Shellshock's DIY inflator / deflator

Set of 5 of the Haltec chucks for cheap, cheaper than buying 4 separately. Downside: Bezos says it ships in a month. I bought it so I can be impatient about something else.

$43 Haltec H-5265 Standard Bore Lock-On Air Chuck (5 Pack) – Durable Tire Inflation Chuck, Gold Finish

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07RFNL17D

Edit: the link defaults to the $55 option but I found one for $42, still says sold and shipped by Amazon.

 

What do you think would be the best way to make a 2-tire setup modular so I can more or less clone it down the road and connect it all to get a 4-tire setup? I'm thinking may not need changes, just make a sort of Y splitter that connects to the guage and compressor and has, say 6 foot lengths that in turn can be connected to the 2-tire T setup in the 2nd post.

Driven this way because I don't wanna spend too much money getting parts for 4 all at once.

 

If it was me, I’d make 2x of these inflators then make a 6’ lead that comes to a T with air chucks on it to plug in each of the inflators.

The 4 tire systems I’ve seen go T -> 6’ hose -> T -> 6 foot to chuck & 10 foot to T - > second chuck

I personally dont really see the need for a 4 tire system, its a lot of extra hose to haul around. I’d definitely do 1/4” hose if you doing it it.

 

What @Shellshock said.

Just toss a second tee in the main line with a female coupler to use when you want.

 

Weight and size makes sense. It's really just to satisfy my OCD and get all tires dialed in to identical pressure and put the rest of the 35 ft to use. I'll put a T on the tail.

 

If you want to feel better about the DIY price...

https://dasmule.com/products/morrfl...lation-system-155?_pos=5&_sid=19e64de8e&_ss=r

 

That's a lot of chedda.

 

I cried when I saw that. The MORRflate was at least 185 or so for 4, if memory serves. Not as fun as doing it yourself either way.

 

Yeah me too. This is super easy to build, doesn’t take all that long and saves you some cash

 

To further reduce the cost of this build, the Clamptite tool can be easily "replicated" with about $3 worth of parts (turnbuckle, bolt, and wingnut), a grinder/file and a drill. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w1_9IkeRmQ&t=1m10s

 

That certainly opens the door.

I could make a bigger one for larger gauge wire for stuff like garden hose.

 

This likely a dumb question, but how do these regulators actually work? I get how it works to inflate, but if you wanted to air down would you just set it to your desired pressure, hook it up to the tires and NOT connect it to the compressor so it would beed down to your setting?

Does the knob have pressures specified on it?

 

No, you can't air down to set pressure with this. It only can regulate a higher pressure input into a lower pressure output.

The knob doesn't have graduations on it. I just tested it to find a useful setting and use the tpms readout or a manual gauge to check it.

 

If anyone is looking, those killer air chucks are as cheap as I have seen them:

$12 Haltec H-5265 Standard Bore Lock-On Air Chuck,Gold

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01938M8MW

 

I kinda sort a did that for one that I made for a friend:


The short Ts that you can see are for the front tires. They have longer legs that then go to the rears. To split it, just toss in fittings and QD male / female near the main T. Female toward the T. In the pic, that main T is hidden on the top, right of the pic.

I always put one of the air chucks (the leftmost in the pic) on a QD to be used by itself for typical air checks around the house.


With your own clamp tool (worms, oetiker, or wire clamps), the sky is the limit. I would recommend rubber or polyurethane line over PVC. Though they are all easy to work with.


I enjoy the two tire ones the most, but four tire ones are great also. Just take a bit more planning to make.

 

Hello gents! Awesome thread and Thank you for all the info. I have a similar project in mind and was wondering if I could get some feedback. I have a 2021 Tacoma OR.

I have this air compressor: https://summit-offroad.com/products/summit-dual-air-compressor
We at Summit Off-Road are offering our own portable dual air compressor with performance that rivals the best in the industry at 300lpm. Powered via jumper leads that easily clamp to your vehicles battery, and with 26 feet of air line, our compressor can be operated both easily and efficiently. With additional features such as an automatic thermal cutoff switch and a 120 psi working pressure limit, we’ve made sure that our compressor is up to the toughest of trips. The compressor can also be used to power light air tools, as the included hose has a quick disconnect fitting. It uses 90 amps.

I want to mount the compressor between the rear fender and the truck bed behind the tire. My husband is the engineer and I am the idea person. He will hard wire the compressor in - we bought a relay and just installed my spod last Weekend! I want to put together this DIY inflator system but I want to mount/install it underneath the truck and have it ready to go all the time. I was thinking about installing retractors - similar to the ones used on company ID badges but sturdier and attach them somewhere around each wheel well and attach the end of the hose with the air chuck to the retractors and when its time to air up I can reach up, pull out a foot or so of hose and air up the tire and when done it will retract back into a secure spot. I want to do all 4 tires at once. Also, in the bed next to the area where the compressor will be is a cut out for cargo lights. I was thinking the gage could be kept in that spot and I could pop the cut out out and pull the gage out a bit. Its a rough draft of an idea but my question is: could this work with this system? Also, can I add anything to deflate it with the same system? If not, does anyone know of a system that can do this? TIA

 

Sounds similar to this it would be easy enough to DIY

 

The thing that needs to be considered with a system that is under the truck is that it will get covered in dirt, mud, and snow. IMHO, weatherproof the compressor as best as you can and limit the inflator connections to one, in a weather-protected spot. This will give you reliable OBA and keep you guys happy when you need to air up.

Also, one of the nice parts about @Shellshock 's kit is that it allows you to deflate conveniently. Just hook up and begin the chatting while most others are squatting by their stems or running around to each tire.

Finally, having made a four-tire kit for a friend, stick with a two tire kit. The four tire one is just an octopus of hoses. Two is easily managed.

 

Thanks. My husband is really pushing back on the retractable air chuck part, he thinks they will flop loose and get dirty or damaged.

 

Yeah. I’d probably just run a chuck to the front / rear. Likely just one cuz I’d need hose anyway.

if I was getting fancy, I’d have a chuck under the hood with the compressor and then one in the rear somewhere

a four tire kit seems like a good idea to a lot of people but I still much prefer the 2 tire kit. I’ll typically be slightly different front / rear. Especially if towing or loaded down. It’s also a lot less hose required.