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Airing up after sandy roads: a decent inflator from Costco

profdant139
Explorer II
Explorer II
If you air down often, a powerful on-board compressor is the way to go: expensive, but worthwhile. Since I rarely air down (but sometimes must), I carry a small portable unit. I've purchased a couple of portable compressors from Harbor Freight, with poor results. However, Costco recently put this little Bonaire unit on sale for $29:

Bonaire inflator

Since Costco has a very user-friendly return policy, I took a chance, and this little unit is pretty good! I hooked it directly to my battery. I aired down my spare tire to 40 pounds. It took 90 seconds for the inflator to bring it back to 50 pounds. I did this a couple of times, just to double-check.

The unit is surprisingly quiet โ€“ the Harbor Freight compressors were much louder. The only downside is that after you run it for 10 min., it has to cool for 10 min. So re-inflating my truck tires would take a half hour, or more.

(Note to moderator: I put this item on the boondocking forum, since boondockers are the folks most likely to air down. But maybe it belongs on the tech forum? Anyway, feel free to move it.)
2012 Fun Finder X-139 "Boondock Style" (axle-flipped and extra insulation)
2013 Toyota Tacoma Off-Road (semi-beefy tires and components)
Our trips -- pix and text
About our trailer
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single list."
34 REPLIES 34

frizzen
Explorer
Explorer
kohldad wrote:
PSI is PSI so doesn't matter if it's a spare or on the truck, the time will be the same.

W


More important, Work = Force x Distance.

If you air the tire up on the vehicle the air pump has to do the work of compressing the air and lifting the weight.
I need some wild

jefe_4x4
Explorer
Explorer
zman, right on. The ViaAir would my choice if i did not have CO2. I'll be interested to see how the Costco air compressor does after some hard use. Unless you are really hard core, that may be years down the road to really push the duty cycle. My guess is all the cheaper 12v high volume air compressors are made in China. For all of these, heat is the enemy and they tend to wave the white flag way too easily.
jefe
'01.5 Dodge 2500 4x4, CTD, Qcab, SB, NV5600, 241HD, 4.10's, Dana 70/TruTrac; Dana 80/ TruTrac, Spintec hub conversion, H.D. susp, 315/75R16's on 7.5" and 10" wide steel wheels, Vulcan big line, Warn M15K winch '98 Lance Lite 165s, 8' 6" X-cab, 200w Solar

zman-az
Explorer
Explorer
Airing down not only gives you better traction, but makes for a smoother ride on long bumpy roads. If I know I will be out all day on rough roads I will airdown to 12psi just to kep my teeth from rattling.

As far as compressors, I have onboard air that can run an impact gun. I sold that jeep and now have Viair 300P. I ended up buying this unit after I borrowed one from another friend and was amazed at its performance for the price.

profdant139
Explorer II
Explorer II
jefe, it looks like you could have used helium instead of CO2. ๐Ÿ˜‰
2012 Fun Finder X-139 "Boondock Style" (axle-flipped and extra insulation)
2013 Toyota Tacoma Off-Road (semi-beefy tires and components)
Our trips -- pix and text
About our trailer
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single list."

jefe_4x4
Explorer
Explorer
Another option is a CO2 tank. I first bought the 5 pound tank with unfreezable hardware to daily refill my 37x13.50 Jeep tires from 8 pounds to 28 pounds, day after day at Moab. The CO2 would last as long as I did in Moab: about a week. The trail called Helldorado, NE of Moab @ 8 pounds:

