Best mobile air compressor unit for Overland travel?

[WAYAWAY]

I have a small one.. it fills one of my BFG 32s from 20 to 50psi in around 4 min.

Viair 00088 88P Portable Air Compressor

 

[DRTMaverick]

Hi,

The air tank looks good. Which size is it?

Thanks,
Bjoern

I'll do a fill it takes like 1 minute 20 seconds to go from 15psi to 40psi with a 34OD (285/75R17) tire.


It's a 2.0 gallon airtank

 

[Lindenwood]

I use a harbor freight 150psi it works fine for what it is, it takes me around 3 minutes to fill one 33" e rated tire from 0 to 80 psi.

You might re-time that. A 33" tire has about 2 cubic feet of internal volume, and at over 5 atmospheres of pressure that works out to ~11 CFM which is pretty much impossible with current 12V options. The most powerful one I know of is the ARB Twin which still only puts out something like 4-5 CFM at 40 PSI.

That said, the Smitty is known to be pretty fast for the money, though its proprietary connectors are kinda lame. I have also heard good things sbout the Viair 88 mentioned above.

The Puma 12v is a great option for a portable compressor that provides enough air to rattle off a set of lugs with an impact wrench. I have one, but ended up removing the compressor from the tank to fit under the hood of my Rav4. It is only a little slower than the ARB Twin, filling 4x 33s from 15 to 40 PSI in about 9 minutes.

Puma Industries PD1006 Air Compressor, Professional D.C. Direct Drive Oil-Less Series, 0.75 hp Running, 135 Maximum psi, 12V/Phase, 1.5 gal, 31 lb.

 

[Seanm26]

I have a Bonair twin pump jobber that i got at Costco a few years ago. It became easier to handle once i broke the handle off. I don't know how well it will handle the duty cycles required for larger tires, but it fills our 235/75R15's quickly.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

I have a small one.. it fills one of my BFG 32s from 20 to 50psi in around 4 min.

Viair 00088 88P Portable Air Compressor

I have the same compressor. I don't like the thread on filler attachment that came with it. I want to change it to service station type fill devise with locking lever for quick on and off operation. I really like my air down valves I purchased at the same time.

 

[WAYAWAY]

I have the same compressor. I don't like the thread on filler attachment that came with it. I want to change it to service station type fill devise with locking lever for quick on and off operation. I really like my air down valves I purchased at the same time.

I've been happy with it right out of the box, but yeah.. that would be cool. I use the Grit Performance air downers. Super handy, and they make a fun noise that always makes my girlfriend laugh.

 

[Trail_pilot]

I have been using a Smittybilt 5.4 CFM compressor for about 7 years. I did just upgrade to a powertank but I keep the compressor around just in case. the only issue I have run into is the hose blew, but I cut it off and got rid of the filler it came with put another line on with a pressure fitting and use an ARB filler. it gets hot hot the line does blow every once in a while but I just cut it and re-fit it with the pressure fitting on it.

 

[cytocycle]

Well my Dual ARB compressor failed after 5 years of very little use.. so disappointed. I need pull it out and figure out if I can rebuild it or what. I loved it when it worked and I loved it even better with a 2 gallon tank. Without tanks it was kinda disappointing as you filled tires. I am now thinking of going CO2 tank.

I will post back to this thread when I find out what my options are on the fixing my ARB.

 

[Trail_pilot]

Well my Dual ARB compressor failed after 5 years of very little use.. so disappointed. I need pull it out and figure out if I can rebuild it or what. I loved it when it worked and I loved it even better with a 2 gallon tank. Without tanks it was kinda disappointing as you filled tires. I am now thinking of going CO2 tank.

I will post back to this thread when I find out what my options are on the fixing my ARB.

I just got a CO2 tank and I am still on the fence if I trust it. If it runs out I'm stuck with low tire pressure for my drive home. ( I usually air down to about 8 psi on the harder trails I run and I have a 2-2.5 hour drive home from anywhere). I'm pretty sure I can only get 5 trips out of my tank before having to fill it again so I will likely keep a compressor with me as backup.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

I just got a CO2 tank and I am still on the fence if I trust it. If it runs out I'm stuck with low tire pressure for my drive home. ( I usually air down to about 8 psi on the harder trails I run and I have a 2-2.5 hour drive home from anywhere). I'm pretty sure I can only get 5 trips out of my tank before having to fill it again so I will likely keep a compressor with me as backup.

Because of tire pressure equalization a tank can only put enough air in tire to equalize. I don't think you will be able to make 5 trips at 30 pounds per tire = 120# per trip x 5= 600# or air pressure. My air tank holds 100# of pressure. If my tires have 10 pounds and I want 40# it will fill 2 tires because only 40#'s will remain in the tank after the second tire is filled. The third tire will only get 15#'s max which would be 25#'s and then 25#'s will rain in the tank. Only 7.5 #'s of the 25 remaining is left for tire # 4 if my math is correct. Based on that math you could fill four tires with 30#'s one time before needing a tank refill. 30# should get you to another air source safely.

