The glorious hobby of off-roading is a lot of things – exciting, rewarding, flexible, and expensive. One that it’s definitely not – predictable. Depending on the ferocity and frequency of your off-road jaunts, it can prove to be something of a minefield.
From jagged rocks and sharp inclines to muddy quagmires and grassy bogs, there are hundreds of potential hazards out there ready and waiting to spoil our tyres.
That’s where on-board air compressors come in.
Air compressor uses
These nifty little gadgets had a wide range of uses but they are most commonly used to inflate tyres with a compressor hose attached to a tyre pressure gauge to achieve the exact desired PSI rating.
Some off-roaders travel with pneumatic tools that require compressed air to operate such as impact wrenches.
In these cases, having a constant on-board supply has obvious benefits, though you would also require an air tank in addition to the compressor to use these tools effectively.
An air tank would also allow you access to more industrial applications. For example, a short, sharp blast of compressed air could be used with a blowgun to clean hard-to-reach parts of the engine.
There are also benefits for air lockers, which can use on-board air compression for power to lock the differentials when extra traction is required. They can even be used to inflate air mattresses on family camping trips, though we understand if you’d consider that overkill.
How do they work?
They are, in essence, small electric motors that pump out pressurised air. An average compressor will generate between 100 and 200 PSI.
They generally run off your vehicle’s existing 12v power supply and have a 100% duty cycle which means they can be run continuously.
It’s less of an accessory and more of a safety net and it’s one that is not only relatively affordable, but easy to install too. Indeed, there should be no modification of your 4×4 vehicle required.
Image: Hrecheniuk Oleksii / Shutterstock.com
