The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Saturday, May 21, 2016

I always wanted one of these!

Sherman got some new tires the other day, and I'm a bit of a stickler for tire pressure, so when we're traveling with the motorhome I check the tire pressure at least once a week. When we first set out with the motorhome eight and a half years ago, I had bought a good quality foot pump at a decent price.

And occasionally, I used it on the motorhome tires.

But the motorhome tires I keep at minimum 60 psi. And with a little foot pump, it takes about 5 minutes of pumping to increase the pressure by a pound or two. Now, I'm not one to shy away from a little exercise, but that was a bit ridiculous.

So a few years ago I had bought a little 12v electric air pump, but this was one of those situations where I didn't spend enough money. And it didn't last. In fact, it was plain junk and I tossed it in the garbage after a couple of years. The foot pump had worked better!

I always had my eye open for a good one, but I figured I had to spend at least $80 for something decent.

Last month when we arrived in California, I had ordered a decent one from Amazon. Or at least I was hoping it was decent, because it was only $42 USD. But the reviews were excellent.

Sherman has a suspension air bag system, and the compressor for that is made by a company called Viair. I know that it's a good quality compressor, and so the one I ordered from Amazon is made by the same company.

It comes in a nice carry bag and it weighs only 5 lbs.

First, I tried it out on our bicycle tires. It pumps up a flat bike tire in seconds. And it was quieter than I expected.

Totally impressed with the quality.

Regular readers will know that we tell it like it is here at Travel with Kevin and Ruth. 

This compressor is made to last. The hose is actual rubber, not plastic and the nozzle screws on to the valve so there is no chance of a bad connection between the two. This compressor is really good value for the price!

It comes with a long 12v cord with a cigarette lighter end to it. I'm actually going to replace that with clips so that I can connect directly to my four house batteries.

It comes with a guage that is actually accurate!

I tried it out on the motorhome and it took less than two minutes to increase the pressure from 60 psi to 65 psi. For a small compressor working on a big tire, that's fantastic!

For the price, you can't go wrong...

Viair 00073 70P Heavy Duty Portable Compressor - USA

And surprisingly, it's available at a comparable price from Amazon.ca in Canada as well!

Viair 00073 70P Portable Air Compressor - Canada





16 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks Helen, it is a good one for sure! :-)

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  2. Looks like a good item, We have a 3 gallon compressor I bought years ago does the job here, we keep our Tres at 95-100 psi

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    Replies
    1. I'm sure it does the job, but I didn't want one of those 3 gallon compressors. Too big, too heavy, and too expensive.

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  3. I bought one, Kevin, from your link. Ive never had one because I didn't want a cheap one but this one looks like it will take care of business at a fair price. Thanks.

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    Replies
    1. The quality is better than I expected for the price. I thought a unit like this would have been worth $80 or so...

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  4. After going through several cheap compressors, I finally bought an "MV50" years ago and it is still going strong. Good idea about replacing the lighter plug with alligator clips---clips usually deliver more amps to the motor.

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    Replies
    1. Yep, cheap isn't always the way to go, we have learnt that before.

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  5. Looks great, fortunately we have our own compressor Because of the diesel.

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  6. We found one at a garage sale. It works and has lasted for a few years. That said, I would hate to be stuck without one. Looks like a good investment.

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    Replies
    1. Even better when you can buy a good one secondhand at a good price!

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  7. Keep up the reviews. Love them. Just bought the wifi extender. Cheers.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks John! Hope you love the WiFi extender as much as we do.

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