RV Stuff: New Air Compressor for Tire Inflation

Given the heavy weight of even a lightly loaded RV, I'd always given much attention to tire pressures on Umarang, the URRV that tows my Ural Sidecar rigs around.

The door label on Uma states to inflate the rear dually tires to 80 PSI when cold and I'd been using the garage compressor (Husky 3 Gallon 150 PSI) to do this before each RV trip this past year.

I'd carried an old Sears tire inflator that was rated for 100 PSI but recently I'd found it to be "lacking" in topping off the tires to 80 PSI.  I mean, it would probably eventually get there but inflation coupler was failing and I had to hold it against the stem to achieve a seal, that's a PITA.

Yeah, I could replace the connector hose, but still be saddled with an inflator that struggled to push air into the RV's big tires.

So, after much research and bugging of friends such as RichardM and CraigH for advice, I went to the local Home Depot and found this:

source: homedepot.com

Link to product for more info

The specs were right, it actually had SCFM output of .5 at 90 PSI so it should push air into a tire where I am trying to achieve 80 PSI.  

Note: it doesn't come with a quick disconnect coupler, so you'll need to get one if you wish to have that functionality.

As I wanted to test it and resolve the issue today, I bought it today.  I thought, Amazon probably has it cheaper but you have to wait.  Turns out, it's more expensive on Amazon at $95!  :)

Got it home, unpackaged it, put the hose on and installed a quick disconnect coupler, easy peasy.

Connected to one of Uma's 110v electric outlet and powered the unit on.  It's a bit quieter than my 3 gallon Husky compressor but still an annoying noise.  Took it about 2-3 minutes (didn't time it) to fill the 2 gallon tank to 100 PSI at which point it cut off the motor.

I then successfully topped of to 85 PSI one of the dually tires, then bled off air till it was 80 PSI.  Easy, fast and the compressor motor didn't cut in, the tank held enough for that one tire.

This RV safety need is now tested, resolved.  My other Husky has lasted me over 5 years, so if I get two or three out of this $69 unit, I think I'll be happy.  It's got a two year limited warranty so it should be OK in terms of coverage for manufacturing defects.  It's made in China after all.....then again, I ride Russian motorcycles so my threshold for quality manufacturing is suspect.