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Air Compressor recommendation

I maintain a bunch of fleet vehicle's which happen to be Ram Promasters. They actually come with a small compressor that we remove from the van before it gets put into service. We are allowed to keep the ones out of the vans that we service so basically my entire family has one in their vehicle's. Those compressors actually work very well and dont take up much room in the truck or under the seat. If you're able to get your hands on one of those I'd recommend it. For what you want to do it would be perfect. Or just go to your local auto parts store or walmart and pick up a compact compressor that plugs into the cigarette lighter or other receptacle. You don't need anything fancy
 
Dumb question - Why remove before going into fleet service ? - Seems smart to leave in unless maybe rental where it may be taken?
 
johnny_jay said:
Dumb question - Why remove before going into fleet service ? - Seems smart to leave in unless maybe rental where it may be taken?
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They dont want drivers fixing break downs. Mechanics go out to make repairs. It's a union no crossing crafts policy
 
I ended up getting a Smittybilt 2780 Air Compressor and a Viair 00032 Air Down Gauge. The 2 tools work well for my needs. I was able to air my tires up reliably to the correct air pressure with the Smittybilt AC and down accurately to the PSI I wanted with the Viair gauge. This worked out well because the weekend where I really needed them I was towing a 5k lb. travel trailer behind my Ram and then unhooked it at a RV camp at the Great Sand Dunes national park and I went into the park with my Ram and onto a sandy path and back to the trailer on to another site a couple days later... it all required airing the tires up and down multiple times to stay at the optimum tire pressure.
 

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The last few times I aired up at the beach (Viair 400P) it was real humid and water was basically dripping from the valve stems when I popped off the inflator nozzle. Are there inline water separators that combat this? I'm only familiar with the permanent wall mount style
 
Seeing this today just made me realize I need to get a kit to be able to use my train horn tank and compressor to air up my tires…
 
This is what I have. I've mentioned it here elsewhere, but I'll share it again. A little more expensive than an inflator, but versatile. Picked up a lightweight hose to go with it and can do just about anything. And it runs off the back seat inverter. I have a big compressor in the garage at home, but it's nice to be able to take this small one into the house if needed as well.
www.harborfreight.com

1 Gallon, 135 PSI Ultra Quiet Hand-Carry Jobsite Air Compressor

Amazing deals on this 1Gal Oil-Free Air Compressor at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
www.harborfreight.com www.harborfreight.com

download.jpg
 
My vote is for the Vair or similar (i have a couple superflow MV-50s and an MV90 I'm super happy with).

The fortress compressor is not a horrible idea if you have an inverter to run it. bonus is that it should catch a lot of moisture, has a small tank attached and could be used away from the vehicle. Negatives would be size and flow. It's a lot larger then the vair 88p, costs almost twice as much and makes less air.
 
tyromeo55 said:
My vote is for the Vair or similar (i have a couple superflow MV-50s and an MV90 I'm super happy with).

The fortress compressor is not a horrible idea if you have an inverter to run it. bonus is that it should catch a lot of moisture, has a small tank attached and could be used away from the vehicle. Negatives would be size and flow. It's a lot larger then the vair 88p, costs almost twice as much and makes less air.
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The viar makes .64 cfm at 90 psi to the fortress's .7 at 90 psi and the max psi is 15 psi higher thank the viar, so I'm not sure it makes less air. It is bigger and more expensive at $150 to $90. Like you mentioned though, I only chose this compressor because it had an included tank for more volume, and it could be used for other things. If someone only needed to fill tires, or had and existing tank, then I agree that the viar is a great choice.
 
HEMIJAKE said:
The viar makes .64 cfm at 90 psi to the fortress's .7 at 90 psi and the max psi is 15 psi higher thank the viar, so I'm not sure it makes less air.
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The Op's question was for a compressor to fill tires on the road (mobile). The Vair mentioned makes 1.25 CFM at 30 psi or 1.15 CFM at 40 (typical tire pressure in a RAM 1500) . The Fortress isnt going to do much more then the rated 0.7 even after you quickly deplete its little 1 gallon tank.

I have the Senco PC1010N that harbor freight knocked off (re-branded) into your compressor. Love the little thing. Super light, quiet is an understatement. Its great for little nailers, filling my timber grove air bags, maybe a couple shots from a framing nailer, topping off a tire once and a while That is about it. Stinks for air tools, blower tip..... I can pull out the MV-50 in the same span of time, don't need an inverter and air up nearly 3 tires in the time that little guy can do 1.

Big trailer tires that require more pressure and could benefit from a larger duty cycle. Now that might be the ticket for the Fortress. Or even better for the same money consider a Porter cable pancake for twice the volume (If you could stand the horrid volume).

