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What's the best air compressor for off-road use

Discussion in '2.5 Gen Tundras (2014-2021)' started by vanthesupreme, Mar 27, 2019.

  1. Mar 27, 2019 at 12:50 PM
    #1
    vanthesupreme

    vanthesupreme [OP] I'm Batman

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  2. Mar 27, 2019 at 12:57 PM
    #2
    Cement

    Cement ...

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    FWIW

    I ran the beefier version of the Viair (450P) on my Raptor... and it was a pile of junk. When it worked, it took a day and half to air up my 35s from 15psi to 35. When it worked. More often, it wouldn't and/or shut off due to overheating. You get to stand there and wait a half hour for it to cool down and hope it comes back.

    I say hope because mine died one day, forcing me to burn a ton of rubber off my tires on the pavement as I limped 10 miles to a gas station. I later took it apart to try and fix it (we rebuild pumps at my shop), and found it looks like they use about the cheapest parts internally they could find, and the seals might as well be non existent. Will not buy one again. (To be fair, ambient was 90deg in the desert, which is where I wheel 99% of the time. Heat is murder on these things).

    No experience with the Smittybuilt; the experience with the Viair was enough.

    You asked about the "best". Viair and the like are not the "best". Not by a mile. Its a CO2 tank or ARB 100% duty cycle compressor for me from now on.

    Edit: By the way, make sure you understand "duty cycle" as it applies to these. The Viair you listed is rated at 33%. Roughly speaking, this means within a 10 minute window, you can expect to use it for 3 minutes, and wait for it to cool down for 7. The Smittybuilt doesn't even list duty cycle in the conventional way, which would make me think its rated even less.
     
    Last edited: Mar 28, 2019
  3. Mar 27, 2019 at 1:11 PM
    #3
    14burrito

    14burrito IG @14burrito

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    Iv been very happy with my 400p from Viair,
    Their customer service sucks though.

    I'll probably make the switch to a bullydog pump end of the year.
     
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  4. Mar 28, 2019 at 6:11 AM
    #4
    epicxcrider

    epicxcrider New Member

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  5. Mar 28, 2019 at 6:51 AM
    #5
    TacoWuzzaTurd

    TacoWuzzaTurd Loving my Tundra

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    I have the Viair 300p and have used it several times without issue.:confused:
     
  6. Mar 28, 2019 at 6:54 AM
    #6
    Berdine

    Berdine Voodoo Sport

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    I have the smittybilt one posted above. Love it, waiting on bracket to come so I can mount it under the hood. Came with a nice carrying case to hold everything too.
     
  7. Mar 28, 2019 at 10:13 AM
    #7
    tbell18

    tbell18 New Member

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    I've got the high performance arb compressor on my Tacoma and I've had great luck with it so far.
     
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  8. Mar 28, 2019 at 10:19 AM
    #8
    white_sherpa

    white_sherpa New Member

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  9. Mar 28, 2019 at 10:41 AM
    #9
    Marty McFly

    Marty McFly Nobody calls me chicken!! Except when off roading

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    I also have a Viair 450 100% duty cycle. It’s not the fastest, but i haven’t had any issues. If I had the money, I’d get a C02 but they are pricey.
     
  10. Mar 28, 2019 at 10:57 AM
    #10
    timsp8

    timsp8 Former Tundra owner for 13 years

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    I have a smittybilt 5.65 Cfm. Used it for my truck and wife’s car back to back and it didnt give out. Have had it for years and no issue. Puts out a lot of air.

    What bracket did you get?
     
  11. Mar 28, 2019 at 11:55 AM
    #11
    Berdine

    Berdine Voodoo Sport

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    Just ordered a sharkbite motorsports one
     
  12. Mar 28, 2019 at 2:52 PM
    #12
    timsp8

    timsp8 Former Tundra owner for 13 years

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    And the smittybilt fit? I just emailed them yesterday about one. Figured you would need a lower profile one like the arb.
     
