Portable vs On Board Air Compressor?
Hey everyone- wondering what your thoughts are on having an on-board vs a portable air compressor. I have a Bigfoot truck camper that I'll be carrying most of the time but not always. I'll be using th...
Forum Discussion
Just to clarify
my assumption (and appears others) was comparisons/questions were being made between a portable compressor designed to put out a good amount of air like a viair 400+ and an on-board system designed specifically to maintain air bags as a system-say a firestone or airlift comp kit.
The convenience was between manually filling air bags with portable compressor and on-board system, again that was designed/hard plumbed to conveniently adjust air bags from cab.
If this were the case then yes the on board system designed for air bags- being used to fill tires is pushing it Way beyond it design parameters. You should go with the portable.
But Im wondering if instead the comparison/question was between otherwise similar compressors, say a Viair 400. one used as a portable and one to be on-board as meaning semi-hard mounted and plumbed to truck and air tank. Which would also change the meaning of convenience question...
If the later then I see more the difference in money for on-board as mentioned. whole different subject. The convenience I see as similar to how our jeep is set up. Though mechanical engine driven instead of electric pump, I just turn it on, while its filling the air tank I retrieve the air hose from its pouch on my seat back, plug it in to the external mounted quick connect and start blowing stuff up.
In the later case on-board more than a convenience, it's simply practical where large volume of air is needed. But yes it costs.
As far as tanks, any compressor attached to a tank will outperform itself verses non-tanked. Yield more volume, constant pressure and less run time of motor. If tank left pressurized-it would service air bags several times without turning on comp.
my assumption (and appears others) was comparisons/questions were being made between a portable compressor designed to put out a good amount of air like a viair 400+ and an on-board system designed specifically to maintain air bags as a system-say a firestone or airlift comp kit.
The convenience was between manually filling air bags with portable compressor and on-board system, again that was designed/hard plumbed to conveniently adjust air bags from cab.
If this were the case then yes the on board system designed for air bags- being used to fill tires is pushing it Way beyond it design parameters. You should go with the portable.
But Im wondering if instead the comparison/question was between otherwise similar compressors, say a Viair 400. one used as a portable and one to be on-board as meaning semi-hard mounted and plumbed to truck and air tank. Which would also change the meaning of convenience question...
If the later then I see more the difference in money for on-board as mentioned. whole different subject. The convenience I see as similar to how our jeep is set up. Though mechanical engine driven instead of electric pump, I just turn it on, while its filling the air tank I retrieve the air hose from its pouch on my seat back, plug it in to the external mounted quick connect and start blowing stuff up.
In the later case on-board more than a convenience, it's simply practical where large volume of air is needed. But yes it costs.
As far as tanks, any compressor attached to a tank will outperform itself verses non-tanked. Yield more volume, constant pressure and less run time of motor. If tank left pressurized-it would service air bags several times without turning on comp.
