Welcome back to Grand Adventure!
I'm your host Marc Guido, and today while we're anxiously awaiting the return of camping
season, we're talking about the importance of bringing a portable air compressor along
on your outdoor adventures, so stay tuned!
[intro music]
Now, if you're traveling off road it's often important to air down your truck tires, both
to soften the ride over rocky terrain, and to provide your tires with enhanced grip,
especially if you're driving through loose sand.
However, once you get back to asphalt you need a quick and efficient way to air your
tires back up to their proper pressure, lest you risk experiencing a blowout.
Likewise, if you're driving a motorhome or towing a camping trailer, it's essential to
keep those tires at their maximum pressure to be able to fully support the heavy load
that they're designed to carry.
Underinflation is the single leading cause of trailer tire failures, which is why we
always check our trailer's tire pressure before each and every day on the road.
Maintaining proper air pressure of both our truck and trailer tires is handled by a portable
air compressor.
Those of us towing travel trailers or fifth wheels have 6, 8, or even as many as 12 tires
to maintain, and there are several approaches you might take to keeping them at their proper
air pressure.
You could simply stop at a gas station or truck stop to use their compressor, but where
we camp there's seldom one nearby.
Also, many don't work, and nearly all now require quarters or a credit card to operate.
Many RV'ers are content with carrying a portable 120V pancake compressor like this one.
Yes, they'll do the job.
However, to use them you need a source of 120V AC current, and where do you find that
at the end of a dirt road in the middle of nowhere?
You might answer "your generator," of course, but what if you're just out exploring for
the day?
Chances are your generator is back at camp with your RV.
And why should you have to depend on a second device, when you always have a power source
readily available right here under the hood of your truck?
Another option is an inexpensive compressor from the big box store down the street that
plugs into your cigarette lighter.
However, these all invariably lack durability and break easily.
They're slow and lack power, they're loud, and on a big job they overheat often, requiring
you to pause inflation to allow the compressor to cool back down.
Many times in life you actually do get what you pay for, and there's a far better solution
available for not a lot more money.
We use this high quality Viair 88p portable 12-volt air compressor.
Let us first explain our relationship with Viair, or rather, the lack thereof.
We've never contacted Viair, nor have they ever contacted us.
We bought this compressor on Amazon just like everyone else.
We're nothing but a devoted consumer of their products, for both their superior quality
and exceptional reliability.
All of the working components in the Viair 88p are encased in metal, with a powerful
motor operating a directly driven piston.
A motor this powerful has a 20A draw -- that's too high an amperage to connect via a car's
cigarette lighter port without blowing fuses in your vehicle, so it instead connects directly
to the vehicle's battery with these alligator clamps.
Compressors that use a cigarette lighter plug are only suitable for light-duty use.
On the 88p there's a 20A automotive fuse placed inline on the power cord for protection.
Atop the compressor there's a large pressure gauge, but the compressor must be momentarily
switched off to obtain an accurate reading.
We find that it reads about, oh, 2-3 psi too high when the compressor is actually running.
The 88p's long piston stroke and rubber feet means quiet operation with minimal vibration.
There's an important integrated heat sink on the piston head that gets very hot, so
be careful to not touch it when in use or shortly thereafter.
Viair includes accessory tips that store right here on-board for inflating a football or an air mattress,
and a switchable LED flashlight, right here, that also serves as a power indicator.
This Viair model has a 16-foot air hose and a 10-foot power cord.
If that's not long enough to reach all of your trailer tires, a six-foot extension hose
is available from Viair as an accessory.
A twist-on locking brass air chuck ensures a tight, secure seal, and doesn't require
you to squat down and hold the chuck on the tire valve during inflation.
Unlike many of the cheap big box store compressors, you'll find no other frills on the 88p.
Where the 88p truly shines, though is in its specs.
That little gem puts out 1.47 cu ft of air per minute at 0 psi, and 1.25 cu ft per minute
at 30 psi.
What does that mean in the real world?
This will take a 225/60 R18 tire from 15 to 30 psi in a mere 1 minute and 19 seconds, and
it's capable of inflating up to 33-inch tires.
Its maximum operating pressure is 120 psi, but Viair makes other models capable of up
to 150 psi, for you folks with the giant fifth wheels with the real high pressure tires.
Perhaps an air compressor's most important specification, though, is duty cycle, something
that you'll never see manufacturers of cheap compressors even mention.
Duty cycle indicates how long the compressor can run before it needs to be stopped to cool
down.
The 88p has an impressive 45% duty cycle -- that means that it can run for 25 minutes @ 30
psi before needing to cool down.
Most cheap big box store compressors, by comparison have a duty cycle of only around 15%.
It takes us only about 10 minutes to air all 4 truck tires back up from 50% of normal pressure
after off-roading, and that's something that we can accomplish without having to pause at all.
At only 4.75 lbs, the Viair 88p is compact and lightweight.
It's IP53 rated for water and dust ingress, but it doesn't come with a case.
We picked up this small tool bag at Home Depot for under $10.
In the case of the Viair 88p, quality doesn't necessarily come with a premium price tag.
At the time we're filming this video it's priced at $65.95 on Amazon, with free Prime
shipping available.
The six-foot air hose extension is available for another 5 bucks.
On Amazon the 88p has garnered 4.6 out of 5 stars from nearly 1,800 customer reviews.
Now while we're at it, we'd like to share with you this handy tire deflator from ARB
that greatly speeds up the process of airing down your tires for offroad use.
Sure, you could simply press on the center pin in your tire valves to release the air,
but there's a better way, and a faster way to do it.
This little piece of pure genius allows for the removal of the tire valve core to allow
air to rapidly escape, yet at the same time holds onto the valve core to prevent dropping
and losing it.
Once the desired pressure is achieved, as indicated by the highly accurate built-in
pressure gauge, you simply twist to screw the valve core back in.
So, we hope that this short video on air compressors helps you achieve your own Grand Adventure!
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Until next time, remember...life is nothing but a Grand Adventure!
We'll see you next week!