Favorite portable air compressor for tires?

Figure had to make a whole different post for this.

Looking for a portable air compressor I can fill up my 32's in a reasonable amount of time (don't really care if it's a few minutes difference between models, long as it doesn't take like an hour).

Would also like the plug in adapter in the cab (don't think I really need/would use the aligator 12V clips).

How long have you had it, how reliable...

Is the light worthy on some of these?

Obviously price kind of important, hopefully around $50... not looking for anything over $100

Carrying case would kind of be cool but not necessary.

 

You say not over $100, but honestly, you get what you pay for. I'm really happy with my Viair 400P. I haven't had it that long, but it's been great, and pretty much a standard compressor; very popular. It says it's good for "up to 35" tires", I don't plan on anything more than 33's, but IMO you shouldn't be planning to operate your compressor at/near its MAX on a regular basis.

The other one that's good is the 88P, and that does fit in your budget.

Do NOT get one with the cigarette adapter. Get one that hooks to your battery, and run the engine while you're filling.

I have a small crappy compressor someone gave me that uses the cig plug adapter, and that thing sucks, or rather, it doesn't blow. I'd have better luck with a bicycle pump... It took 9 minutes to fill ONE tire (32") from 18 to 30 psi, and that thing was HOT afterwords.

Anything that doesn't draw enough power from the cig adapter to blow a fuse will be a tiny worthless pump. They're nice for little car tires, but if you are planning on using it to air up after wheeling, don't bother with them. The cig adapters can't handle the amperage needed for a decent pump.

 

Portable? I always have my Campbell-Hausfeld 60 Gal 10.2 SCFM compressor ready to go on the trails!



Kidding. I know a lot of guys run the ARB compressor as an OBA system:

ARB CKMA12 Air Compressor High Output On-Board 12V Air Compressor

$338 ARB CKMA12 On-Board Air Compressor High Performance 12 Volt for Air Locker Differentials and Tire Inflation

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009F49NP0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_AqOmBb5WRF754

I’ve heard good things about Vlair’s portable system too. I would avoid no-name companies just because.

Viair 00088 88P Portable Air Compressor

$90 VIAIR 88P - 00088 Tire Inflator Portable On/Offroad Air Compressor for Car, Truck, SUV & RV | 12V Heavy Duty Pump 120 PSI, Alligator Clip, Twist Chuck

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005ASY23I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_nrOmBb3NNSR9S

It’s usually nice to run directly on a 12v connection as most of these things use up a lot of electricity. I’ve heard of people burning out their fusible links because of running some compressors.

 

$90 VIAIR 88P - 00088 Tire Inflator Portable On/Offroad Air Compressor for Car, Truck, SUV & RV | 12V Heavy Duty Pump 120 PSI, Alligator Clip, Twist Chuck

https://www.amazon.com/Viair-00088-88P-Portable-Compressor/dp/B005ASY23I

Viair 88P. This thing works GREAT. Like @jbrandt said, you're not going to get the sort of quality compressor you're looking for if it's pulling power through your cigarette lighter. You do want something that pulls directly from the battery.

 

I'm happy with my smittybilt compressor I got for half price during a 4wp sale. https://www.4wheelparts.com/Air-Com...jqtDYYkO_21N_WSQmxj9c9nv9O1bmttBoChQwQAvD_BwE

 

To add a little bit instead of editing my first post 40 times...

All else being equal, what you get with the more expensive compressors, essentially, is speed. The expensive ones usually have a better duty cycle (can be run longer before needing a break to cool down), higher flow rates and higher max pressures.

While the max pressure doesn't seem to really matter much when filling tires (you only need 30-35psi, right?), what that means is that you are farther away from maxing it out, therefore it is not working as hard, which means it lasts longer. If you are constantly maxing out even a high quality name brand unit like the

$107 Viair 88P Portable Compressor Kit (12V, 120 Psi, Forup to 33" Tires)

Viair 88P, it won't last as long as the 400P, all else being equal. Our Tacoma motors last many hundreds of thousands of miles, but bounce the thing off the rev limiter all the time and what happens?

For example:
Viair 088P: max 120psi, 1.5cfm max flow rate.

Viair 400P: max 150psi, 2.3cfm max flow rate.


