Evey time before I leave to go camping I do my safety checks. I always check my TV/PU tire pressure and they are always 5 to 7 Lbs low. I drive to the two gas stations about a half a mile away. I have to make a left turn uphill with oncoming speeding traffic which can sometimes take 5 to 10 minutes. When I get to the traffic light (and wait) one station is on the left and one is on the right. Inevitably there is one broken machine and one with a group of gang bangers hanging out (always asking me for money). These machines cost $0.75 for about what always seems to be not enough time to fill and check with my own gauge two small tires. Then it's always a 5 to 10 minute wait to turn out of the gas station, then I have to wait for the light. Sometimes this is a half hour deal.
It would be so much easier to top the air off before I pull out while hooking up the hitch and do the checks and make a right turn and be on my way--->>>
Sometimes when leaving the CG I can't always be sure there is a gas station close by.
I keep seeing these 12volt $15 inflators at department stores and have been thinking of getting one.
Can anyone advise on a small tire inflator about: quality, price, features, time it takes to pump and their experiences with their inflators?
Thank you.
I've had a small inflator for years which is probably similar to the $15 ones today. It works OK and would top off a trailer tire in a few minutes. I've looked at better ones -- more in the $50 range -- to get for my son to use for car tires and things like wading pools. He's had my el-cheapo since he got married and still uses it from time to time.
I think the best bet is to cruise the listings on Amazon and read through the reviews. Even spending $50 would be a whole lot better than what you're going through now! I have a compressor in the shop so I haven't used any of them in a long time.
What's the condition of your tires? I don't think I've ever had to add air more than twice a season on either trailer and maybe every couple of months on the TV or car.
John
I have a little Craftsmen unit that I keep in the back of my car since my spare is invaribly low whenever I need it. It takes up very little space, has a long cord and is there whenever I need it. Just remember, if you keep it in your TV, make sure you can still get to it once all your camp gear is packed in.
I wound up getting this cordless jump-pack/inflator. It always comes with us in the TV on road trips. You never know when one of the kids will leave the lights on and we'll need to jump the car. In fact, we just used it for that over the weekend although that was at home. It's also good for inflating vehicle and bike tires -- not horribly fast, but it works.
When I'm at home, I have a 120v AC inflator since it inflates things a lot faster than the unit above. Mine's an old Black & Decker unit, probably just an older version of this.
You don't want to use either of those for inflating pool toys, though. These are high pressure, low volume devices. For air mattresses or pool toys, you want a low pressure, high volume inflator like this. If you try to use the ones above, you'll have a good risk of pumping in too much air and pop the seams, or damage the compressor by running it for too long.
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