What is everyone using to deflate / inflate their tires?

[fun2drum]

Something to remember right here. Time is money. If you're okay waiting 10 minutes per tire (or more depending), you could do this cheap. If you want to be aired up all around and out in 10 or 15min, you'll need to spend for a better compressor.

Don't forget to look at duty-cycle on those pumps as well. They get hot and many cheaper ones aren't 100% duty-cycle and need to cool down when used for decent periods of time. With our tires and the pressure you're going down to, you may have to wait in between tires for it to cool off. More time to add. It's one of the things guys try to mitigate by buying multiples of the 12v cig socket pumps. Reduced load time.

Me personally, I want to be on the road as soon as I can after I'm done wheeling. I don't want to be sitting around for 45min waiting for my tires to inflate. My ARB takes about 20min to air everything back up, and that includes time bouncing from one tire to the next, packing and unpacking the hose, balancing the pressures, and undoing and redoing all the valve stem caps. The UpDownAir kit should cut that time down eventually, but for today, its 20min all-in. If it took longer than that, I'd be looking to speed it up again. Worth every penny.

I do agree that time is money, but I value quality of time as much as time itself. Have you ever used one of these? Read the reviews. It doesn't even take that long. It takes mine about 5 to 6 minutes to bring one tire up from 20 lbs to 35 lbs. Add a few more minutes from 15 lbs. With two of them doing 2 tires at a time I'm aired back up and on my way in way less than 20 minutes.

No power to hook up since it works on battery. Just put it down next to the tire, clamp on the short hose, turn it on, and go sit down in the air conditioning (or heater, if winter) until it stops. No dragging out and stowing long hoses, no power concerns, no sweating in the heat bending over and checking pressure along the way.

Cost was about $100 each (including battery and charger), so if I ever burn one of these out I'll replace it with the same without a second thought.

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[fun2drum]

Do you just plug it into your cigarette lighter? It says its a deflator too, how does that work?

You CAN plug it into the cigarette lighter, but it runs off a 20 V battery so I have never plugged it in. Believe me, running it off battery is a game-changer. The cost of the unit including the battery and charger is around $100 with the discount they offer by getting all of it together. Not dealing with a power cord is priceless.

This thing has two completely separate functions: Tire inflator and inflatables inflator. There's a switch on the front that controls which mode the unit will operate in. The deflator is a function of the inflatables purpose of the unit, which is to inflate air mattresses, lake floats, and the like. In that mode, a wider hose is used and it has the ability to inflate or deflate a large inflatable depending on which end the hose is inserted. It's a pretty handy function if you've got to inflate an air mattress or lake float and want to deflate it quickly when done. It doesn't have a way to deflate when in tire inflation mode.

 

[Phishs]

You CAN plug it into the cigarette lighter, but it runs off a 20 V battery so I have never plugged it in. Believe me, running it off battery is a game-changer. The cost of the unit including the battery and charger is around $100 with the discount they offer by getting all of it together. Not dealing with a power cord is priceless.

This thing has two completely separate functions: Tire inflator and inflatables inflator. There's a switch on the front that controls which mode the unit will operate in. The deflator is a function of the inflatables purpose of the unit, which is to inflate air mattresses, lake floats, and the like. In that mode, a wider hose is used and it has the ability to inflate or deflate a large inflatable depending on which end the hose is inserted. It's a pretty handy function if you've got to inflate an air mattress or lake float and want to deflate it quickly when done. It doesn't have a way to deflate when in tire inflation mode.

Does one battery do all 4 tires on one charge?

 

[fun2drum]

Does one battery do all 4 tires on one charge?

Yes it does. It might be different for someone with huge tires and running it longer - I can’t speak for that, but it does great with mine on a single charge. I don’t remember seeing any of the reviewers talking about that being a problem. There are different size options for its battery and I chose the larger one.

 

[TJRjeepn]

I am also wanting to do this one a budget as it is not something I will be using that often. I am considering the Kobalt inflator, any issues with it? Do you just plug it into the cigarette lighter outlet on the dash?

I’ve had no issues so far with it. I’ve been on 4 trips with so I’ve aired up about 24 tires between mine and some buddies tires. It has both a cigarette port plug and a basic 2 prong 12v outlet plug. The cigarette plug cord is long enough to reach every tire, the 12v cord is not, an extension cord would be needed. One cool function of the Kobalt is you set what psi you want Aired up to and it’ll shut off automatically once that psi is reached.
Granted this is not the fastest air up

I am also wanting to do this one a budget as it is not something I will be using that often. I am considering the Kobalt inflator, any issues with it? Do you just plug it into the cigarette lighter outlet on the dash?

