I have used the cheap China Freight hi vol. air compressors and one lasted a few tires worth, and the newest one kept blowing the fuse every time i used it. Fuse? Yes, it requires a 35 amp fuse. How many places carry a 35 amp fuse? None that i could find, so i put a 40 amp fuse in and the rig went into one-piece-no-moving-parts, mode very quickly. At one time i used two at the same time, but they draw a true 30 amps under load and that will deplete your batts over time with both pulling 60 amps on the alternator. So, no China Freight Compressor for me.
For years as a jeeper I've used a 20 pound CO2 tank, as you can get about 28 inflations out of one tank and the fill is very fast. As fast as any system. That's 4, 37x13.50 tires from 5 pounds up to 36 on my Jeep (in about 10 minutes) and from 20+-pounds (for dune running in the TC) up to 65 or 80, depending on which tires at the time. I've even used air tools when something broke on the Rubicon and for getting lug nuts on;/off. The best all round compressed air for off-roading is arguably an older York air conditioning compressor piped with a small storage tank. A guy in L.A. sells a kit which is a steal, IMHO. You must mount it with your existing belt drive. It has a lot of good aspects, not the least of which is a rock solid, 100% duty cycle all the time. You must raise the idle speed of your motor to get the best effect, and you must oil the unit. Some use a little oiler, a small plastic, see-thru cup above the unit. So, that means installing a manual throttle and a quick connector hose bibs on front and back of the truck.
I think the Via Air and a couple others are the way to go for us TC-ers, following the KISS principle. Fairly lightweight and comes with a little storage bag. When you need it, you really need it to work as advertised.
jefe
