4 tire inflation system

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velo47

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One of the things I dislike is airing down and airing up. I run about 50 psi in the fronts and 70 psi in the rears for highway driving. I usually air down to between 25-30 psi all around for dirt. I know I could get some Staun's but I haven't, and end up kneeling and adjusting each tire in sequence. And the Staun's don't help with airing up.

So, after seeing a few kits for exorbitant price (to me), I decided to make a 4-tire system.

About $90 total for 50' feet of air hose from harbor freight, and a handful of fittings from Zoro and Amazon, and a little time resulted in this:







The blue hose attaches to the compressor. The brass manifold distributes the air to either side of the van. I also installed a schrader valve at the manifold so I could monitor the pressure with a regular tire gauge. This turns out not to be necessary, as I can monitor the pressures via the TPMS display on the dash. The hoses attach to the tires with quick release schrader heads that shut off when not attached, creating a closed system. A quarter turn valve allows me to shut off the pressure to all 4 tires at once. To deflate, I just close the valve, attach the hoses to the tires, and open the valve (with the blue hose not attached to the compressor).

The main benefits are twofold. First, the pressure in the system is equalized, so all tires default to the same pressure. When airing down, I run all the tires at the same pressure, so this is ideal. When airing up, I can run all 4 tires up to 50 psi, unhook the fronts, and run the rears up to 70 psi.

Second, I don't have to babysit each tire. No more kneeling and constantly checking pressures. I can do other things, or just relax, while inflating or deflating. This makes the whole process much more appealing.

Some people will say that this is something totally superfluous and might even make fun of it, but for me it makes airing up and airing down much less of a chore, and therefore I am more likely to do it. This, to me, is invaluable.

2 components are important. First, good quick release schrader valves for the tires. the ones I got were expensive. At about $11 each, they were the single-most expensive component of the system. But the cheap ones simply don't work well, so it was worth it.

Second, good hose clamps. I had one fail, which renders the whole system unusable. Luckily, some bailing wire fixed that problem, at least until I got home.



The only thing I would add is an in-line pressure gauge if I didn't have TPMS, so I wouldn't have to keep manually checking the pressure with a tire gauge.

Here's a diagram with all the parts


Total price was just over $90. You might be able to source some of the parts cheaper if you look around.


This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image.
 

Kozysnack

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One of the things I dislike is airing down and airing up. I run about 50 psi in the fronts and 70 psi in the rears for highway driving. I usually air down to between 25-30 psi all around for dirt. I know I could get some Staun's but I haven't, and end up kneeling and adjusting each tire in sequence. And the Staun's don't help with airing up.

So, after seeing a few kits for exorbitant price (to me), I decided to make a 4-tire system.

About $90 total for 50' feet of air hose from harbor freight, and a handful of fittings from Zoro and Amazon, and a little time resulted in this:







The blue hose attaches to the compressor. The brass manifold distributes the air to either side of the van. I also installed a schrader valve at the manifold so I could monitor the pressure with a regular tire gauge. This turns out not to be necessary, as I can monitor the pressures via the TPMS display on the dash. The hoses attach to the tires with quick release schrader heads that shut off when not attached, creating a closed system. A quarter turn valve allows me to shut off the pressure to all 4 tires at once. To deflate, I just close the valve, attach the hoses to the tires, and open the valve (with the blue hose not attached to the compressor).

The main benefits are twofold. First, the pressure in the system is equalized, so all tires default to the same pressure. When airing down, I run all the tires at the same pressure, so this is ideal. When airing up, I can run all 4 tires up to 50 psi, unhook the fronts, and run the rears up to 70 psi.

Second, I don't have to babysit each tire. No more kneeling and constantly checking pressures. I can do other things, or just relax, while inflating or deflating. This makes the whole process much more appealing.

Some people will say that this is something totally superfluous and might even make fun of it, but for me it makes airing up and airing down much less of a chore, and therefore I am more likely to do it. This, to me, is invaluable.

2 components are important. First, good quick release schrader valves for the tires. the ones I got were expensive. At about $11 each, they were the single-most expensive component of the system. But the cheap ones simply don't work well, so it was worth it.

Second, good hose clamps. I had one fail, which renders the whole system unusable. Luckily, some bailing wire fixed that problem, at least until I got home.