Just my 2 cents. What works for you might not be what works for me. I do appreciate that the forum allows for all these ideas to be submitted and debated. Would love to hear about your inverter setup. Been on my want to do list for quite some time. Even have a large Tripplite inverter (transformer based) sitting on the shelf for a couple years now waiting for the time to make it happen
 
Here is another option that I haven't seen anyone mention as of yet. This compressor option is by far NOT the smallest, but it's extremely quiet and portable. Having the 2gal reserve tank for some extra volume is nice. No, 2 gallons isn't going to inflate all 4 tires from one tank fill. The pump is going to have to run for each tire, but the battery will get you several complete refills from 0 psi.

If you have a toolbox in the bed, this will fit right into a large majority of them. Use the onboard inverter(if you have one) in the event you need to recharge the battery. I have quite a few Milwaukee tools so this was a solid option for me being I both commute for work and tow a camper frequently.

 
tyromeo55 said:
The Op's question was for a compressor to fill tires on the road (mobile). The Vair mentioned makes 1.25 CFM at 30 psi or 1.15 CFM at 40 (typical tire pressure in a RAM 1500) . The Fortress isnt going to do much more then the rated 0.7 even after you quickly deplete its little 1 gallon tank.

I have the Senco PC1010N that harbor freight knocked off (re-branded) into your compressor. Love the little thing. Super light, quiet is an understatement. Its great for little nailers, filling my timber grove air bags, maybe a couple shots from a framing nailer, topping off a tire once and a while That is about it. Stinks for air tools, blower tip..... I can pull out the MV-50 in the same span of time, don't need an inverter and air up nearly 3 tires in the time that little guy can do 1.

Big trailer tires that require more pressure and could benefit from a larger duty cycle. Now that might be the ticket for the Fortress. Or even better for the same money consider a Porter cable pancake for twice the volume (If you could stand the horrid volume).

Just my 2 cents. What works for you might not be what works for me. I do appreciate that the forum allows for all these ideas to be submitted and debated. Would love to hear about your inverter setup. Been on my want to do list for quite some time. Even have a large Tripplite inverter (transformer based) sitting on the shelf for a couple years now waiting for the time to make it happen
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I understand completely, and I only use the fortress like I mentioned because I can use it for other things. I have a small viar knockoff basically for my side by side because that just makes more sense. I use the fortress in my truck most of the time because I also haul a camper. Makes airbag adjustments easy. Blowing up kids pool floats. Blow out dust from a/c filters, etc. And I was also comparing cfm at the same psi to show that they were equal in capability. I don't have a rate for it at 30 or 40 psi because it isn't mentioned, but I would imagine it's very similar since it's the same sized compressor. As mentioned, the only real differences is mine has an air tank. And it runs off 120 not 12 volt, but in the end, the wattage draw is basically the same. As far as the inverter goes, it's the stock inverter in the back seat rated for 400 watts. Runs it just fine, no issues. Now if I didn't have the factory inverter, then my setup would make no sense whatsover, and I would have a viar as well. Like you mentioned, different strokes for different folks.
 
If you already have a bunch of Milwaukee M18 tools in the garage their Cordless Inflator Model # 2848-20 is a solid option.

I have the Viair 90P in my Rambox but the Milwaukee M18 Cordless Inflator is now my go to air compressor while servicing tires at home.

I’ll grab my M18 compressor instead of firing up the air compressor in the garage and dragging out the hose.

With the auto shutoff I can check the oil, top off the wind shield washer tank, etc while the compressor is running.

www.milwaukeetool.com

M18™ 18V Cordless Tire Inflator | Milwaukee Tool

MILWAUKEE® Fastest 18V Cordless Tire Inflator delivers fast, accurate, easy inflation with the portability to take anywhere. Optimized for passenger, light truck, and other medium duty tires
www.milwaukeetool.com www.milwaukeetool.com
 
Last edited:
Scram1500 said:
The last few times I aired up at the beach (Viair 400P) it was real humid and water was basically dripping from the valve stems when I popped off the inflator nozzle. Are there inline water separators that combat this? I'm only familiar with the permanent wall mount style
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I'm sure you could splice one in to the airline if you wanted to
 
Jako said:
Very happy with my 20V DeWalt Inflator, 18V vs 20V - semantics?
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Pretty much semantics. More important is the amp/hour rating. Milwaukee is a tried and true brand that is used heavily in construction trades. If 20v was that much better they would have switched to it long ago. It's just a marketing plot. Most of the cheaper alternatives all use 20v, but can't out perform an 18v Milwaukee.
 
HEMIJAKE said:
As far as the inverter goes, it's the stock inverter in the back seat rated for 400 watts. Runs it just fine, no issues.
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Thats good to know. The thought to try had crossed my mind but was quickly dismissed after seeing the 4 amp draw listed on the nameplate. Thought startup would for sure kill the OEM 400W inverter
 
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