This was and still is the quickest fill on the market. When I started to get bigger and more voluminous tires on the truck camper, I found a need to fill that volume from 20-22 pounds at the lowest sand pressure to 65 or 80 pounds, depending, at the return of pavement. The 5 pound tank was not enough. Traded the '5' for a '20' pound aluminum tank and it lives in the back seat strapped upright in the center where i can reach all four wheels on the truck. This one should get us through our around the U.S.A. via the edges trip, camping ON every beach we can.
You do need special hardware when using CO2 since the gas comes out of the tank frozen, even on a hot day. But the reward is the speed at which you can reinflate a tire. I've even repaired tires ON the truck with a hole in the tread or sidewall using just the Safety Seal tire plug kit and the CO2 tank. My personal max was 17 plugs to seal a 4 inch gash in the sidewall and drive on that tire for another few days. Hint: it's the glue on the little caterpillar looking plugs that makes Safety Seal stand out from other brands.
I burned, literally in one case, right through several China Freight and other introductory so called high volume 12v air compressors. One failed on the first fill. One blew a fuze immediately. The fuze was a 35 amp, the replacement of which is unavailable in the U.S. Even with long pauses, one got through a couple of my truck tires after doing the White Rim Trail and got so hot because of a miniscule duty cycle it melted into one piece-no moving parts. Why, O why did i continue to think this cheap item could possibly stand up to the rigors of very high volume, and hi pressure Expedition style tires? I'm reminded of the drill style tiny battery operated compressor advertised on T.V. that promotes the idea that you could pump up a flat car tire, even showing a speedy pump up. Just wait a minute. I can make that little piece self destruct on ONE of my TC tires.
The very best of the on board compressors is a hybrid from an older style York Air Conditioning compressor. A guy in L.A., Brad Kilby started marketing them as a kit and they have become the gold standard for people who want to press some air while away from civilization, as thousands upon thousands of jeepers do. Kilby Enterprizes. My jeeping buddies all use them in conjunction with a small tank and there was no duty cycle to worry about: Quick and efficient. The only woe was lubrication of the pump. It must have a little oil. I think that has been solved. Of course you must have the space in your engine compartment for another a.c. compressor.
So, these are a couple different ideas about airing up tires away from gas stations.
'01.5 Dodge 2500 4x4, CTD, Qcab, SB, NV5600, 241HD, 4.10's, Dana 70/TruTrac; Dana 80/ TruTrac, Spintec hub conversion, H.D. susp, 315/75R16's on 7.5" and 10" wide steel wheels, Vulcan big line, Warn M15K winch '98 Lance Lite 165s, 8' 6" X-cab, 200w Solar

time2roll
Explorer II
Explorer II

dave54
Explorer III
Explorer III
RinconVTR wrote:

I've done both with ordinary highway tires in dune sand. Airing down ABSOLUTELY is required. Larger AT or Off Road tires, may be you can get away not doing so.

Traction control? You MUST turn it off or you'll go nowhere fast...


That is not my experience.
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So many campsites, so little time...
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huachuca
Explorer
Explorer
Vermilye, with your comments on east coast sand and airplane tires, I'm convinced you know of what you speak. On an Outer Banks trip, I can often pay for my beer by helping folks who've gotten stuck; usually because they didn't air down. Those running mud tires with aggressive tread tend to be buried the deepest.

vermilye
Explorer
Explorer
RinconVTR wrote:
dave54 wrote:
Lwiddis wrote:
Good, fair report. PS to moderator... I've never "aired down" in my life!


Used to. No longer.

With newer tire designs and computerized traction controls airing down is no longer necessary. It may actually reduce traction.


I've done both with ordinary highway tires in dune sand. Airing down ABSOLUTELY is required. Larger AT or Off Road tires, may be you can get away not doing so.

Traction control? You MUST turn it off or you'll go nowhere fast. That said, I have not driven anything with a dedicated "SAND" traction selection.

Airing back up? Based on posts here and other places, I use this high volume high pressure air pump that connects directly to the battery;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BM8RT8/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There are a few variations and brands of the same type of pump. Works great!


The best sand tires I ever drove were airplane tires,( i.e. parallel to the circumference of the tire grooves). They were the only tires I didn't have to air down on soft sand.


As to programed traction control, the Tacoma has a sand setting, but it doesn't help on soft beach sand.

