Michelin 2HP MB24 compressor at Costco

[HymerVan]

I have found it difficult to inflate tyres on my Van up to correct pressures using garage forecourt equipment and 12v pumps take forever and overheat so I have just bought the above from Costco on offer at £95.99.

Its small enough to be pretty portable and goes up to 116psi (8bar) . The compressor is mains electric with a decent sized reservoir.

It is described as being for "DIY and light trade use" only but I reckon it will be great for keeping my MH tyres up to pressure easily.

Regards

Laurence

[Colin Leake]

Does that price include a coupling to the tyre valve as well or does one need to buy that as an expensive extra?

[HymerVan]

Includes piping and tyre connector with pressure gauge also other valves for bikes etc all ready to go

[Derek Uzzell]

There are heavy-duty 12V compressors aimed at the 4x4 market that are capable of inflating a motorhome's tyres rapidly. Examples are shown here

 

http://www.mattsavage.com/acatalog/compressors_portable.html

 

http://britpart.com/Accessory-Catalogue.aspx?AccRef=3401

 

http://www.devon4x4.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=1013090&Itemid=14

 

The prices of these products vary dramatically according to their specification and supplier. They draw a lot of amps, so need to be connected directly to a battery (NOT via a dash-board socket) and preferably have the vehicle's motor running while inflation is being carried out.

 

Depends what you want, of course. If you envisage carrying the pump in the motorhome for use in an emergency (say to pump up a well-deflated tyre sufficiently to allow you to drive to a garage for a repair to be carried out) then a 230V-powered 'workshop' compressor like the MB24 really won't be suitable. If you want an inexpensive workshop compressor for DIY/trade purposes in addition to tyre inflation, then the MB24 should be ideal. If you want a compressor to just occasionally put a few pounds of pressure in your tyres at your home, then I suggest an MB24 would be over-kill.

[HymerVan]

Entirely agree with your comments Derek and the high powered 12v compressors are a good solution for some users.

I find that in Europe (especially Germany) it is pretty easy to find forecourt airlines up to the job but around here most forecourt lines don't work well eat 20p pieces or take forever once they get over about 40psi.

I don't have space to carry a big 12v compressor in the Van but for a top up an old fashioned foot pump is OK and provides useful exercise. The compressor is especially directed at my spare but is also useful for our car and my daughters car.

[Derek Uzzell]

I have two 12V tyre pumps. One is a cheap years-old pump that won't inflate my motorhome's tyres, but will handle the car's tyres and will run from the car's dashboard socket. The other is a Ring RAC700 pump that will inflate the motorhome's tyres reasonably quickly, and used to run happily from the Transit's 20A 12V dashboard socket but now blows the socket's fuse. Connected directly to the vehicle's batterymy RAC700 runs OK and it's possible that the fuse-blowing problem lies with the DIY extension-lead I made up ages ago rather than with the pump itself. Nevetheless, although the RAC700 does the job, I wouldn't buy another.

 

The snag with tyre-pump tests like the AutoExpress and What Car ones (or even the MMM test) is that they usually only compare run-of-the mill products normally aimed at car-tyre inflation. The most powerful 12V pump MMM tested was the Ring RAC900 commented on here

 

http://www.campingly.com/rac900-tyre-inflator/

 

but there are a good many less expensive pumps with a higher on-paper specification. For example, this pump at £49.20 (VAT/P&P inclusive).

 

http://www.paddockspares.com/pm981-portable-12v-compressor.html

 

If my RAC700 dies, I'll seriously consider the Paddock pump.