Effectiveness of airing down for beach driving???

[Jeremy556]

I'm in the market for one as well, I was thinking about a Viair 88P for $65, any feedback? But I do like the idea of having a built-in tank 1.5gal ($165) as well. Any reasons you could not use a small 2gal home compressor (<$80) and plug it in the outlet other then size?

The little 88 is going to take a long time to fill truck/suv tires.

A 120v compressor is probably going to have too high of an amp draw for the inverter.

 

[Jetboy]

The MV50 is crap, I've had like 4 or 5 of them. When they work, they work pretty good, but not long term. They look like a Viair but the materials and tolerances are completely different if you tear them down.

Interesting. You're the first person I've ever heard that from. Considering how many thousands of them are out there, possibly you're doing something that the rest of us aren't?

The Viair compressors are cheaper now anyway. If they work better, no reason to spend more on an MV50. Specs on output also look pretty good.

 

[Canon_Bob]

Airing down makes a big difference....especially in sugar sand. If I know the beach is hard pack, then I usually don't bother airing down. The most important part of it though is to adjust your driving. Avoid sudden torque situations on aired-down tires and sand. Best to build up to a nice momentum and run with a soft foot. Have seen many folks stomp on it when they hit the sugar sand, and they either spin on their rims or the sugar sand just swallows them to the axels

 

[nevada]

I have Stauns and the ARB deflator, but unless it is raining, cold as hell, or swarming mosquitoes, I just remove 1 valve core, wait 10 seconds, remove another one, go back to monitor the first tire's pressure and reinstall the core, then go to the 2nd tire, and repeat. It's much faster than deflaters, but you have to be careful not to lose a valve core. I carry 20ish spare cores in my tire repair kit.

Both the stauns and the arb deflator's threads wore my aluminum TPMS valve stem threads almost down to nothing, which is why I started removing the core and realized how much faster it is.

I do the same.

Looks like I need to invest in a compressor. An ARB may be out of my price range. Which VAIR would you guys recommend?

smittybuilt 2781. best compressor for the money.

Amazon.com: Smittybilt 2781 5.65 CFM Universal Air Compressor: Automotive

Basically none of the electric compressors without a tank will "seat a bead". The issue with seating beads is that the tire isn't usually touching the bead surface area - meaning there's a gap where air flows out between the wheel and tire. So you need a LOT of air in a burst to get the tire to move out and seal up. Usually if you really want to have this capability you're going to need both a tank and a higher pressure compressor along with larger diameter air hose. For a casual use like you're describing, I would forgo the need for big volume and big pressure.

truth.

 

[Jeremy556]

Interesting. You're the first person I've ever heard that from. Considering how many thousands of them are out there, possibly you're doing something that the rest of us aren't?

The Viair compressors are cheaper now anyway. If they work better, no reason to spend more on an MV50. Specs on output also look pretty good.

1 was DOA, the others the valves wore out and would gradually pump less and less air until they quit. I probably put a lot more hours on them than most people. Here's some pics of the differences (borrowed from Jeep Forum)

 

[Jetboy]

I do the same.

smittybuilt 2781. best compressor for the money.

Amazon.com: Smittybilt 2781 5.65 CFM Universal Air Compressor: Automotive

truth.

That smittybuilt is pretty impressive if it's reliable. I haven't seen one in person yet, but at that price and 5.5cfm I'm intrigued.

 

[nevada]

That smittybuilt is pretty impressive if it's reliable. I haven't seen one in person yet, but at that price and 5.5cfm I'm intrigued.

ive only had the opportunity to use mine twice so far, but its impressive.

the only thing I would do to a new one(and have) is remove the section of hose that has the gauge, as its pretty worthless, and add in a lock on air chuck, and get rid of that screw on head.

the screw on head does work, and works well, it just takes longer.

 

[Jetboy]

1 was DOA, the others the valves wore out and would gradually pump less and less air until they quit. I probably put a lot more hours on them than most people. Here's some pics of the differences (borrowed from Jeep Forum)

Interesting. The old original MV50's were similar to the viair with a reed valve. Mine is in my daily driver so it rarely gets used, but it's probably 10yrs old now and still works well.

