Portable Air Compressors / Jump Starters

[rich]

Hi Guys,

I am planning a road trip from Placerville, down highway 1 to Hunington Beach then out through Joshua tree to Arizona to see Grandma for Christmas then home through the Grand Canyon and Mojave. A highlight of the trip down will be beach camping directly on the sand at Pismo beach. I want to be able to air down the tires to drive on the beach and air them back up so I have a few questions to the group.

1. Do you prefer on board air (permanently mounted compressor) or the portable kind like the ones that have a jump start battery attached to them as well?

2. Do the portable ones take forever and what rating in terms of output on the compressor do you recommend?

3. When I use to take my Toyota Landcruiser FJ40 out onto the sand I would air down to about 15 PSI but with the weight of the camper I think that might be a bit low. What do you baja rats usually air down to?

 

[Barko1]

I needed something stronger and didn't want to spend a whole lot. Walmart had a slime Heavy Duty for around $50. I couldn't find any rating on it but it was a heck of a lot more substantial that the little one I had which was fine for motorcycles but not 285's. Have barely used it but I think it will air things back up pretty well. The Slime ones have gotten good reviews.

 

[keith]

I use a Quick air 2. Takes about 2 min. per tire to air 35" tires from 15 - 35psi. A bit pricey, but I use them for work as well to air up Bobcat tires. They can be ordered as a hard mount or in a "tool box" 12"x10"x6". Mine is in a tool box.

 

[SunMan]

Lots of posts on this subject:

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1363/page__st__-10__p__6__hl__air%20compressors__fromsearch__1&#entry6

I'm similar to Les, I run about 10lbs. less than normal on washboards (i.e. 25lbs. front/35lbs rear) and 15lbs. or more less than normal for sand to start.

 

[rich]

Thanks for the info Les, it's good to hear that 10-15 lbs is still doable with the camper on. As for the quote above, what makes you against the combo charger units? Is it that the compressor is going to be weaker in those units?

 

[DirtyDog]

I found that even airing down to about 38 pounds at the Colorado rally and doing 4 days of trails there - my tires were out of balance after airing up. Anyone else experience this?

 

[rich]

The MV50 got great reviews on expo and yota tech, I think I'll order one from Amazon for our trip to the beach, can't wait!

 

[rich]

I found that even airing down to about 38 pounds at the Colorado rally and doing 4 days of trails there - my tires were out of balance after airing up. Anyone else experience this?


I'd like to hear more about this - Pismo will be early on in a long road trip if I'm gonna be out of balance I'll want to stop and get them re-balanced before heading for AZ

 

[camelracer]

I found that even airing down to about 38 pounds at the Colorado rally and doing 4 days of trails there - my tires were out of balance after airing up. Anyone else experience this?

DD.
You were probably assuming that was air you were putting your tires back in Silverton.
Actually I've never had a balance problem caused by airing down to 20 psi with the truck. I have had problems spinning the tires on the rim with the Jeep but that involves much lower pressures and a lot of throttle. I usually mark the inside of the tire and rim with a red grease pencil to see if anything slips. If it does I can realign it without rebalancing. I wouldn't think that would happen at 38 psi but maybe your new high tech rims are super slippery. Also check the tires to see if you chunked any tread.

Rich,
I would think you could run Pismo at 15 to 20 psi. Try 20 first to see how it works. The main danger of low pressure is popping a bead off the rim. This usually happens to the front when turning at speed due to the side loading. Stay sane and you will be OK.
The beach at Pismo can be cold and windy any time of the year and is usually crowded and noisy on weekends. My favorite camping area is Eucalyptus Tree. It's a good flat area back in the dunes out of the wind and has bathrooms. Ask the ranger for a map.

Dick

 

[rich]

DD.
You were probably assuming that was air you were putting your tires back in Silverton.
Actually I've never had a balance problem caused by airing down to 20 psi with the truck. I have had problems spinning the tires on the rim with the Jeep but that involves much lower pressures and a lot of throttle. I usually mark the inside of the tire and rim with a red grease pencil to see if anything slips. If it does I can realign it without rebalancing. I wouldn't think that would happen at 38 psi but maybe your new high tech rims are super slippery. Also check the tires to see if you chunked any tread.

Rich,
I would think you could run Pismo at 15 to 20 psi. Try 20 first to see how it works. The main danger of low pressure is popping a bead off the rim. This usually happens to the front when turning at speed due to the side loading. Stay sane and you will be OK.
The beach at Pismo can be cold and windy any time of the year and is usually crowded and noisy on weekends. My favorite camping area is Eucalyptus Tree. It's a good flat area back in the dunes out of the wind and has bathrooms. Ask the ranger for a map.

Dick


Thanks for the beta, I'll check that campsite out. I think we will be hitting there on a Monday or Tuesday. An out of the way campsite there would be nice to find. Ultimately even if it's crowded it will be worth it for the novelty of driving on the sand. I've driven on a lot of dirt and rocks but no sand.

 

[Desert Rancher]

Autozone has the Slime listed on sale at $39, after a $20 rebate, until 11/18/09.

 

[kcowyo]

The MV50 got great reviews on expo and yota tech, I think I'll order one from Amazon for our trip to the beach, can't wait!




I've been using one of them quite regularly over the last few years and never had a problem. The air gauge reads 5psi low, but I know that and work around it. I know a few guys have blown the fuse but I haven't yet. I bought two of them when they were selling for $25, figuring if it only lasted me a year it was still worth the price. I have yet to even open the second one after 3 years.

In places like southern Utah, the San Juans in Colorado and Death Valley, I air down to 16-18 PSI. On sand, I would go down a little lower, maybe 13-15 PSI. As was mentioned, turn slow in sand and you'll be ok. FTR, with the MV-50, I can air up from 16 PSI back up to 35 PSI in about 4 mins per tire. I also always recommend turning your truck on when the compressor is in use. It works faster and I would assume with less effort.

4WD Toyota Owner did a comprehensive review of compressors and a rebadged unit did very well. Here's a link to another round of reviews for air compressors and the MV-50 scored highly again - Air Compressor round up

The 12V, plug into your cigarette lighter types are not up to the task of inflating 4 tires. They may be ok for the soccer Mom with a flat on one of her mini-van mini tires, but anymore than that and you're asking for trouble, IMO.

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