On board air???

[boncrshr]

Anybody have any experience with on-board air for their vehicles?? I have been kicking this around for some time, but this off-season is likely the time to do it for me. I am mainly interested in using it for airing up tires and air mattresses. Maybe air springs too since I tow a trailer so much.

Just wondered any brand preferences or things to look out for??

[McCoy]

I bought a slime kit awhile back that included a small 12V compressor. It just plugs into the power outlet on the machine. It is not very fast at pumping up a tire, but it will get the job done. The best thing about it is that it is small & compact & will easily fit into the storage pouch that I have on the bigfoot. I don't know how practial it would be for pumping up an air mattress. My guess is that I would be better off just to carry a battery operated pump for the air mattress. Also, don't forget the can of ether.

McCoy

[Mike]

Scott, is this for AATVing or on a full size vehicle (truck, jeep, bronco, whatever)?

[boncrshr]

Both...I have been through 3 of the portable 12Volt compressors this season alone. This is mainly for the Jeep because everytime I take the Jeep onto the beach I lower the rear tire pressure to 15lbs. It REALLY helps in the soft sand. So when I hit pavement again, I have to use the portable compressor to re-fill tires...takes a long time.

I did pop a tire bead last weekend loading the Hustler onto the trailer, and had to use a ratchet strap with the little compressor (gonna try the WD-40 and lighter trick next time).

Other uses could be air mattresses, maybe air ratchet, blowing sand off of guns/reels, etc.

[Roger S]

I bet if you search 4x4 sites for "on board air" you'll see all you want. Some guys mounted the old style York AC compressor under the hood, the best bang for the buck, and enough air for air tools, tires.. need storage though. Either a tank.. or some use their tube bumpers, rock rails, etc. The electric pumps, $50 to $200 might be what you want, harbor freight has sales. People have reviews about how sturdy they are and how fast they'll air tires..

Air mattresses need volume pumps and big fill valves to be easy, more like a fan than pump. A good bellows pump works well, too.

I carry a cheap 12v with me in the argo. I have a screw top, refillable aerosol paint can, it charges with compressed air. From harbor freight. Going to convert it to an air tank, all 12-16 oz of it Think that might be the little burst of air to seat a bead, when using the weenie compressors.
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Matt, I made this signature pic for you. You want it? Or AKexpress?

[argohunter]

Do what I do guys... for the last 45+ years, I have used the same engineair tire pump and it has yet to fail me. Back in the day, off-road racing Jeeps, buggies and yes, even a 2 stroke aatv, when I had to air back up I used this pump. Still have it and I still use it. Just remove 1 spark plug, screw the adaptor in the plug hole, start engine up and pump air. A little noisy but so what. It works each and every time. Works great for air lift springs and flat tires too. Not enough to run air tools though. Made my own adaptor for the wide mouth air mattresses and inflatable rubber boats. It was under two bucks when I got mine. Today they cost maybe $20. Fits in a glove box, console, backpack, where ever... As long as you can run your 2/4 cycle engine that has at least 2 cylinders, you can pump air.

The pump uses the vacuum of the engine to suck clean outside air into the hose and the compression to force that air into the tire. A two-way check valve prevents any gas fumes from entering your tire.

As long as you carry a spark plug wrench and can access your plugs easily, the pump will provide you with clean air and no replacement parts will likely ever be needed. Put it into your tote bag or back pack.

Some of the pumps being sold today don't come with a dial type air gauge like mine has that is in-line connected to the air hose so you would still need a tire gauge of some type.

I have not seen one of these pumps in the parts stores in quite a while but they are available on line.

[LarryW]

For cheap mechanical guys like me... I had a '89 full size Jimmy, it had AC but didn't work. I took the hose off the compressor pump. Cut the end that don't connect to pump off and had NAPA crimp a normal fitting on. Then I could run a air hose off it. The pump runs on 12v power so you could just hook a switch to it or I used an air pressure switch that normally is on a 120v compressor. I prodded around with volt meter to find continuity or you could use test light and found the terminals that would work. The Intake part of pump also has a hose that I put a small air filter on. It worked pretty good. I cant remember exactly the times but I timed inflating my tire like they do on the advertising of the actual on board air and seemed like it was pretty close.

[evil8x8]

I have a co2 tire inflator that I keep in my Argo. I love it. It uses the small co2 canisters that some pellet guns use. One cartridge can seat a bead or put about 5lbs in an atv tire. I have used mine many times. I got it in a kit from Dennis Kirk that came with all the tools, plugs, and patches you need to fix a tire. It very small and can be kept anywhere.

[RickMo]

I have a 10lb. Power Tank.Lots of CO2 in a small tank,My truck tires hold 50lbs this tank would put tire on bead and fill them 50 times. And do it in 60 sec. or less. It has guage to dail it down if needed.air tools ,anything that needs air. greatest thing is how fast air is there!Its nice power-coated and tired of wraping it not to get messed up. I'm geting a smaller one to carry with, I have the bracket to mont on roll bar already.Rick

[cj-ate]

You can also use your roll cage or tube bumpers as a storage tanks for compressed air.
Mike

[6X6]

You can also use your roll cage or tube bumpers as a storage tanks for compressed air.
Mike

I've seen this done of full sized crawlers, but I don't see why any descent AATV cage couldn't do this as well. Would be neat on the racer, but not really practical, good for a trail machine, though!

[Storms]

I bought a thing called an X-Power re-chargeable box some years ago. Essentially, it's another automotive battery that's sealed, and it has 2 110Vac outlets, along with 1 12vdc outlet. This box also has plug in jumper cables, a light, and an onboard compressor w/guage that really works well.
I can have it power a cooler for 6-8 hrs, and recharge it simply by pluging it into my argo's 12 vdc power supply while driving around. The battery is also replaceable along with the fuse, plus it can be recharged by plugging into a wall receptacle.
I also bought a 12vdc small air pump from Overton's that's made specifically to blow up rafts, pool floaties, that kind of thing. It will inflate my 7 chamber Sevlor 6 man raft in under 15 minutes.
Both items are relatively small, but that's what I use in my beast, depending on what I'm doing.

Oh, and as a back-up, I bought a hand operated bicycle pump that has a low psi guage incorporated into it. It pumps air on the outstroke and instroke. It's a fairly high dollar pump, and it works well. It's always on the Bigfoot, mounted up under the rear body panel, but in easy reach. I also keep a tire repair kit on-board at all times.

[brushcutter]

My brother-in-law recently built a "drag truck". You know one of those trucks that can drag its rear on the pavement and create sparks.(Sorry, can't see the thrill in this),but anyway,he has a York A/C compressor that he scavenged from a '75 Ford. He was telling me that it is the long stroke style and is capable of an output of 9 cfm but I don't know what the max pressure would be but I am sure that it would be far more than enough to inflate a tire. Haven't given much thought to how you would power it. It is belt drive and has an electric clutch so there could be several options as to the drive. A starter motor with a pulley for short duty or a pulley off the engine maybe.

[evil8x8]

I was thinking of getting some fittings so I can put a female air line end on my paintball tank and keep that in my Argo. You could probably set the bead and fill up countless tires and maybe even run air tools (if they wouldn't freeze up). Plus it would be cheaper to get the tank filled than buy more little disposable co2 cartridges.

[hdble]

I run an OBA system on my jeep, it requires a little space but is a great investment. Small high presure cylinders make great tanks, and can be mounted anywhere. FYI, I carry co2 cartridges and an inflater on the bike and Attex2 cartridges fill a motorcycle tire to 50#, 1 fills a floatation tire to 5.
It all fits in a baggy.