air compressors

robert
if you dont know what you want buy 2 cheep ones from any out let & save your money till you do by buying 2 you will have a spare if the other one dies or while one is cooling down you can be pumping with the other or pumping 2 tyres at once , every $ you save you can spend on a few extra kms you may want to travel
jm2cw
Regards Bruce

I would not buy any of the cheap ones, its just false economy. If you buy a cheap one and it breaks in the middle of nowhere, then you're stuffed...could end up expensive. I purchased the big red for two reasons, reliability and price. It received very good write ups in the mags and I got it at a great price. It works like a charm. Good luck and safe travels.
John

Personally I'd Buy a good one had my ARB for 3 years no prob's but if you want to buy a cheapy such as supper cheap & it fails you wont have to wait to long for help in the bush to long these days as long as you aren't in to remote a spot.

Have a safe trip
Wish i was still here / Gulf in July

I bought a "Truckmaster" air compressor and it has worked well when asked too, it was a cheapie relatively speaking at around $120. I did have a problem with it when on an extended trip, the problem was around the air filtration getting into the cylinder, the suction valve started sticking occasionally. Small things like the air filtration and quality of lubrication are what you pay the extra for. I had to strip the pump down clean it and put it back together one night instead of having a coldy, the pump worked fine afterwards, depends where your priorities lie, I personally viewed the pump as critical to reliability and could be the difference between a good trip and a great trip. On my return three years ago I purchased the ARB compressor and mounted it under the passengers seat. Haven't touched the compressor or worried about reliability since. If you look at life cycle costs, spending that little bit extra pays of in the long term. I was also planning on adding some accessories that required the air compressor so I was sort of forced into the purchase, if you know what I mean. Keep the shiny side up

Robert, if you don't want to spend $400, how much (reallistically) do you want to spend?

I paid $240 for a Bushmaster that is a solid, middle of the road model. So it takes 2 minutes longer to pump 4 tyres than a Blue Tongue or Big Red. So what? It did some hard yakka over easter - several times pumping 8 tyres from 20 psi to 45 psi, with barely a rest (except when being moved between vehicles). Didn't once get too hot to touch.

Before buying though, ask yourself - will I ever use it again? How often? If not, then hire. However, you'll likely find that a 6 week hire will cost you as much as your own.Be good, or be quick.
Rohan (Sydney)

I have an permenantly mounted ARB compressor in my rig but it has let me down when the pressure switch failed (Luckily it could be bypassed). I have since bought a second unit but this time selected the Mega Grunter which comes with gauge, flexi hose and carry bag all for under $100. It is actually faster than the ARB. If I had to do it all again and had no intention of installing air lockers later, I would buy two cheaper units (one with accessories and one without). Mount one under the bonnet and keep the other in a bag with punchure repair kit as a backup.
Good luck with your decision.Cheers
Allan

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP INFORMATION HAS BEEN GREAT I THINK I MIGHT GO FOR THE GRUNTER CYCLONE OR BUSHRANGER THANKS AGAIN

Robert,

After hearing good things about them, we bought the Cyclone from Repco. Normally about $120 with hose, gauge, bag etc but we got it on sale for $90. Excellent unit. On a recent trip away we pumped 6 tyres from 18 to 36lb in a bit over 20 minutes without cutting out. Our travelling companion had just forked out big $$$ for an ARB compressor and when we got our "cheapy" compressor out he said, "as soon as I've finished I'll do the rest of yours for you". Had a bit of a snigger when we finished first!

Agree with comments above re having a back up if your compressor breaks down. Failures can occur regardless of the make. We carry a $20 Kmart jobby as our backup.

:o) MelissaPetrol 4.5L GU Patrol &
Camprite TL8 offroad camper