Recommendation for Air Compressor When on the Trail

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JandAOffRoad

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Hello OB Community-

Looking for suggestions/recommendations for air compressor to keep in my truck.

1. Portable
2. Tank
3. Installed in the engine compartment ( My buddy has one of these in his Tacoma Pro, single cylinder)

I have a 2018 Tacoma 4x4 OR...

I've done some research regarding pros and cons for all three above, and pricing is obviously all over the board. My first thought was the tank option due to speed of airing up. Down side is once it's empty, it's empty and if I'm on a longer trek with the potential of several air up/air down scenarios, possible that I run out. Research I've done says the tanks are good for about 30 air ups.

Second thought was a two cylinder install in the engine area, again for quicker air ups.

Thoughts and thank you!
 
Birdman

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I absolutely love my Viair 88P compressor. It takes about 3 min to go from 15-30 on a 32" tire. It has a 10 ft power cord with clamps and a 16 ft hose that lets me place it near the center of the vehicle and inflate all 4 tires without having to move the unit around. I purchase it bare bones and bought a separate tool bag to house it. I got it on Amazon for around $60 and the Rothco Mechanics Tool Bag was $15. It all fits in there with room for a race quality air pressure gauge.
 
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Delkat

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I have been doing my homework on the same topic and decided to go with the ARB twin in the engine compartment. I wanted something that is out of site and that won't take up space in the rig. It just seems like a cleaner package.
 
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sabjku

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TheGreatWhiteBuffalo

TheGreatWhiteBuffalo

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I second the Viair 88P. I also got it with the Rothco tool bag. Birdman described it very well, I have the same experience. I keep it in one of those storage areas behind the seat in my 16 DC Tacoma, it fits perfectly with a rapid fire deflator, gauge, and a tire repair kit. Bought it for $55 and have used it a bunch. It takes longer than other setups, but not by much. IMO you can’t really beat the value. The only negatives I’ve found over more expensive ones is time to air up and you don’t have a filter to keep dust out of the compressor (so it will eventually fail). I just set it on it’s bag or something and it seems fine.

Edit: If you’ll be in the middle of *nowhere* and need something very reliable, I would not get it. It works for me cause I’m either with/near others that could back me up if it stopped working, or close enough to a gas station that I could baby it on 25-30psi until I can air up.
 
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ohiowrangler

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I inflated 6 tires, with a short break in between each. On #7 the magic smoke came out of the motor. After that I bought a dual ARB compressor and have had no problems. Good Luck, Ron
 
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