  13. Mar 28, 2019 at 3:55 PM
    #13
    Berdine

    Berdine Voodoo Sport

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    Haven't got it yet. The smittybilt is bigger, and mounting point wider. Went with the dual mount
     
  14. Mar 30, 2019 at 8:31 PM
    #14
    theraven

    theraven New Member

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  15. Mar 31, 2019 at 3:26 AM
    #15
    plumber802

    plumber802 New Member

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    I have a Viair 300P. Bulletproof so far.
     
  16. Apr 5, 2019 at 10:13 AM
    #16
    vanthesupreme

    vanthesupreme [OP] I'm Batman

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  17. Apr 5, 2019 at 11:43 AM
    #17
    epicxcrider

    epicxcrider New Member

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    I had one of these before my Viair. It worked fine but eventually I wore it out. I hated the air chuck and it was loud AF and got really hot which is what kills these things. Oh, the power cable melted once from normal use but the company sent a replacement.

    The Viair is much higher quality. If this is for convenience or occasional use I think the masterflow is fine and was actually faster than the 450p. For regular wheeling or expedition use I would not depend on the masterflow.
     
  18. Apr 14, 2019 at 6:44 PM
    #18
    bigzrs01

    bigzrs01 New Member

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    Anyone seen the one that NSV just put out? Or am I late to the party in seeing that? Popped up on my IG as an ad. Looks like it goes under the rear passenger seat. Wanna say it was sub $400.
     
  19. Apr 14, 2019 at 7:29 PM
    #19
    Opus5150

    Opus5150 Terminal Lance

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    I've used the Viair 300P for a few years and have no complaints. I just use it a couple times a year when I air up after a week on the beach, so it hasn't worked very hard. Its filled up the 275s on my Tundra and my wife's Jeep and saved me a long wait at the public compressor without fail. I'd buy one again.
     
  20. Apr 15, 2019 at 8:15 AM
    #20
    Cement

    Cement ...

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    FWIW I used my ARB twin this past weekend to fill two trucks from 15ish to 35 and 45 respectively and the thing didn't miss a beat. We were done in maybe 15 mins total? My buddy was so impressed (her being used to a Viair) she's got one on her wish list now.
     
  21. Apr 15, 2019 at 8:51 AM
    #21
    Spitfire

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  22. Apr 15, 2019 at 1:32 PM
    #22
    BlueDream

    BlueDream New Member

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  23. Apr 9, 2021 at 1:41 PM
    #23
    markneustedt

    markneustedt New Member

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    Thanks for this post Cement! I think this compressor Viair (450P) is quite expensive. Obviously, if you ask me, Smittybilt (5.65CFM) won't be worse, it'll be even better even for less money.
     
    Last edited: Apr 9, 2021
  24. Apr 9, 2021 at 1:44 PM
    #24
    YotaBro

    YotaBro This forum will make me broke

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    Lots of shenanigans.
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  25. Apr 9, 2021 at 2:03 PM
    #25
    matictundra

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  26. Apr 9, 2021 at 2:12 PM
    #26
    AggiePhil

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  27. Apr 9, 2021 at 3:08 PM
    #27
    frichco228

    frichco228 Valued Member

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  28. Apr 9, 2021 at 3:41 PM
    #28
    Safar85

    Safar85 New Member

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    More than a few.....
  29. Apr 9, 2021 at 4:27 PM
    #29
    Kelvin

    Kelvin New Member

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    My 450P can fill up four 35’s from the same starting psi without issue and without breaks other than moving to a new tire :notsure:

    That thing is probably barely fit to fill up the tire on a Prius.

    If you’re going with 35’s like most do, you’ll need a bigger compressor. You don’t want to be sitting in the sun waiting 30 minutes for an inadequate compressor to get you up to 30 psi. Also if it overheats that’s going to be more waiting.

    Remember the phrase “buy once cry once”.
     
  30. Apr 9, 2021 at 4:58 PM
    #30
    Safar85

    Safar85 New Member

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    More than a few.....
    Understood. And fair enough. However, being a chinese product, I would likely cry twice. For higher prices, I'd rather buy American, what's a good one? I haven't been able to find one.
     
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