The only thing I would add is an in-line pressure gauge if I didn't have TPMS, so I wouldn't have to keep manually checking the pressure with a tire gauge.

Here's a diagram with all the parts


Total price was just over $90. You might be able to source some of the parts cheaper if you look around.


This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image.
you may want to log this. Epic build

Inventor I
Build a great piece of overland gear and share plans with the community.
Points:473
 
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Lok_Sanchari

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404
Leesburg, VA
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Suresh
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Adusumilli
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One of the things I dislike is airing down and airing up. I run about 50 psi in the fronts and 70 psi in the rears for highway driving. I usually air down to between 25-30 psi all around for dirt. I know I could get some Staun's but I haven't, and end up kneeling and adjusting each tire in sequence. And the Staun's don't help with airing up.

So, after seeing a few kits for exorbitant price (to me), I decided to make a 4-tire system.

About $90 total for 50' feet of air hose from harbor freight, and a handful of fittings from Zoro and Amazon, and a little time resulted in this:







The blue hose attaches to the compressor. The brass manifold distributes the air to either side of the van. I also installed a schrader valve at the manifold so I could monitor the pressure with a regular tire gauge. This turns out not to be necessary, as I can monitor the pressures via the TPMS display on the dash. The hoses attach to the tires with quick release schrader heads that shut off when not attached, creating a closed system. A quarter turn valve allows me to shut off the pressure to all 4 tires at once. To deflate, I just close the valve, attach the hoses to the tires, and open the valve (with the blue hose not attached to the compressor).

The main benefits are twofold. First, the pressure in the system is equalized, so all tires default to the same pressure. When airing down, I run all the tires at the same pressure, so this is ideal. When airing up, I can run all 4 tires up to 50 psi, unhook the fronts, and run the rears up to 70 psi.

Second, I don't have to babysit each tire. No more kneeling and constantly checking pressures. I can do other things, or just relax, while inflating or deflating. This makes the whole process much more appealing.

Some people will say that this is something totally superfluous and might even make fun of it, but for me it makes airing up and airing down much less of a chore, and therefore I am more likely to do it. This, to me, is invaluable.

2 components are important. First, good quick release schrader valves for the tires. the ones I got were expensive. At about $11 each, they were the single-most expensive component of the system. But the cheap ones simply don't work well, so it was worth it.

Second, good hose clamps. I had one fail, which renders the whole system unusable. Luckily, some bailing wire fixed that problem, at least until I got home.



The only thing I would add is an in-line pressure gauge if I didn't have TPMS, so I wouldn't have to keep manually checking the pressure with a tire gauge.

Here's a diagram with all the parts


Total price was just over $90. You might be able to source some of the parts cheaper if you look around.


This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image.
Nice setup ! Very detailed.. Thanks for sharing !
 

speedkills

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Nicely done. You won't hear any mocking from me, easy access to setting my air pressure is one of my favorite features on my build, the easier it is, the more often I find myself adjusting it instead of trying to get by driving with the wrong pressure for the conditions.
 
R

RN J

Guest
One of the things I dislike is airing down and airing up. I run about 50 psi in the fronts and 70 psi in the rears for highway driving. I usually air down to between 25-30 psi all around for dirt. I know I could get some Staun's but I haven't, and end up kneeling and adjusting each tire in sequence. And the Staun's don't help with airing up.

So, after seeing a few kits for exorbitant price (to me), I decided to make a 4-tire system.

About $90 total for 50' feet of air hose from harbor freight, and a handful of fittings from Zoro and Amazon, and a little time resulted in this:







The blue hose attaches to the compressor. The brass manifold distributes the air to either side of the van. I also installed a schrader valve at the manifold so I could monitor the pressure with a regular tire gauge. This turns out not to be necessary, as I can monitor the pressures via the TPMS display on the dash. The hoses attach to the tires with quick release schrader heads that shut off when not attached, creating a closed system. A quarter turn valve allows me to shut off the pressure to all 4 tires at once. To deflate, I just close the valve, attach the hoses to the tires, and open the valve (with the blue hose not attached to the compressor).

The main benefits are twofold. First, the pressure in the system is equalized, so all tires default to the same pressure. When airing down, I run all the tires at the same pressure, so this is ideal. When airing up, I can run all 4 tires up to 50 psi, unhook the fronts, and run the rears up to 70 psi.