RinconVTR
Explorer
Explorer
dave54 wrote:
Lwiddis wrote:
Good, fair report. PS to moderator... I've never "aired down" in my life!


Used to. No longer.

With newer tire designs and computerized traction controls airing down is no longer necessary. It may actually reduce traction.


I've done both with ordinary highway tires in dune sand. Airing down ABSOLUTELY is required. Larger AT or Off Road tires, may be you can get away not doing so.

Traction control? You MUST turn it off or you'll go nowhere fast. That said, I have not driven anything with a dedicated "SAND" traction selection.

Airing back up? Based on posts here and other places, I use this high volume high pressure air pump that connects directly to the battery;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BM8RT8/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There are a few variations and brands of the same type of pump. Works great!

vermilye
Explorer
Explorer
Lwiddis wrote:
Tiger, airing down has some benefit for those that do it...but it may be physiological. I frequent Oceano Dunes and never air down.


There is sand, and there is SAND. While I've driven the beaches along the gulf and many desert back roads (in a 2016 Tacoma Off Road) without airing down, it isn't going to happen in the soft sand in parts of the east coast. For example, you are not going to get very far on Nantucket Island beaches or many of the sand roads near the beaches without airing down. For those that believe it doesn't make a difference, you haven't driven soft sand, with or without modern traction control.

pnichols
Explorer II
Explorer II
I don't air down our Class C tires out in the desert cuz I don't have a satellite phone just in case airing down doesn't work, so I try not to go where airing down is needed.

But for some reason I do carry along a full pressure/capacity 120V AC compressor that runs off the Onan built-in ... along with a professional trucker's tire puncture repair kit and a couple of flat repair air-up canisters ... in addition to the mounted spare.

Keep your fingers crossed for the best, but prepare for the worst.
2005 E450 Itasca 24V Class C

huachuca
Explorer
Explorer
I'm not sure if the sand you folks out west have differs significantly from our NC beach sand or if you're just better drivers in the soft stuff but airing down is a must around here.

My TJ is locked front and rear with 32x12.50 BFG KMs but I still need to drop the pressure to 12-15 psi or risk a tow when playing on the Outer Banks. Same with the TRD Tacoma which has the electric rear locker with 265x75 BFG KO2s. I haven't found Toyota's factory traction control feature to be all that useful in sand but it does work well in ice and snow. The old Montero has only a limited slip rear and CDL with 245x75 Discoverer AT's but it does OK as long as I lower the air pressure.

The jeep is our main beach vehicle and it also sees duty around the farm so I added a York engine driven compressor and 3 gallon tank several years ago. Air up time is less than ten minutes and I can also run my air tools. More info here

A Q-Industries MV-90 12V compressor stays in the Tacoma. We just got back from a camping trip in southern Utah where it was used to air up my tires along with those on another Tacoma and a full size Dodge pickup after a run on the Peek-a-Boo trail. Twelve tires from 15 psi to 50 in around twenty minutes.

The cigarette plug unit (Truck Air, I think) in the Montero died earlier this Spring after several years of occasional use and I need to replace it; probably with a similar unit.

Three different solutions for three different needs.

MrWizard
Moderator
Moderator
with 22.5" wheels at 100#, i don't air down

i have the Tsunami MF1050 from "Q industries" similar to the MV50

it was mainly used on air bags and motorcycle tires

i have owned it about 9 yrs, used it a lot this last month,
one rear tire kept loosing copious amount of air
when i finally get into the truck tire shop
i found out the wheel was bad, leaking air thru the steel "rust cause porosity"
$368 later i have a replacement Alu alloy wheel

the duty cycle on mine is 40 minutes at 40#
you can air UP all the tires on your avg car truck jeep, in less time than that

my MF has also been modified to use a regular 3/8 air hose via quick connect, and i have requisite hose, air chucks , tire gauge, etc..
I can explain it to you.
But I Can Not understand it for you !

....

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