12 Volt Air Pumps

[Shooter]

OK guys here's a twist,,, I have been thinking of getting a 12 volt air pump for the times one ain't close around, now for the fun part,,, I drive a F250 with 33" BFG's with the camper on I run them around 60 PSI. I know most cheap 12 volt pumps will burn up on the first tire so I know I will have to poney up a few extra bucks, I remember seeing a pump a few years back that you pre-set the air pressure and just stand back but due to many years of age and decaying brain cells I don't remember where.

Anyone have any first hand use with some of them or knows a good one let me and anyone else looking for one in on the big secret.

The one who comes up with the prize winning pump will recieve a hand full of old dull jig heads, a bucket full of empty beer cans and your choice of a hot cup of coffee or a smooooth cup of sippen burbon. :beer:

[Lip Ripper]

hey shooter, i dont know how portable you want it to be but they make one about the size of a 12pack of beer that you mount under your hood that put out some serous volume. you can even run air tools off of it.

as for the little plastic ones, i had one i used to carry around and it took forever to inflate a tire.

[Southern Man]

I just have the standard Wally World model, The setting for the pressure is about 10lb's off. But it has saved my butt to many times to count. I don't change tires beside the road, I blow it up with said pump, find the leak, plug it, pump it back up and down the road I go. Mine says it will pump up to 250LBs, don't know if I believe that but that's what it says. I do believe it would pump up to 60 psi.

[AtlantaKing]

I think in your case, an Oasis Air Compressor may be the only way to go. You do drive one monster truck dude! :eek: Mount it under the hood and run a line with a quick detach terminal on the front bumper or grill to hook up an air hose to.

[Mark G]

Do you have a a generator on the camper that an inverter can be used with, so you can use a small 120volt compressor ? I use one of these at home, but it is slow as all get out.

Are you looking for something for the occassional emergency, or wanting to inflate all the tires after pulling off the beach?

When you have the weight of the vehicle off the tire (vehicle jacked up), smaller compressors will work ok, with the vehicle weight on the tire, it's another story.

[BubbaHoTep]

Hey Shooter,

I used to have one of those that you preset the pressure on. I got it at Sams Club several years ago (seems like it was about 1990ish or maybe a little later??). All I remember is that it was yellow and it went up to 80 pounds. Sorry I don't remember the brand on it, but it was whatever Sams was selling at the time. I used it a couple of years, and then I just stopped trusting it. What happened was I set it to 14 psi to inflate my front mower tire and went into the house. It blew out the tire when it didn't shut off. After that, I used it along with a gauge like I would a regular one, which sort of defeated the purpose of having the preset on it. I think it "bit the dust" (specifically got tossed in the garbage) when we moved to this house in 04.

I'm always piddling around at garage sales and flea markets, though, and I'll keep my eyes open for who makes one. Honestly, I haven't seen one of those in a few years either. I guess those decaying brain cells are contagious on my end, too. Ha Ha

I know those guys that install tires have those huge machines in "commercial" sizes, but I don't know about the portables. As I said, I'll poke around and see what I can see.

Sorry I couldn't help you more.

[Southern Man]

I think what your talking about are Cambell Hastings or something like that.

[lil red jeep]

I just use a small Campbell-Hausfeld I bought at Northern or someplace like that. The gerbils run their little tails off but it's better than nothing! Slow but steady!

[1obxnut]

Shooter,

Try JCWhitney dot com and type in "Q89" in the search field, you may like it.

I'm ording mine next friday (payday).

[oldschool]

Shooter,

I've got one that fits under my hood, you might have seen it when you and Eric were helping with my busted starter. It draws 30 amps and handles my 31" tires just fine, though I only run 35psi. I air up from 19psi in around 10 minutes.

It's the Q Industries MV50 SuperFlow Hi-Volume Air Compressor and it is available from many sources, I got mine from Amazon.

[racewire20]

Just a suggestion, At work we use nitrogen bottles to air up tires. They make the bottles in smaller sizes and some out of aluminum. These bottles will hold thousands of pounds of nitrogen so they will last some time depending on what size bottle you choose. If you have space somewhere in your rig the larger cylinder would last quite a while. just attach a welding regulator and what ever length of hose you need to reach all four corners and your good to go. Just have it refilled at your welders supply outfit.

[narfpoit]

With your welding skills you should consider fabricating a bumper that is air tight that can be used as an air tank. Just fill it up where ever is convienant and depending on the size should hold enough to fill up your tires (you could do front and rear and link them if needed). And you could still get the 12 volt compressor to fill up the tank as it should be able to inflate the tires better from a tank than dirrectly from the compressor.

[longcast]

Steve, both you and Eric have seen what I have done on my F350 when y'all built my "folding" back porch. I mounted a "winch extension" behind my front bumper to hold an Oasis 1000 compressor, with a Nitrogen bottle as a backup.

With that size compressor I can fill on of my 35" "E" rated tire from 20 to 65lb in under 90 seconds. The Nitrogen is just as fast.

You work for a living, and know "time is money". So, this type comp costs around $1K and will refill all 4 of your tires in under 5 minutes.

The Nitrogen bottle will cost $100 for the tank deposit, and around $50 for a gauge set, and a refill charge of $17.

[jcbrock]

I like racewire's idea. I use scuba tanks to refill tires. A 30 cuft pony bottle will take four 33x12.5 tires from 20 to 60 lbs (I have done the math and have accomplished the task), but that drains the tank. An Aluminum 80 would do it twice with a little reserve. You can get a cheap regulator for less than $100 (it doesn't have to be new or even good, your life isn't depending on it for this task) and put the inflator on a low pressure hose. It works great and FAST! and you can refill the tank at any scuba shop or fire station (if you know the guys).