# Tire Deflator



## SeaSalt

How do you guys deflate your tires? I heard people use defaltors... any suggestions?


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## Singletjeff

Get one of these, then get an old stem from a tire (usually can pick up an old one for free at a tire shop) use some loc-tite on the threads so you never lose it and bingo, you have a tire deflater. Just unscrew the valve to the right pressure then screw it back in.


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## OBX_Nomad

My house key has never failed me.


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## hokieboy

use the backside of a tire gauge. It has a tire deflator on it and u can turn it around to make sure u are at the right psi.


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## Mark G

hokieboy said:


> use the backside of a tire gauge. It has a tire deflator on it and u can turn it around to make sure u are at the right psi.


 I do the same thing, but a buddy with commercial tires (80 psi) uses the deflators they sell in some shops. Will have to admit it gets a little hard on the old back when bending over to deflate the tire for long periods- it takes awhile for him to get down to 20psi - in his case I think the cost is justified


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## hokieboy

Yea. I hear ya surf cat. Im only dropping about 20psi per tire so it doesnt take to long. BTW you can pick up a tire gauge for free at any local auto place and i am pretty sure napa gives them away for free or they might be like $2. Deff an inexpensive way to airdown.


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## mdram

a friend of mine took a couple of binder clips, drilled small holes em them and threaded small screws in. cheap and easy


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## fyremanjef

*I have the screw on kind*

I use the ones that you can set to a certain psi, like 10 psi. All you do is screw it on, it makes an annoying whistle sound, but stops automatically when the desire pressure is reached. They are like $10-15 in area tackle shops. I find its easier to screw it on, set it and forget it. 

I was worried about using a valve stem unscrewer thing as I did not want to let out too much air, but they work much faster than what I got.


I have a tire gauge that has a bleeder valve that i also use. this has a about a 8" hose (between the stem and the gauge) lets you bleed out air after airing back up (if you over inflate).


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## Dyhard

Singletjeff said:


> Get one of these, then get an old stem from a tire (usually can pick up an old one for free at a tire shop) use some loc-tite on the threads so you never lose it and bingo, you have a tire deflater. Just unscrew the valve to the right pressure then screw it back in.


Yep, one of those.
Get a pack of spare valve cores in case you loose one.
Just take the core all the way out, count the number of seconds to get to the right preasure and then reinstal the core. Very fast! Repete on the other tires.
It also makes a good show. Everyone is looking and betting on weather you get the core back in before the tire goes flat!


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## CrawFish

Here's another question. If my car is at 32psi on the street and lower to 20psi on the sand, that's about 62% inflated. Then why would a car with 80psi deflates down to 20psi?


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## Shooter

Well I have D load range tires and run mine at around 65 PSI and deflate down to 25 on the sand. 
The heavier load range tires such as D & E have a much stiffer side wall and just letting out to say 35 will not let the side walls out enough to make a big enough foot print in the sand unless your carring a camper in the bed and the extra weight will help flaten out the side walls.


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## Teddy

I got a set of 4 screw on deflaters came with a key chain and all screw back to back after use 11.95 fatboys. Screw them on and since it is slower than pulling the stem once the first one is on and you get around to the last one the first is ready to be checked. Saves my BACK! Cheap and easy.


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## Big Worm

*Compare them*

Here is everything you need to know about them...
http://www.parksoffroad.com/prodreview/deflatortest/deflatormain.htm


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## SeaSalt

man, that was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks Big Worm. I heard good things about Oasis deflator.


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## Big Worm

You got it man. Got it in my Favs.

BTW SOL had a real good thread about them, alot guys had all kinds of them and they were stacking them up against eachother, pros, cons and some of them have been using them for years. Worth a read.


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## hockeynut1797

Oasis deflators. Well worth the money.


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## longcast

I'll second or third about the Oasis deflators are just right. Put them on when you get to where you are buying bait & when you get back to your truck all 4 tires are deflated and ready for sand. Just take them off, put your caps back on & off ya go.