 

[KidVermicious]

I'm in the market for one as well, I was thinking about a Viair 88P for $65, any feedback?

I've had a 90p for several years because I'm too cheap to upgrade. It's ok for 265/75s, but takes a long long time to fill my 255/85s. If you want a reliable budget compressor for occasional airing up the 88p would be a great choice.

 

[Magnetic4R]

^ how long does it take to air a tire?

 

[wfo9]

g out over 5 cfm, and starter fluid to be able to reseat a bead if needed.

* not on purpose - my gauge broke for a while before I realized it, showing 4psi higher than actual. Because of the lack of problems at 8psi, thinking I was at 12, I have now change my go to pressure for technical trails to 10psi.

Wow, I run 17 mostly. I've been spooked to go much lower (mainly to save the rim). There is also a trade off in ground clearance with low pressure.

 

[Jetboy]

All of the times I've torn sidewalls out of tires were at really low pressure in mixed snow/rock situations with sharp rocks.

10psi seems really low for our tire sizes.

A set of Staun beadlocks would go a long way toward protecting both the wheel and the tire at lower pressures, but they're heavy and hard to balance from what I understand. I've never owned a set, but would like to.

 

[Jeremy556]

Wow, I run 17 mostly. I've been spooked to go much lower (mainly to save the rim). There is also a trade off in ground clearance with low pressure.

That's what the skids are for, and the increased traction is worth it to me. I don't generally go over 10mph at that pressure, for higher speed off road stuff I'm running 18-25.

 

[Jeremy556]

All of the times I've torn sidewalls out of tires were at really low pressure in mixed snow/rock situations with sharp rocks.

10psi seems really low for our tire sizes.

A set of Staun beadlocks would go a long way toward protecting both the wheel and the tire at lower pressures, but they're heavy and hard to balance from what I understand. I've never owned a set, but would like to.

I'm not recommending others do it, but it's been working for me. My wheels are covered with rock rash anyway.

 

[bimrunner]

That's what the skids are for, and the increased traction is worth it to me. I don't generally go over 10mph at that pressure, for higher speed off road stuff I'm running 18-25.

I've aired down as low as 8 for some really fluffy snow. I am 12-15 normally for technical stuff. 17-20 for faster stuff. If it is easy enough, I don't even air down... I just bump along.

 

[diverscale]

A-TRAC/TRAC/AUTO LSD Explained (Easy to understand, I hope!) - Page 3 - Tacoma World Forums

 

[Intruder]

Might be worth pointing out that you can run an MT tire at lower pressure than say a stock P-rated tire without worrying about the sidewalls as much. Also, your GVW will affect how low you can run your tires just as it affects your inflation pressure on the street.

Personally, I wouldn't run P-rated tires lower than 18 psi but that's just me. In the summer I run my MT/Rs at 12 psi because I usually have the RTT on and my camping gear loaded up. In the winter I run the Nokians at 15 psi even though I don't have the RTT and camping gear because they're only AT tires that don't have the thickest sidewalls. I have taken the Nokians down to 12 psi but only when the snow was really deep and there was no chance of digging through to rock.

 

[KidVermicious]

^ how long does it take to air a tire?

Depends on how far I aired down. I'm normally around 15-18 PSI for most of the offroading I do, it takes my little pump several minutes to get from there to the 32 PSI I keep the KM2s at.

 

[Jeremy556]

Might be worth pointing out that you can run an MT tire at lower pressure than say a stock P-rated tire without worrying about the sidewalls as much.

Good point. At 12psi my MTRs have much less sidewall bulge than same size and load rated Duratracs at the same pressure. The few times I took the Duratracs down to 8psi in deep snow, it looked like they were completely flat.

 

[wfo9]

Good point. At 12psi my MTRs have much less sidewall bulge than same size and load rated Duratracs at the same pressure. The few times I took the Duratracs down to 8psi in deep snow, it looked like they were completely flat.

I can't imagine my Duratracs at 8psi. I hope to try some MTRs at some point. Tires are such unique snowflakes.... So many variables in construction and materials. I wish they had demo programs ;-)