained. This way, all you need to do is pic up the little box, probably about 20-25 pounds, and move it relatively close to your air need. You could forget the tank and just use the MV-50 air hose directly off the compressor.

Anyway.......... just another idea that might work for you.

You can always build something like this and mount inside a crossover type or any other type truck tool box. If you do this, you may want to consider using AGM battery. A deep cycle type battery with high reserve amp hours, like a trolling motor battery, would work great!!

 

Agreed on all counts; BTDT with the cheapies and just gave my old one to a friend with an F-150

You could wire an upfitter (5 or 6) to a that is in a convenient location, adding the opposite gender connector to the compressor lead.

 

I'd be fine with hardwiring to an upfitter, but a lot of what I'm seeing posted is battery connection. Are you guys just lopping off the connectors and hardwiring those in?

I don't have a second battery tray (have medium duty battery setup with 2 batteries) and whatever needs to be accessible from either underneath the truck or in the bed, because I can't reach under the hood.

The sole use is airing up horse trailer tires since they're often parked too far from mains power to use a standalone compressor. Oh, and possibly charging a pressure tank for water.

 

The ground just attaches to the frame, short lead there. The power I ran up to battery, it has an auto on/off switch based on tank pressure so the tank is always at 150psi. I hear it run maybe once a week on my way to work for a short time.

 

Many of the VIAR and AIRMAXX and related compressors come with wire leads (red and black) ready to wire............. as Tricon mentioned above.

The bag type compressors/inflators like the Superflow MV-50, Superflow MV-90, the Smitybilt, Klutch, and Viair bag systems ............... you are correct. You simply cut the alligator clips off and hardwire them just like you would wire the others. The side of the wire with the red clip goes to battery or upfitter for power, the other side goes to ground. I mounted my grounds to existing grounding screws on the body/frame.

Also, the air hose and quick connections that you find of most of the bag units are not standard. I simply get rid of them so everything has standard fittings on them. This "may" require rethreading a fitting on the unit. I own 1 pipe threading die. It is 1/4" NPT. The only thing I use it on is to re-thread a connection on an air compressor if needed. If you have standard air fittings it makes it much easier to use other hoses and extensions if the need ever arises. Plus, the small expandable plastic hoses that come in the bag are not very durable and can easily kink if stretched in the wrong direction or pulled over/across an object. The first thing I do when I get one of these bag compressors is ditch the air hose and connectors and put standard fittings on them (and re-tap the threads if needed in the process).

 

Definitely some good ideas in here. I am probably going to look to the hardwired, underframe mounted solution.

 

I use this one, I've aired up tires to 100ish PSI before it lists 1.5CFM or so but I'm not sure what that really means. Usually when moving a trailer I check pressures first the air up if needed while I check everything else.


https://www.harborfreight.com/12volt...sor-69285.html

 

Also strange someone mentioned this Klutch/ Northern Tool brand and they are usually the same as HF but it claims 5.3CFM? That seems like a lot if it's really 5.3CFM compared to my 1.4 in the Harbor freight for twice the price it may be worth it for you if you use it a lot.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...2535_200672535

Here's another Klutch for half the price but still more CFM than my harbor freight, if I were buy again I'd go with this one. I ended up with my HF unit because I was in a pinch and they were the only thing around but it still works well for me.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...2539_200672539

 

B4 you buy a generator and compressor............ you should first consider this.

It's an Oasis compressor. It's the top dog. Others have mentioned Viar, Superflow and other bag systems............. this one is in it's own class.
Click here for a comparison.

If you want speed....... this is the ticket. But the compressor will run you $1400-$1700. It will beat anything that has been discussed hands down.

Actually........ there are CO2 systems that beat the Oasis if you want to deal with getting/maintaining compressed CO2.

 

The Northern Tools one listed above has some good specs, but seems cheap (in price) for what you get. Is it as good as it reads on paper? It pulls 30AMPs. Would be perfect for at the RV when I need to blow dirt out of chairs, air up tires, blow sand off the kids at the beach. I could even throw a plug on it and plug it in.

One question I have is noise. Every small compressor I have had is just so loud. We have helper bags on my wifes Armada. I use to hate airing them up in the morning before leaving the campsite (if I forgot in the evening). Are these loud?

 

Yep.... That's the ticket. Never could see $1500-$1800 for air. I can understand moving to 4 different trucks.

Curious, where do u mount it???