It has always been a mystery to me how travelers inflate tires. Your chances of finding a functional and non-vandalized air pressure pump at a gas station are a bit better than finding a functional pay phone. But even so, it's hard to get near the air pump with your trailer. The alternative is to carry one of those cheesy 12 volt tire inflators; years ago they were slow and would burn up. Are they better today?
Of course most people don't deliberately let half the air out of the rear tires of their tow vehicle, and then put it back in.
Half-inflated tires on the drive axle comprise a poor man's four-wheel-drive. I had my RV in Baja once and saw a Mexican hot-rodding around the beach on soft sand with his rear-wheel-drive car. The tires were noticeably deflated. It was amazing what he was capable of doing. Ever since then I have used the same trick to pull my trailer through loose or steep roads. Of course that means raising the pressure when you get back on pavement. (Low pressure and high speeds would result in tire heating and shortened life.)
It worked half-well to use a portable 1000 Watt generator to run a (Black and Decker) 110 VAC tire inflator, despite it making the Devil's own noise and having a cheesy valve fitting. When it burned up a couple years ago I vowed never to buy another one.
Despite my diatribe against the False Prophets of Downsizing and Minimalism (grin), the fact is that I'm obsessed with getting these crappy inflators out of my life. There's only one 110 VAC tire inflator on the market (Campbell-Hausfeld, $55.) But I can't think of an alternative. How does everyone else do it?
Of course most people don't deliberately let half the air out of the rear tires of their tow vehicle, and then put it back in.
Half-inflated tires on the drive axle comprise a poor man's four-wheel-drive. I had my RV in Baja once and saw a Mexican hot-rodding around the beach on soft sand with his rear-wheel-drive car. The tires were noticeably deflated. It was amazing what he was capable of doing. Ever since then I have used the same trick to pull my trailer through loose or steep roads. Of course that means raising the pressure when you get back on pavement. (Low pressure and high speeds would result in tire heating and shortened life.)
It worked half-well to use a portable 1000 Watt generator to run a (Black and Decker) 110 VAC tire inflator, despite it making the Devil's own noise and having a cheesy valve fitting. When it burned up a couple years ago I vowed never to buy another one.
Despite my diatribe against the False Prophets of Downsizing and Minimalism (grin), the fact is that I'm obsessed with getting these crappy inflators out of my life. There's only one 110 VAC tire inflator on the market (Campbell-Hausfeld, $55.) But I can't think of an alternative. How does everyone else do it?
Comments
Tom in Orlando
Indeed, I saw that pump at Walmart and it looks quite substantial. But aren't cigarette light connectors limited to about 5 Amps DC, or 60 watts? That doesn't sound very powerful.
The trouble with all this tire inflator biz is that it's aimed at rescuing damsels in distress in roadside emergencies, which occur every three years; if the pump works once and burns up, the customer is probably happy. My application is at the other end of the spectrum.
Tom in Orlando
It'll raise the pressure of the tires on my 21' motor home from 60 psi to 71 psi in about ten seconds. Noisy as heck since I need to run my generator plus the compressor, but I don't need to top off my tires very often. A necessary evil, done as quickly as possible.
By the way, I compliment you for having thick skin. It must challenge you to read a guy who has the anti-motor prejudices that I do.
I am heading off to the Bonneville Sped Week event later this month - true "gearhead nirvana". Posts to follow in my blog! Maybe the spectacle could convert you?
http://www.sierraexpeditions.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=173