Mods Too Expensive - Air Tank

Harbor Freight sells smaller tanks (5 gal or so) for about $30.

Sean

Can you air up all 4 tires from about 18 lbs to street PSI with a 5 lb tank? I am new to this, that's why the "silly question."

I know that with 2.5 gallons you can reseat a bead....but reseating beads is about volume, not pressure.

Not a silly question at all....I don't know the answer either.....It's hard to say if a single 5 gal. tank would fill all 4 tires, but it would depend on what you run for street pressure, and the size of your tires (and how long you want to wait, as well as internal tank pressure vs. tire's internal pressure).

More importantly, can your compressor keep up with the air tank? In order to keep any appreciable pressure AND to not take FOREVER to fill the tires, you're going to have to hook a compressor up to the tank. Just filling the tank before you leave on the trip is probably not going to cut it (if that was your plan). That means you'll need a high quality compressor....especially to fill a five gallon tank.

HTH,
Sean

Time to start a "Help Dave pimp his rig" thread......and I'd be happy to start that for ya buddy:lol:

p.s. Dirty cops make more money:rofl:

I know, homedad(r).....I'm friggin BROKE!! :lol:

So, does that site have better prices than 4X4 shops on recovery gear and the air tank? Just wondering if I did good while thinking out of the box....

You did good Dave....but when you're broke...cheap ain't even good enough:cowfrown:

Damn...I had a spare compressor too....but I gave it away already:mecry:

Yeah...tell me about it. I'm sitting here watching Charlie Wilson's War, on the forums, and planning my next mod. I'm thinking air, so I can air down the tires when I need to and not worry about it. Then, I'll get tires!! But I gotta get 1 tire at a time with my budget. By the time I get all 5 tires it'll be time to swap out tires anyway :lol:

As far as I'm concerned....cops and teachers are the most important people in America...Why in the hell are they all broke????

I sold drugs to pay for college....cleared an easy $80k/year....
Quitting drugs cost me my house my car all my friends and a bankruptcy....It took 5 years sober and self employed to even come close to that income....

That was 20 years ago....Sorry I stole your thread....but any time I hear a story about a broke cop or teacher....I want to flip out on someone.....

All future parts gifts will be going to FJDave!!!!!!!

Dude....you have come a LONG way! I'm very proud of you!! You have my respect and admiration for your "sobering" accomplishments!!

Not a problem with jacking the thread...that's what we do best! But now back to the cheapo mods...

Oh, and I have my own issues too. I can't have credit cards, or I'll spend myself into bankruptcy. I have NO RESTRAINT. I also will not take money out of the house. We are in a great position with the house, and I don't wanna ruin that and wind up one of those people trying to short-sale the house. So, I have to pay cash for everything. When the house needs repair, cash. When we need car repairs, cash. Mods? Yup...cash. That's why I'm always broke. I get a little saved, and something friggin BREAKS! Usually, it's the bank account that breaks :lol:

Dave, just wait for that fiscal year event..............

First I have to X2 my admiration and compliments to homedad.

And Dave - I agree on the tank. I am mounting my el cheapo red harbor freight compressor in the engine bay and guess what ... unlimited air!

And I don't have to go worrying about filling up a Co2 tank. Call me crazy but it is NOT worth two hours of my time and gas to drive all over town just because I aired down a couple times.

Yes it takes the compressor half the month to fill up the tires but it's still less time than it would take to go fill up a tank.

I am waiting for the first person to run out of C02 and ask if anybody else has a compressor.

i gotta my $50 Superflow at Costco

CHeck walmart for tanks-- cheap

I bought a 50$ mini tankless compressor from HarborFreight. Like Air2Air said, takes forever to fill, about 5min a tire(34's) from 15psi - 40psi...but 20min is a lot less then running around town to fill up that $100+ CO2 tank

You guys are way off the mark on the Co2 tanks. They are without a doubt more versatile and better quality than a cheap compressor. Now, if you're talking high end compressors, ya, the CO2 is more evenly matched, but CO2 tanks only take about 1-2 minutes to fill a tire (from single digit to street pressure), hold much more volume (b/c of gas expansion at room temp), are a great addition for a welder, and are not expensive to have refilled.

Waiting around for 20 minutes to fill tires sucks. Plain and simple.

Todd, you're trying to tell me there's NO welding shops within 2 hours of your house? Where do you live, BFE? I call ahead and just drop by and switch mine out....the only reason I call ahead is b/c I have an aluminum tank and to get it switched out, they aren't as common, so they need more notice.

Sean I think high frequency of use justifies the tank. And our cases are likely different.

Knowing you, you're probably airing down 5 times a week plus the buggy. The saved fill time probably gives you a whole extra day saved.

I can realistically go out only twice a month. The decent places are at least a couple hours away and I bring the family. So let's say it's a total of 30 minutes of extra fill time per month with the compressor. The rest of the time it's a daily driver. It's nice to have it mounted out of sight in the engine compartment.

Demello hassles me about this all the time too so I would only get one so he leaves me alone

Nope....I've filled my tires once since I switched to the new ones. I ride on trailer....no air up required. I just drive it on the trailer and strap it down...about a 5 minute process. I'm loaded and off on the highway before 1 or two tires is even full on people airing up. Who says trailer queens don't have their advantages.

I also have OBA in the form of two compressors (ARB and factory A/C) and an OBA tank (I made a custom 2.5 gal)....but I've really only used the ARB to lock the locker. I have a 20 lb Co2 tank, but it's for my welder now. I haven't used it for filling tires in years.

I do agree about the space and mounting (and weight) concerns with the CO2 tank...if that's your criteria....go with a good quality compressor designed to fill tires and get a decent size (min. 2.5 gal) tank. Sun Performance makes a small, long 2.5 gal.



Sean

Yeah the trailer queen has advantages! Just like you I have the ARB compressor and I thought that I could rig up some kind of Y valve to that so I don't have to install the harbor freight compressor. Now to dig up some ARB documentation.

Edit: I researched the ARB compressor performance and all 3 models pretty much suck for filling tires. The small one is intended just for the lockers. The two larger ones are overpriced at over $200 and are not better than the little red harbor freight compressor. I know a number of us have the little red one, and I'll go aheand and mount it in the engine compartment next to the ARB.

Tire Inflator Comparison

Above is a highly regarded page that I have seen mentioned here before with an excellent comparison between the various tanks and the various compressors.