I’ve had no issues so far with it. I’ve been on 4 trips with so I’ve aired up about 24 tires between mine and some buddies tires. It has both a cigarette port plug and a basic 2 prong 12v outlet plug. The cigarette plug cord is long enough to reach every tire, the 12v cord is not, an extension cord would be needed. One cool function of the Kobalt is you set what psi you want Aired up to and it’ll shut off automatically once that psi is reached.
Granted this is not the fastest air up compressor but it gets the job done fast enough for me.

 

[BackcountryNV]

Are you able to fill up all 4 of your tires with this compressor before it needing to cool down? I also have 35’s and looking to go from 18psi to 35psi. If that takes a total of 15 mins for all 4 tires, this one may be perfect for me. Does it come with a bag? Has it ever shut off for over heating on you?

Yessir i do use gloves to disconnect the hose because it is super hot after filling them all but it has never shut off on me. Also comes with a bag but is a pain to get it back in there and when its hot after filling I dont want to have the plastic hose too close to the compressor. Mine just lives behind the rear seat.

 

[jn18]

DIY 4 Tire Deflator/Inflator

This looks wild. Great setup.

 

[texanjeeper]

I recently bought some tire deflators, can't remember the brand but they were on Amazon and they had some good reviews on Youtube. You just scew them on and they deflate down to 25 lbs.

I'm just using a Craftsman 12v tire inflator. Works good for me.

 

[Rusty PW]

I use Staun deflators and a ARB compressor. Been using this since 2008.

 

[Readyt]

was using a ARB tire Deflator. Ordered the Trailhead Deflators a couple of weeks ago, after 4 calls he finally answered. I paid Jim over the phone and haven't seen them yet. No tracking nothing. Anyone have a similar experience?

 

[DocMike]

These. Worth the $100. Don't buy the cheap ones they suck. ....they don't blow... they take forever.
I went through too many air down tools. Just buy these. I have an ARB twin to inflate.

Staun deflators and

Cordless will never get it done. Use a battery tap compressor.

My Stauns are preset to 15psi. Put all 4 on, wait till hissing stops, dead on. Don't buy imitations. Spend 100$ on the Aussie units.

As for a review.....the Stauns take all 4 from 37 to 15 in around 4 minutes.

The Viair 400p takes around 3 minutes per tire to go back to 37 from 15.

You can spend a lot more money on a rad ARB setup that smokes mine. I spent $350 all in deflators and compressor. I'm happy.

 

[Escape.idiocracy]

Currie ez deflator has been my tool of choice for ~10 years?

I’m pretty sure when we pick up new wheels and tires for the JT we are going to transition to monster valves. I have wheeled with a couple other guys that had these put in- I don’t think you can beat the air down or up speed. ??‍ And they look nice

 

[BigG]

tereflex nomad wheels and arb twin under passenger seat

 

[Beach Buggy]

I've used the Trailhead automatic tire deflators for years now, and highly recommend them. They hold their calibration and provide a fast air-own. For the beach, I typically go to 11 psi, and they get there quickly. For inflation, I use a GSPSCN 12 V compressor from Amazon. It's powered directly off the battery with big alligator clamps and fills tires pretty quickly. For the money, I'm pretty happy with it, and have been using it for several years. The bag is kind of cheap, but the compressor works well. I normally use the air line at the trailhead, but when there' s a long line or it's out of service, I use my own and get on my way quickly.
Trailhead deflators
GSPSCN compressor

 

[Beach Buggy]

Sorry for the noob question, but what are the situations when airing down is needed? Some people I know never do and some do it every time so kinda confused on when I can get by without doing it. Maybe depends on the difficulty of the trails or rocks, etc.

Airing down is essential for driving on soft sand, in my case on the beach and surrounding dunes. By airing down, the sidewalls bag out and provide a much bigger contact patch, which allows the tires to float instead of dig. It also makes things much easier on the driveline components. I typically run at 11 psi, which may be overkill for much of the trails and beach, but makes it easy to transition over the dunes from the inside trail, where there is typically drifting, sugary sand that get a lot of folks stuck.

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