Second, I don't have to babysit each tire. No more kneeling and constantly checking pressures. I can do other things, or just relax, while inflating or deflating. This makes the whole process much more appealing.

Some people will say that this is something totally superfluous and might even make fun of it, but for me it makes airing up and airing down much less of a chore, and therefore I am more likely to do it. This, to me, is invaluable.

2 components are important. First, good quick release schrader valves for the tires. the ones I got were expensive. At about $11 each, they were the single-most expensive component of the system. But the cheap ones simply don't work well, so it was worth it.

Second, good hose clamps. I had one fail, which renders the whole system unusable. Luckily, some bailing wire fixed that problem, at least until I got home.



The only thing I would add is an in-line pressure gauge if I didn't have TPMS, so I wouldn't have to keep manually checking the pressure with a tire gauge.

Here's a diagram with all the parts


Total price was just over $90. You might be able to source some of the parts cheaper if you look around.


This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image.
Wow! I am so grateful when you guys not only include a parts list but also a diagram for your projects! Thank you!
I couldn’t even contemplate starting a project like this without either, as I just don’t have this type of mechanical aptitude or experience.

I’ve been watching as many videos and reading as many posts as I can trying to absorb as much as possible on the wide variety of subjects available. I love it! Sure makes me miss my dad though.

Especially when I have to ask embarrassing questions like this: why do you drive with the front and rear tires on different psi?
 

Fernando1967

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404
Lake Jackson, Brazoria County, Texas, United States
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Fer
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Salinas
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Service Branch
US Army
One of the things I dislike is airing down and airing up. I run about 50 psi in the fronts and 70 psi in the rears for highway driving. I usually air down to between 25-30 psi all around for dirt. I know I could get some Staun's but I haven't, and end up kneeling and adjusting each tire in sequence. And the Staun's don't help with airing up.

So, after seeing a few kits for exorbitant price (to me), I decided to make a 4-tire system.

About $90 total for 50' feet of air hose from harbor freight, and a handful of fittings from Zoro and Amazon, and a little time resulted in this:







The blue hose attaches to the compressor. The brass manifold distributes the air to either side of the van. I also installed a schrader valve at the manifold so I could monitor the pressure with a regular tire gauge. This turns out not to be necessary, as I can monitor the pressures via the TPMS display on the dash. The hoses attach to the tires with quick release schrader heads that shut off when not attached, creating a closed system. A quarter turn valve allows me to shut off the pressure to all 4 tires at once. To deflate, I just close the valve, attach the hoses to the tires, and open the valve (with the blue hose not attached to the compressor).

The main benefits are twofold. First, the pressure in the system is equalized, so all tires default to the same pressure. When airing down, I run all the tires at the same pressure, so this is ideal. When airing up, I can run all 4 tires up to 50 psi, unhook the fronts, and run the rears up to 70 psi.

Second, I don't have to babysit each tire. No more kneeling and constantly checking pressures. I can do other things, or just relax, while inflating or deflating. This makes the whole process much more appealing.

Some people will say that this is something totally superfluous and might even make fun of it, but for me it makes airing up and airing down much less of a chore, and therefore I am more likely to do it. This, to me, is invaluable.

2 components are important. First, good quick release schrader valves for the tires. the ones I got were expensive. At about $11 each, they were the single-most expensive component of the system. But the cheap ones simply don't work well, so it was worth it.

Second, good hose clamps. I had one fail, which renders the whole system unusable. Luckily, some bailing wire fixed that problem, at least until I got home.



The only thing I would add is an in-line pressure gauge if I didn't have TPMS, so I wouldn't have to keep manually checking the pressure with a tire gauge.

Here's a diagram with all the parts


Total price was just over $90. You might be able to source some of the parts cheaper if you look around.


This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image.
I am in the early stages so I haven’t gotten to deflate or inflate my tires. I find this set up very interesting and for someone like me it certainly expands on the subject. Definitely brings up points to keep in mind whenever I get to this. Thank you for sharing it.
 
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Longshot270

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Experimenter I

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Colby
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M
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Something to consider is an air regulator and a shut off switch for the pump. If the pump turns off at 100 psi, set the regulator to whatever pressure you want and wait for the noise to stop.

I went the route of traditional cheap air compressor since my front, rear, trailer and bicycle tires are all different pressures. It is slower but the numbers are correct without me tending to it.
 
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