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Ideas On A Air Compressor ?for Av

M

motorman

GUEST
hello, anybody know of a good air compressor that I can carry in my av to fill my tires up, ?my experience with plug in type has been bad, they never seem to work, I plan to vacation up in Delaware and do some surf fishing, and will need to refill my tires after I leave the beach and also I need a air compressor to keep my tires at proper inflation, I beleive that is the number one problem for tires, not keeping them properly inflated.
 
I just carry a large air tank in the bed. This way you can fill it up with your home compressor (or any gas station) to about 100psi and have enough to fill up 2 larger tires.

I'll snap a picture of the setup I have
 
Orlando!

I'd love to see pics! Where do you put the tank? Is it semi-permanant (like bolted down) or just tossed in the back when you go out? You said 100 psi is enough pressure to keep the air inflating two tires, but how much volume is involved (ie how big is the tank?)

I'm considering an underhood compressor, but if I can make a tank do what I need, it would be a LOT less expensive!
 
A picture is attached.
As you can see the tank is on the passenger side with a bungie cord pressing it against the soft tonneau holder. The tank I have has a pretty beefy base welded to it and combined with the bungie/rubber mat it doesn't move at all. A much better solution would be to mesh a few bungies around the tank and attached to the two anchor points on the bed wall.

Mine is a rather large tank at 9 gallons. Usual sizes are about 5 gallons. This website: http://www.pullpal.com/pwrtank/pwrtank.html claims that a 5 gallon tank with 125psi can inflate (2) 32" tires from 15-30psi.

I run a lower psi because I usually fill the tank up at gas stations (and most limit to 100psi) :( But the larger volume somewhat makes up for that. If you have a good home compressor you should have no problem taking it up to 125. If one 9 gallon'er doesn't do it for you, you could always get 2.. paint one blue and put a NOS sticker on it. >:D

I think I got this air tank at Kmart about 5 years ago and it was pretty inexpensive. The yellow spiral hose and quick release adapter was a HomeDepot buy. The hose is long enough to reach all 4 tires (and probably all 4 tires of the car next to mine!)

I have used my tank several times to bail out friends/coworkers with their wussy sedan tires and always keep my wranglers a consistant psi.


 

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From what I hear, a York compressor cannot be beat for on board air.

http://www.onboardair.com

This site is mainly for Jeeps and such, but there is a **TON** of room under the hood for one of these suckers. There is even room next to my 5.3, up by the pass-side firewall for a small tank. You will almost definitely have to make your own brackets... do your own plumbing... etc. etc.

I've seen some very very sweet setups done... in dash pressure gauges, auto on/off switches, air lines at each end of the vehicle... ..schwing! ;D
 
Thanks for the input Marc and Orlando! I think finances might limit my under hood plans for the time being, but a tank in the bed is certainly within my means. I do have a good compressor at home...if I can find a tank rated for it, I could do 150-175 psi.

If I use two tanks I'd put N.O.S. stickers on both of them ;) hehehe

Eventually want to do an engine driven one... I have fantasy visions of using air tools on the trail! ;D
 
;D ... NOS stickers on two 25gal compressor tanks? WAY too funny! You should drive around with your tailgate down and toy with the ricer crowd....

Yeah, just plain old air tanks should be plenty for a day out... Those powertanks are cool, but about half to 2/3's as much as a fully equipped OBA setup. They both have their +'s and -'s I guess...
 
I'm having a QuickAIR2 installed on Saturday under the hood...
 
OrlandoAV,

Do you have the soft covers in back? Looks like it from that photo you posted. I heard of that option just never saw it close up before. What are you thoughts on it?
 
Trying not to veer too offtopic,
Do you have the soft covers in back? Looks like it from that photo you posted. I heard of that option just never saw it close up before. What are you thoughts on it?

Yes I have the soft cover. I did want the hard panels, but 3 dealers could only locate 1 truck that met all of my specs (fully loaded, no roof rack, no steps, green) BUT it only had the soft top. I really didn't care too much, but I used that fact as a bargaining chip to get them $215 under dealer invoice -before the $2002 cash back ;D

With that said, the soft cover: I've had the button-down style sport master tonneaus on my previous trucks and I was always told the under-the-rail system like the AV has isn't very good. Well I am happy to report that the AV's system is quite nice.

Disadvantages (vs hard covers)
1.) Can't lock the bed contents
2.) Can't stand on it
3.) Slight flapping noise when midgate is down (exact noise that my '97 silverado w/ soft tonneau made when the back window was open... I find it soothing and relaxing, so it may be an advantage to some... heh)

Advantages (v hard panels):
1.) You can transition from covered to packed away (in its cool storage bag) in under 1 minute
2.) Very lightweight
3.) Easy access to all parts of the bed
4.) Not as popular as the hard covers (if a dealer has one in stock you may get a better deal) plus a discount on the sticker
5.) This one is not verified.. the Bows might make the storage area slightly higher in the back vs. the hard covers. I have not measured this, but it appears to be so.

-Note: I have zero leakage at the midgate area, don't know if I can attribute that to the soft cover. The 2 bows have a very high ceiling so water rushes off the cover and into the rain channels quite quick.

To tell you the truth, I would like to have both. Hard covered when I have something valuable in the back and soft for all other times.) For now I try not to leave anything too expensive in the back; if something does get stolen home owners insurance takes care of it.

The hard panels are rather expensive at the local dealer (they match dal's price including s/h costs) but if an alternate system like a Roll-n-Lock (I started a previous thread about this awhile ago, but probably got lost in the YABB ether) comes along I'll probably investigate purchasing.

I can take some more pictures if you want (although we'll probably have to move it do a different thread)
 
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