putting air in tires - RV-Dreams Community Forum

The Crumps · RV-Dreams Family Member

putting air in tires

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

Not a silly question at all. Many carry a “real” air compressor. Not a little 12 volt “car” type. A 120volt 150 psi compressor because most “service stations” air service compressors are limited to something like 80 psi or so. Truck stops are just not at all convenient either as you should check and fill your tires cold. That’s not possible if you just drove / towed the rig there.

If your rig has a generator on board, the 120 volts is not an issue. If it is, you can plug it in the pedestal at the campsite if needed when you check the tires when they are cold.

I don’t know what psi your tires take, but if, for example, they need 115-120 psi then you will require a 150 psi or so compressor to fill them without much trouble. You can’t fill tires to a psi level if it is the same as the compressor rating.

At the RV-Dreams Rally a good friend knocked on my door Sunday morning with a “Bill, don’t you have an air compressor?” He had 20 psi in one tire. So there you go.

Safe travels

Bill

Jack Mayer · RV-Dreams Family Member

I have onboard air on my truck (air brake system) but I primarily use a Powertank.

This is a liquid CO2 tank that can rapidly air large tires to high pressures. It is also great for running air tools. I have it primarily to fill the Jeep tires after deflating them to 12 psi for offroading (I carry it mounted in the Jeep).

The air compressor Howard bought from Sears is the most popular 120 volt compressor for RVers, and is what I would buy if getting a compressor. Search the blog and you will find it.

Mallo · RV-Dreams Family Member

We use the 12 volt compressor and a set of jumper cables to get the power to where we want it. Yep when the tires completely deflated it can be a while filling it but we're not going any place in such a hurry that we can't wait the five to ten minutes it takes to go from 0 to 80 PSI so it's all fine.

The 120 compressors are good but next to the highway I don't have to get the generator out to air up the tires.

Mallo

The Crumps · RV-Dreams Family Member

I found the one Howard mentioned in his blog and it's no longer available. But, now we have some specs to compare to.

Thanks for your help!

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

Howard, at one time, said the one has seems to be hard to find at Sears.

As but one alternative should it be helpful, this is the one we use. (Sears sold it at one time as well but I think they discontinued it.) It is actually a Porter Cable unit.

www.porter-cable.com

Either of the top two on this page would work well IMO if you want a full featured unit that will fill almost any RV need. I'd select based on physical storage configuration. Ones taller - ones longer. Both are 150psi.

http://www.portercable.com/Products/CategoryOverview.aspx?catPath=4272.4289

Yea, its a bit heavy. So's a big 5'er. {Grin}) But they work well. Like a spare tire, you don't need it till you do. Then you need it. BTW if your into this, they can run air tools like an impact wrench for the lug nuts.

Safe travels

Bill

The Bear II · RV-Dreams Family Member

On the road-

Truck Stops usually have air available at the islands.

I carry a portable air tank. It takes a few refills to get all the tires up to 80PSI. So I use it when i'm parked fairly close to a refill source or someone that has a good air compressor.

Best solution is to carry a portable compressor like others have said. The compressor can be used for other tasks as well.

NorCal Dan · RV-Dreams Family Member

Try asking at the RV Park your at to see if they have an air compressor you can use. Never hurts to ask. All the parks I have worked at had air compressors that customers could use. IIRC, all the SKP parks we've stayed at had an air compressor set up in the park for guests.

We2RV · RV-Dreams Community Member

This may seem strange and hard to believe.
We purchased a set of tires for our tow vehicle over a year ago at Costco where they filled the tires with nitrogen gas.
Well guess what? There has not been a drop in pressure in over a year!
We have a twin-tank portable air compressor that was used exclusively for our 30 ft. trailer on a regular basis until now.
New tires with nitrogen gas solved the pressure loss problem for us. 5 months and counting.
If this continues we will sell our compressor and lighten our load.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

This is one just like Howard and Linda's compressor. It may have changed model numbers to cause their previous link to not work. We bought this one as our Mobile Suites' tires are to be aired up to 125 psi.

Since a compressor's "working" pressure is always less than its maximum pressure, in order to fill the trailer tires I sometimes have to make sure the compressor is actually running in order to get that last couple of pounds in the tires.

But in purchasing a compressor, just remember the actual working pressure will be less than the maximum and buy one that is "rated" higher than the tires you have that require the most pressure. While our truck tires only air up to 80 psi, most compressors would eventually get there. But, to get to 125 on the trailer, bigger is necessary.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00915309000P?vName=Tools&cName=Air+Compressors+%26+Air+Tools&sName=Air+Compressors&filter=Brand%7CCraftsman&mv=tr

Terry

The Crumps · RV-Dreams Family Member

This link to Sears worked.

Thank you all for your help! Your are all a real blessing to we novices!

53 Merc · RV-Dreams Family Member

I use one of the 12 volt compressors. Takes a while to boost pressure to 80 psig, but most of the time, I ain't in a rush. I knew when I got it that it would be slow, but I was unwilling to carry the extra weight. Just my choice.

jayc · RV-Dreams Family Member

I have a conpressor mounted under the bed for my train horn but I have an air chuck mounted on the sidewall of my truck bed to air up my tires as well as my neighbors when needed.

charles · RV-Dreams Family Member

You may have pur a compressor by now, but what we did was get a 110v unit from SEARS not expensive at all, give or take abt $120, I did get a long air line for it, abt 30 ft so that it is easy to use.
It fits in a plastic milk crate along with the long air line. VERY convenient.

CCC

The Crumps · RV-Dreams Family Member

We did purchase our air compressor. My husband has one of those Ryobi tool kits that runs on batteries - the sawzall (sp?), circular saw, drill, etc. He found an air compressor that is part of that kit at Home Depot. It cost $40 and is 150 psi. It may not be as powerful as the bigger ones, but it should do the trick for the time being. It's compact and fits nicely in the basement.

Thank you all for your help. It gave us the information we needed to make our purchase.