Airing up after sandy roads: a decent inflator from Costco
If you air down often, a powerful on-board compressor is the way to go: expensive, but worthwhile. Since I rarely air down (but sometimes must), I carry a small portable unit. I've purchased a couple of portable compressors from Harbor Freight, with poor results. However, Costco recently put this little Bonaire unit on sale for $29:
Bonaire inflator
Since Costco has a very user-friendly return policy, I took a chance, and this little unit is pretty good! I hooked it directly to my battery. I aired down my spare tire to 40 pounds. It took 90 seconds for the inflator to bring it back to 50 pounds. I did this a couple of times, just to double-check.
The unit is surprisingly quiet – the Harbor Freight compressors were much louder. The only downside is that after you run it for 10 min., it has to cool for 10 min. So re-inflating my truck tires would take a half hour, or more.
(Note to moderator: I put this item on the boondocking forum, since boondockers are the folks most likely to air down. But maybe it belongs on the tech forum? Anyway, feel free to move it.)
Bonaire inflator
Since Costco has a very user-friendly return policy, I took a chance, and this little unit is pretty good! I hooked it directly to my battery. I aired down my spare tire to 40 pounds. It took 90 seconds for the inflator to bring it back to 50 pounds. I did this a couple of times, just to double-check.
The unit is surprisingly quiet – the Harbor Freight compressors were much louder. The only downside is that after you run it for 10 min., it has to cool for 10 min. So re-inflating my truck tires would take a half hour, or more.
(Note to moderator: I put this item on the boondocking forum, since boondockers are the folks most likely to air down. But maybe it belongs on the tech forum? Anyway, feel free to move it.)
