12V Compressor

javelinadave

Administrator
Staff member
What is the general consensus on a portable 12V compressor? My Chinese compressor needs to be replaced. The ARB units are pricy and they have a bunch of plastic. The Viair are priced nicely and appear to be mostly metal.
 

chris snell

Administrator
Callsign: NW5W
Staff member
Why not use an engine-driven compressor like a York? The air they produce is high-volume and continuous duty so you can use it for things like blowing dust out of the truck on the trail.

Kilby and eBay sell remanufactured units but you can also pull them used out of many 1980s cars in the junkyard. The only component that you have to figure out is the bracket. If a group of 300Tdi owners want to join me, we could have some made up. There's a guy in Denver that made one and I have the photos somewhere.
 

javelinadave

Administrator
Staff member
I have 2 vehicles that I offroad with so portable electric is the only way to go for me.
 
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jymmiejamz

Founding Member
Callsign: KN4JHI
I've had a 12V Viair compressor since May and have no real complaints. It was a gift, but if I had a choice I would have gone with an ARB. The only issue I have is that it does not come with a pressure switch, so you either need to install one or use their proprietary tire chuck which includes a crappy coil hose. The ARB tire inflation kit is actually a good quality hose, where the Viair one is total junk and kinks easily.
 

javelinadave

Administrator
Staff member
Looks like my buddy is going to sell me his lightly used Viair 400P for a smoking price. He sold his off-roader and has no need for it.
 

Daddymow

Well-known member
I have the Viair portable unit for the money it does a fine job. I put alligator clips on the end so I can go straight to the battery.
 

4wdtravel

Well-known member
I have the monster Extreme Air Outback Magnum - bought it thinking that bigger is better! And dont get me wrong, it's great.... But it takes up a ton of room and is very heavy.

Coupled with about 10 gallons of air tank capacity at 150psi it's almost like having a small shop compressor with you all the time. It does tires super fast but honestly I've used the blow gun 5x more often than the tire inflator while on the trail. Just yesterday I had a leaky bead from some gravel pinched in there and was able to deflate the tire, push the bead back with a pry bar, and blow out all the junk with the blow gun, and re-inflate in about 10 minutes.

So I'm on the fence... if I were to do it again I may try a smaller compressor just for the ease of packaging and installation. But this one sure is nice.
 
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