Hi all

I am in need of an air compressor to take along on my trips. Just incase I need to fill tires. I need to know what works the best and is easy to use. What PSI do they go up to? It does not need to be permanent, if I could use it in other trucks this would be better for me. What brands to look for and were to buy. How do they connect? To the cigarette lighter or directly to the battery? Please note I am looking for quality not junk. I will have this until I can’t drive anymore. Thanks and appreciate your time.

 

I bought a Starter/Compressor/Light all-in-one unit. Got it at Costco for about $45. The compressor is limited to 200psi. I use it on my trailer tires. The starter is handy for emergency jumps. Plus its rechargeable.

 

lots of people go with vair compressors

 

If you've got plenty of room in the bed and don't mind spending money, you could put in about a 20gallon air compressor with it's own motor and place it on skids. It wouldn't be fun to switch into different trucks, but it would have adjustable pressure up to 115psi or so and I can't imagine needing much more than that. However, it would take up a great deal of bed space.

 

If you look through a offroad mag, you'll find lots and lots of compressors with tanks meant for continuous duty of airing back up big meats, so they tend to be good pumps.

 

Try these links for writeups on differnt type & models.

http://www.fourwheeler.com/techartic...pressor_guide/

http://www.viaircorp.com/productmain.html

Go get em . . .

 

Thanks for all the help!

 

Let me know what you decide. I can't seem to find a good place to mount the compressor under the truck. Most Jeep off roaders put in the engine compartment but there is no room in s PSD so it has to go under the truck. Mean making a box to protect it, etc.

I like the Viair pkg's and have found them priced in the mid $200's so the price is right but then you start the construction project.

 

I've seen several mounted in a tool box behind the cab, with a small 2.5 gal. tank mounted underneath the bed/cab.

 

Really don't want to set something up there perminant, so it will have to go under the truck if I do it I guess.

 

A friend of mine built a system running off his A/C pump, and put a propane tank under the hood to act as his tank. Not only is it excellent for inflating tires, but it has been used to run air tools before too.

Trevor

 

Viair or QuickAIR should work fine for you. QuickAIR have been around for awhile. Viair has more options and I would probably go with the Viair myself (even though I have a quickair I picked up used to put in my jeep).
If you search ebay for "puma compressor", you'll find one that I've heard good things about from jeep people. It includes a tank, so it is larger to mount, but all you need to do it bolt it down and hook up the power source.

 

dickie, you mean a setup like this? https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/5...ml#post3970156

 

Yeah, that's pretty much the same, except his hose end is under the hood.

 

Using the small $50 compressor works out well for emergenices and such, but, on larger tires can take forever. I clip the cigar lighter thing off and put on color coded clamps and extend the cord so I can reach from the battery to the rear of the vehicle. Handy if you have airbags like me.

With the clips right on the battery you get a lot more voltage and the compressor runs much better and faster.

If you have a trailer, what you can do is run a test lead with clips from your connector to the compressor. I recently had an emergency and I could not get to the trailer wheels from the battery because the trailer was so long, so I ran a test clip from the brake light circuit for the trailer connector (left the brakes on and the vehicle running) to the air compressor and aired up the trailer tires that way.

It takes forever to air up four tires with the portable 12v connectors, about an hour for (4) 31s or 9.5 x 16.50 tires. I just air them up enough (20-30 psi) to drive slowly to a gas station. So, taking two along works out better. Though the best is to spend another $150 and get a real air system.

They tailor mostly to the ricer crowd, but, GodFather's Custom has the best and smallest stuff for on board air, imo.