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## can't fish today

hokieboy said:


> use the backside of a tire gauge. It has a tire deflator on it and u can turn it around to make sure u are at the right psi.


like this kind


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## Bluedogfishing

I have always liked the Staun deflators. They are not to loud and they COMPLETELY shut off when they hit the set pressure. They go for around $60 for a set of four. If you would like to see my report on these check out my link.
http://www.bluedogfishing.com/Reviews/staun2.htm

Ron


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## SeaSalt

checked out the link. thanks... its between oasis or staun.


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## Catch This

I have been using the Tire Buddy deflator for close to 6 years. It saves my back! One on each side sure does speed things up


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## Flipper

Just get a Hummer H1 Alpha.


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## Wabrer

I apologize for bump an old topic from the dead, just have a few interesting observations from personal experience, maybe someone will need this information in the future.I had an ARB, and somehow misplaced it.
I've since had 2 sets of the Trailhead deflators https://mechanicguides.com/best-tire-deflators/ , and am now back to the old trusty ARB.
The Trailheads refuse to deflate if your starting pressure is below 28psi, then they do not fully shut off, rather they just bleed air at a slower rate once down to pressure. You end up monitoring them anyways, and to be honest, the ARB is nearly as quick... it however works every time.
I can be wheeling at 1200' elevation one trip and 6000'+ the following trip, so, the automatic deflators do not appeal to me... if you have to watch them anyways, and finish up manually, why not just go the simple and trusted system.
I have found that when you have to monitor the automatic systems, then double check with a guage, and possibly finish the job manually, that the ARB ends up being faster. And, since I had lost confidence in the system, I was always double checking in the end.
Yes, I have to kneel at each wheel for a couple minutes, but, all of my wheeling partners are doing the same (they too have given up on the automatic systems, well, some have never bought into the automatic systems, and saved money while the rest of us went down that road), or they are unloading from a trailer... now that takes some time..I like to watch YouTube videos of a similar subject when I'm looking for information about the right product. I hope this helps someone in the future. Good luck!


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## 1BadF350

I’ve had good success with “Tire Buddy” deflators. I bought four to speed things up. I ran different pressures front to back so I stamped them with their setting once they were set.


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## surfchunker

yeah the tire deflators are the bomb, once you set them it is all good, screw them on and walk away and do something else and come back and they are done


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## Pomatomus salta

http://www.jtbrooks.com/

THE BEST ! HANDS DOWN ! tried the rest...these are the best....


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## Catch This

I have bad knees, at one time or another; I have tried just about every deflator out there. 
For one tire at a time, the ARB is the easiest, fastest, and most expensive. It allows you to pull the valve stem, watch the pressure drop on a gauge and reinsert the stem when you get to desired pressure. It is a little pricey at $50.00 per unit, but it is the fastest for one tire at a time. I am currently running a F250 and have to go down from 65 and 80 to 20. I have one of these….but read on.
View attachment 57949


The original Tire buddy deflator is the first one I purchased. Once I got it dialed in to stop at 20lbs, it was great, but only one tire at a time. My knees were still working then. I should have purchased 3 more to have a full set. It was reliable and slowed down as the pressure was reduced and stopped completely at 20 lbs. In retrospect, I should have purchased 3 more for a full set. If I am not mistaken, they are now on their third generation (Tirebuddy III). Depending upon the cost for a set of 4, I would give them serious consideration.

Don’t bother with the el cheapo sets of 4 off of Flea bay. I bought em, spent close to 2 hours setting all 4 to 20 lbs. by deflating and reinflating the tires. When it was done, I thought it would be great, just go around the truck once, screw em all in and wait till they are done. Wrong, the first time I went to air down prior to going over the ramp, all 4 deflated to different pressures. They appeared to be brass, but they were junk. Picture of el cheapos
View attachment 57951



