On-board Air vs. Portable Air Compressor

[ShirtaDay.com]

I would like to have some form of air available when we take the camper to the beach. Might need to air down tires on truck or trailer and it would be nice to have a source to refill from without having to hunt down a gas station each time.

The cheaper option is obviously a portable unit. I can pick something up at HF with an 8 gallon tank for like $129. An on-board air setup would run me closer to $300 + installation. It would however allow me to run a truck horn, but I have no other real need for OBA... Is it worth the extra money?

[Diehardbiker]

I, too have thought of this. I realize that how often does this happen? The only issue is looking for gas station to get air back in, it would temporarily decrease the mileage and how much wear on tires? Probably not much to justify the cost of onborard compressor. I have seen some that don't air down and had no problem with beach, while my former vehicle which was Jeep Wrangler with old tire, I had to air down. I had with nice and fat tire with aggressive thread I had no problem without air down.

So again, it is really up to you. For me, I'd pass that.

[ShirtaDay.com]

I'm definitely going to want to head out to some of the less densely camped areas where the sand is going to be softer and from past experiences off-roading in Pismo back in CA, it's just safer to air down.

It's not really a cost thing as a hassle thing - having to drive to the gas station, finding one that will accommodate a truck & 34' camper to get close enough to the pump, etc.

[Snake]

OBA is the way to go. Nothing better than having compressed air on hand all the time. Air up your tires, blow sand off of whatever, honk your horn, run small tools, fill up the air mattress / raft / tube........

[colberjs]

I'd love to have OBA!!! If you are definately needing air of some sort then I would go with the OBA..

[twin200]

I was having trouble finding a place to run my air line into the cab for
guage readings, but I found a place that looks like it was designed for the
air line If you go under and to the left of the steering column, you will see the large harness of wires going through a rubber boot mounted on the
firewall.Now its hard to see but if you reach up to 11:00 on the round boot
you will feel a nipple,simply pull it out.Then you need to go under the hood
and out there you will find another nipple,only its about 1 1/2 inch long.I got in to position with scissors in my left hand and found the nipple with my right.
You can't see what your doing.So once you get the scissors in position snip
the end off and your air line will go right through nice and snug,was also able to run the wires with the air line. Hope this is helpful