Both of these will theoretically fill a 40" tire to 30psi (technically, so will that crap one I have), however, the 400P will do it quicker and not have to work as hard to do it.

The other thing is I have a 125psi air tank that I take with me. This is for various things like re-seating a tire bead if necessary. I can re-fill the tank to its full pressure with the 400P without it working very hard to do so.

 

Gotcha thanks for the feedback everybody.

Bartmaster1234 - had a good laugh there

 

I have this one, because I'm a cheapass and I have all day. I use alligator clips on the battery with it usually but it'll work through the cig lighter port. Yep it's slow as shit. But it will shut off when it reaches the stated PSI. So I don't need to babysit it.

$33 EPAuto 12V DC Portable Air Compressor Pump, Digital Tire Inflator

https://www.amazon.com/EPAuto-Porta...44979&sr=1-5&keywords=air+compressor+portable

 

I have the Viair 87P. Works great and it pulls off the battery and not the cigarette lighter. It'll fill all 4 of my 31's from 20 to 32 psi in around 10 minutes. Also came with a case which is nice.

$80 Viair 00087 87p Portable Compressor, Black

https://www.amazon.com/Viair-00087-87P-Portable-Compressor/dp/B00CDWJRZW

 

Boom, ordered the 88p, all around sounds good for my use. I would like some kind of bag/case for it though, any recommendations? Checking out tool bags on Amazon.

 

Just did the same on 88P. Someone on Amazon posted a pic of Home Depot's, Husky brand 12" tool bag - fit the 88p perfectly for $7.99. Gonna pick one up myself!

 

I'm running two Viair 444C under my hood for OBA purposes... They're hiding at the top of the pic in my passenger fender with a manifold mounted to the firewall.

 

I have the Viar 70P and I can add 5-10 psi to a tire in just a few minutes. My neighbor has also been borrowing it for his Jeep tire that won't hold air and it fully inflates it in under 10 minutes. I've had it for around 5 years and it still works flawlessly. Viar also makes compressors with more power, but I've been happy with the 70P.

 

This is cool, it has a honda engine, a little pricey, but you can take it anywhere and don't need an external power source.

https://www.tylertool.com/rolair-gd...MIyu-ti8702wIVhm5-Ch2AzQkJEAkYFCABEgJdYvD_BwE

 

@arifleman did you get/find that bag? I was at home depot couple days ago but only saw bags in the $20-30 range

 

On-board compressor would be cool, but I don't wheel enough to justify it. Just need something for the just in case scenario and occasional use.

 

Yep, got that bag. It is Husky model #82004N11. Here's a link, you can see if your local Home Depot carries it.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-12-in-Tool-Bag-82004N11/203224030

BTW, I got the 88P and tried it out yesterday - I like it, inflated my tire from 15psi to 30psi in about two minutes tops and unit was only just warm to the touch. It runs quiet, no vibration, lightweight, easy to store. Oh, and the gauge on it is spot on compared to an electronic tire gauge I use. You just have to shut the air compressor off in order to read accurate psi. I wanted a compressor to aid in very occasional flat tire repair or air-up out in the woods and this one fills that niche perfectly.

 

It’s not a compressor, but consider a power tank? Significantly faster than any compressor, allows you to run air tools, cheaper than big dollar air systems, though far from “cheap” I’m sure there’s some other off brands that may be less expensive. Fills are cheap and easy. Welding shop/ paintball shop. Nothing fills tires faster. Also no drain on you’re electrical system and much less parts to break.


https://powertank.com/

*EDIT*

Did some quick googling it seems that you can build your own CO2 system with exchangeable bottles for not much more than $100 bucks.

 

An ARB high performance will work well on 33” on down.
I use ARB twins on my rigs, usually add a tank for air tools

Crap did not see under $100 sorry

 

Put my vote down for the Viair 400P. $207 at Amazon is a fair price.

$300 VIAIR 400P/40045 Automatic Portable Compressor, Tire Inflator Kit, Air Compressor for Truck, Jeep, SUV, and Car Tires, Portable Air Pump Kit, Car Accessories, 33% Duty Cycle, 150 PSI/2.30 CFM

https://www.amazon.com/VIAIR-400P-A...UTF8&qid=1530470357&sr=8-3&keywords=viair+400