Inflating Tyres

Aironboard is one of the products you are referring too, if you plan to do a lot of inflating they are the better way to go but expensive compared to a 12v compressor. Do your home work if you decide to go 12v way as some are way better than others.........


Aironboard

Trev,
have a look at this COMPRESSOR

I think most would carry a portable 12v electric compressor.

We carry a fixed mounted ARB one which is also used to engage a locker.

However the ability to inflate tyres is very important so we cary a second device - an air transfer hose. This can be screwed onto our spare tyre and the air put back into the 4 road tyres.

The air transfer hose is quicker and doesn't load the battery so in practise its get used more - but it can of course only inflate the 4 tyres once before it needs to be re-filled at the next servo.

I don't think you can buy air transfer hoses (?) - most are home made.

If you go for a 12 volt compressor don’t be tempted to buy a cheapie. They usually do not last, but I suppose that depends on how much you are going to use it. But you would not want it to stop working half way through using it.
We carry two 12 volt portable compressors. One cost about $200 and the other was about $50. The dearer one is great for pumping up the tyres and we carry it in our rear draw with our recovery equipment. Connects via alligator clips direct to the car battery, comes in a bag with the air hose and inflates the tyres very quickly. (We do lower our air pressures to suit what roads we are travelling on, including off road.) The other is smaller and fits inside a rear compartment of our cruiser and is handy to pump up the rear air bags and for other light uses. It just plugs into a standard cigarette type plug. I found this setup right for our uses. (I know some will say why I didn’t just install one good compressor. But like I said, this suits our needs.) Kevin

I use an ARB mark 1 12V compressor - installed in the rear of the car - hard wired to the aux. battery - using snap on air fittings, I use an air line that reaches all wheels on the car and the van - with THIS TYPE OF END FITTING (pencil gauge within ... psi - kpa etc.) it is ideal for bush trips and filling tyres on barrows and bikes at home..... well worth the outlay - mine is about 10 years old. PS: Such compressors can be relatively slow on taking all of your tyres back up to highway pressures, but scientists have proven that time travels slower on bush trips, so you won't notice this :-o).

Trev.
Got an ARB compressor "hard wired" in back of ute, this is "hard coupled" to a 10 litre capacity reservoir under the tray.
This has served well with all applications, as all plug in fittings go to the tank with hose that reaches around vehicle and c/trailer.
Having this set up with pressure switch helps in the "overheating" issue most people seem to have.
Cheers
Paul

Thanks everyone for your feedback.

I got a price on the ARB which was $349.00 and $49.95 for the guage attachment.

I suppose its like everything else you get what you pay for. Ill have to save a few dollars.

Really appreciate all the feedback. Good bunch of people on this forum.

Trev