Cheap 12V air compressors

michael ,Ihave a blue tounge 2 which i think is great but you pay the money for them. my father has a truck air wich cost about $100 from one of the auto shops afew years ago and while it takes about the same time to re inflate a tyre his dosent get the same amunt of use as mine as he doesent do much sand driving. so how long they would last with constant use i dont know.

I have one of the Supercheap Auto ones - usually around the $120 mark, but often on special for less than $100 - and find it's very good. I know a lot of people with this model and they pretty much all swear by it.

Of course, if you're re-inflating 4by tyres every day after beach/sand/offroad driving it won't last as long as the more expensive brands, but for a few uses a month I've found it worthwhile. Not too much slower than some expensive ones either - at least for 4 tyres, if you're doing other peoples tyres too, then again go for something more expensive.

What do you call cheap?

ive got two 12 volt ones from Kmart ...$12 each. One in each car and yes Ive used them about 5 times and the are slow but work a treat. Ive got a $150 one for when I go and drop my tyres on the beach

shadow

Check out ebay:

link text

I bought one of these, not expecting much but it seems happy to pump up 8 Landcruiser tyres in about 20 mins without any issues. I guess it'll do fine for occcasional use.

Not sure how cheap you mean by cheap but these are now selling for in or around $120-$140 + postage.

Hope this helps,
Alan

Truckair at about $90 was hopeless. Supercheap one at about $120 has proven to be very good and very quiet. They also now have a much larger unit for only $165...

IMHO stay away from the supercheap ones, I got stuck with tyes at 12psi and no air when my second one failed. Go a gooden, you'll be so happy you did. It's hard to justify it but when you've pumped your tyes up in 10 minutes and are back on the road you'll be so glad you went a gooden. It's a peice of mind thing too.

Hi Michael,

I got the Bushranger Pro-Air which is their middle model between the little one and the full-on Max-Air. I got it at Ray's when they had one of their regular 20% off sales so it cost me $199.95 (normal retail $250)

Used it for the first time over the weekend and was really happy. Inflated my 265/70R17 tyres from 28psi back up to 38psi in about 2 minutes per tyre.

Seems of good quality construction and did the job well. Comes in a good canvas bag and does not take up too much space.

Given the number of times I will use it (maybe 10 times a year) I could not justify the extra $150 odd for the Max Air which has a coiled hose and few extra bits and about 40% more flow rate. The Pro Air is just right for me.

It is about the price of 2 of the Supercheap jobs but I will bet that it lasts more than twice as long as well as get the job done in half the time!

Cheers
Muddy 'doe