 

[Trail_pilot]

Because of tire pressure equalization a tank can only put enough air in tire to equalize. I don't think you will be able to make 5 trips at 30 pounds per tire = 120# per trip x 5= 600# or air pressure. My air tank holds 100# of pressure. If my tires have 10 pounds and I want 40# it will fill 2 tires because only 40#'s will remain in the tank after the second tire is filled. The third tire will only get 15#'s max which would be 25#'s and then 25#'s will rain in the tank. Only 7.5 #'s of the 25 remaining is left for tire # 4 if my math is correct. Based on that math you could fill four tires with 30#'s one time before needing a tank refill. 30# should get you to another air source safely.

I have a 10 gallon tank with 300psi. I fill my tires from 8psi to roughly 27psi. I seem to get about 5 rounds before it equalizes

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

I have a 10 gallon tank with 300psi. I fill my tires from 8psi to roughly 27psi. I seem to get about 5 rounds before it equalizes

How large is a 10 gallon air tank compared to 5 gallon propane tank ?

 

[Trail_pilot]

How large is a 10 gallon air tank compared to 5 gallon propane tank ?

Taller but not quite as big around? Look up powertank and you should be able to see what I have.

 

[AAMoussa]

Happy New Year follow Overlanders!!!!

I have a 20 pound Power Tank. It's great, but it's taking too much space in my Decked drawer. I'm think of getting an ARB twin compressor (CKMTP12) with extra tank. So, I can free up the space in my drawer for my future 22" Cook Partner stove and airlock as well. Here's the link: 20 lb Power Tank Builder.

 

[Pineapple]

I use the ARB twin. Works perfectly, I even helped a guy out with a dump trailer loaded down with about 10K of wood. Filled his tires quick.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

Taller but not quite as big around? Look up powertank and you should be able to see what I have.

Thanks, I'll do that. It's always nice when someone post info that they give names of products if they know them. I need to follow up with that kind of info myself but so far no one has asked me for anything. Maybe they are not interested enough in my stuff.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

Taller but not quite as big around? Look up powertank and you should be able to see what I have.

Well so much for the tank. $516 for just the tank and another $200 to make it work. My pockets are not that deep.
Thanks for the info though.

 

[tjZ06]

For some reason I thought I already replied in this thread, but I guess not. I use this: I'd like to do on-board air with a big tank eventually, but right now this gets the job done and is much easier to move from vehicle to vehicle. When I still had a big Class A RV that ran 315/85-22.5 tires and was over 40k lbs this compressor could get the tires up to the required 120psi (granted, if they were down much at all it took a looooong time). On my fullsize truck ('11 Chevy 2500 diesel) with 35x12.5-18"s it takes a good 10 minutes per tire to go from about 25psi back to 75psi. The compressor is rated for continuous duty up to 40 minutes at a time: 450P-Auto Portable Compressor | VIAIR so it'll just get all 4 before it needs a break. Often I just take my time and get one tire done, then let it have ~5 minutes to rest, so it takes a full hour to air back up that truck. On the WJ with 265/75-16"s (about 31.6x11.2") it is noticeably quicker... I haven't timed that one but it's definitely under 30min to come back up to 40ish from 18psi.

Again, in a perfect world I'd have something mounted and a big tank (it's the tank that would make things way faster) but right now moving it between vehicles and being that I already own it, this gets the job done nicely.

-TJ

 

[Trail_pilot]

Well so much for the tank. $516 for just the tank and another $200 to make it work. My pockets are not that deep.
Thanks for the info though.

Ha ha ya they are pricey. Smittybilt has a cheaper option but it's still kinda up there. I got mine with store discounts on manufacture year end blow out deal so I would have been crazy not to lol. 3 of us at the shop ended up buying them. They work quick and that's the main reason I got it because I usually try to spend as much time out as I can and have a 2+ hour drive home no matter where I get out to. The extra couple minutes it saves me means I can get home that much quicker.... I have a curry antirock away bar to do the same job as my disconnects too for the same reason.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

Ha ha ya they are pricey. Smittybilt has a cheaper option but it's still kinda up there. I got mine with store discounts on manufacture year end blow out deal so I would have been crazy not to lol. 3 of us at the shop ended up buying them. They work quick and that's the main reason I got it because I usually try to spend as much time out as I can and have a 2+ hour drive home no matter where I get out to. The extra couple minutes it saves me means I can get home that much quicker.... I have a curry antirock away bar to do the same job as my disconnects too for the same reason.

Your very well equipped , hang on to it for posterity .