Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Carrying portable air compressor in your RV is good idea

Every RVer needs to understand the importance of tires and proper tire pressure. The problem that can sometimes occur is while on the road, there is no available air support to check tire pressure. If you wait until you're on the road to check tire pressure, the tires are too hot for correct evaluation.

This is a common problem for RVers, and that is why you might want to consider a portable air compressor. Here are a few pointers when deciding what compressor to purchase: The rate that a compressor can deliver a volume of air is measured in cubic feet per minute (cfm). cfm varies with atmospheric pressure. It also varies with the temperature and humidity of the air.

Technically, air compressor manufacturers calculate standard cubic feet per minute (scfm) as cfm at sea level with 68 degrees F air at 36% relative humidity. Scfm ratings are given at a specific pressure (for example) 3.0 scfm at 90 psi. If you reduce pressure, scfm goes up, and vice versa. I would recommend a model rated at about 4.9 cfm @90 psi The cfm and psi ratings are important because they will determine what a compressor is capable of doing.

The most important thing to determine when choosing a compressor is to make sure it can supply the amount of air and the pressure that your tires need. Many applications in garages and shops (like air tools) don't require 125 max psi, so they have a regulator to adjust the air. It may be necessary to increase this setting to inflate the tires.

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4 comments:

  1. My trailer manufacturer recommends 110PSI. My Craftsman compressor is rated at 125PSI. But don’t try to get more than 90PSI out of it, even after modifying the control screws. Grrr.

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  2. What size and style(compressor) would you have if you had a 2003 Gulfstrem County club E450 V10 32ft with six tires
    class c

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  3. all the tech stuff is nice, but there is no suggestions to what to get in a air compressor for us non-techies.
    winnie

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  4. We use Viair to fill our bus tires. It will put 120 psi in with no problems.
    Google Viair and see if it is right for you.
    You can buy it in either 12v or 110v option. We elected for the 12v model. Quiet and fast to top off rig.
    Ran us about $225 a few years ago.

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