I got a set of Oasis trailheads a couple of years ago and that is what I am currently using and I do recommend these. They are relatively easy to adjust the pressure setting with the enclosed allen wrench. I put all four on at once and let em go. As the pressure reduces, they slow down and they do stop at whatever pressure you set the predetermined stop. Accordingly, it may take a couple of adjustments to get them to precisely where you want them to stop. Unlike the el cheapos discussed above, once adjusted you don’t have to worry about the Trailheads again. The only downside is if you pull them off before you reach your desired setting, they will not restart after the pressure drops to 28 lbs.
In summary, I recommend the trailheads.
View attachment 57953


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## Jwalker

I am currently making a system that i will be able to inflate/deflate and/or equalize all 4 tires at one. Yes some might consider it a little bulky because if involves 2 20' sections of air hose but i think it will be worth it. Connect all for tires up, open valve and watch gauge until you get where you want. If you want to drop the fronts even more unhook the rears and keep going. When ready to air up connect all 4 tires and you can either connect an air chuck and open a valve or you can fill through a shrader valve. All 4 inflated at once.


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## Jwalker

View attachment 58679







Here’s my setup. 2 20’ of air line teed with a 3’ drop on each. Chucks that lock on the Schrader valves. Church air lines to valve.


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## Benji

Jwalker said:


> View attachment 58683
> 
> View attachment 58679
> View attachment 58681
> 
> Here’s my setup. 2 20’ of air line teed with a 3’ drop on each. Chucks that lock on the Schrader valves. Church air lines to valve.


I'm interested on how well it will work. You may need a very large air compressor to inflate all 4 tires at one shot. Have you ever tried to inflate a 100psi tire at a gas station?


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## Jwalker

It should inflate the tires to what ever the psi the compressor is regulated to. The biggest issue would be time to inflate. Really depends on the cfm of the compressor. I know people who off road that use similar setups running onboard compressors with no tanks. I figure it should speed up airing down and take about the same time to air up as it would doing each tire individually. Just eliminate all the time squatting at each tire. I’m going to test it out tomorrow.


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## Jwalker

Just tested it out. About 1 minute to hook up. Just under 2 minutes to drop from 40 to 20 psi and just under 5 minutes to go from 20 to 40 psi. I used my small craftsman portable compressor to air back up. And all 4 tires are the exact same psi


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## Benji

Jwalker said:


> Just tested it out. About 1 minute to hook up. Just under 2 minutes to drop from 40 to 20 psi and just under 5 minutes to go from 20 to 40 psi. I used my small craftsman portable compressor to air back up. And all 4 tires are the exact same psi


pretty cool. You just need an onboard air compesor now.


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## Jwalker

Been looking at different options. probably going to be a project later on.


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## wannabeangler

I use a tire gauge, but only air down after I get stuck...lol. I have only been stuck once. Aired down to 12 psi and crawled out with ease.


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## Adam

1BadF350 said:


> I’ve had good success with “Tire Buddy” deflators. I bought four to speed things up. I ran different pressures front to back so I stamped them with their setting once they were set.


+1. Mine whistle until they get to the set air pressure then stop, easy as pie.


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## Garboman

Jwalker said:


> It should inflate the tires to what ever the psi the compressor is regulated to. The biggest issue would be time to inflate. Really depends on the cfm of the compressor. I know people who off road that use similar setups running onboard compressors with no tanks. I figure it should speed up airing down and take about the same time to air up as it would doing each tire individually. Just eliminate all the time squatting at each tire. I’m going to test it out tomorrow.


I use my car key. it is handy.

Mostly ride around on 20 pound PSI (I think its around 20 PSI but I never use a gauge, I use the eye method and then push on the sidewall with my fingers to test for that squishy feeling.

When I get in the sand I put Quadratrac transmission in low and back in high when I leave the sand.

When I first went on the sand, there were no instructions on the internet (what was the internet?) and sand got in the air gauges which made them unreliable for me.


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## redfishnc

*remove the stem.*

I remove the valve stem, less than 20 seconds per tire. Takes longer to remove the caps. I go from 34 to 20 dang fast.


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## MSRIEF

SeaSalt said:


> How do you guys deflate your tires? I heard people use defaltors... any suggestions?


Stauns for me.


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