4x4 North

After the last two trips out and having to fix and air up a tire each time i need onboard air on the truck. so whats the dirty on compressors as there are lots of different brands out there for cheap to expensive

Used Hillbilts ARB dual piston pimp set up and its fast and was quite impressed with it but not the price then used the Viair set up on the Welfare and it worked but very slow but is a 100% duty cycle pump so can run all day.

the two pumps im currently looking at are the Bulldog and the Thors Lightning Bolt. Both are high psi and cfm. both are in the price range im after (under $300) but both are not water proof like the ARB and Viair so cant be mounted under the hood. they are both not 100% duty but do have higher cfm then the ARB of Viair so shouldn't have to run as long

Links to said units

https://www.bulldogwinch.com/index.cfm/ ... prd272.htm

https://thorslightningairsystems.com/pr ... compressor

is there another set up that i should also be looking at ?

I own the bully dog..... and now own a Viar. The bully dog works but I've had mine get hot a quit a few times on small tires (35's). Guessing it was just a heat cut off. Usualy on the 4th tire, it needs a 15 min break. It still works and I leave it in my wife's truck for random times when a compressor is needed.

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Junkjunk wrote: ↑Tue Jul 25, 2023 2:57 pm I own the bully dog..... and now own a Viar. The bully dog works but I've had mine get hot a quit a few times on small tires (35's). Guessing it was just a heat cut off. Usualy on the 4th tire, it needs a 15 min break. It still works and I leave it in my wife's truck for random times when a compressor is needed.

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good to know about the Bully dog one

Viair 40043 400P Portable Compressor


On Amazon right now is just a hair over 300.

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guess i should add that i dont plan on airing up 4 tires at a time, just more for 1 at a time when flat or off a bead kinda deal

I run the big smittybuilt which I believe is the same as the bulldog. Good air compressor, we air up 37’s from 2 psi to 25 , all 4 tires and usually others with slower compressor. They can overheat but a few small mods go a long ways to then running cooler, like swapping the air line out and getting rid of all the restrictions. That being said I think for what you’re doing I think a viar or similar that’s known for being a little more reliable mixed with a air tank would give you the larger volume of air for doing what you are looking for better. The bulldog/smittybuilt don’t do well as the air pressure climb and will run hot. They are curved to run lower psi although they can get to higher pressures but are optimized for lower psi air volume.

I have to admit I'm a fan of portable compressors after having a permanently installed one. I just have one in a case with some big ol' nipple clamps on it to hook to the battery.

That said, it's some Cambodian Tire special. So I'm not going to recommend it for trying to fill a 40"+ tire in a hurry.

That is handy for sure having a portable air compressor is that you can use it for whatever whenever. Switch rigs or whatever. They really are handy

guess something else to think about is the amp draw on these. looks like the bulldog one is rated at 50amp and the thor one is 90amp, while a Viair 100% duty is rated at 23 amp

I wonder if those amp draw ratings are real world? 90 amps for any period of time is an awful lot, maybe that is an absolute peak, but even then I'd be curious to see it run with an amp clamp on it. However, that Thor one does look like a beast based on what the reviewers were saying. I can't see the duty cycle (50%, if I'm reading it correctly 30 minutes on and 30 minutes off) being an issue unless you're trying to air a set of 44s up from nothing to 45psi all at once. It's simply going to be fast enough that it won't matter, you'll have finished airing anything reasonable up before then. They don't spec the flow at a given pressure, instead at free flow, which is kinda garbage, but for seating a bead it's still reasonably valid.

Honestly, I'd love to order that Thor one on a gamble to see what it's like.

It should fit in one of the PA or Cambodian Tire waterproof cases. I'm not into putting something like that in a soft bag. Also they sell a wiring kit for it with Anderson connectors, I'm not sure if that kit is a good deal but if it really can draw that much amperage I would absolutely go with Anderson connectors over the nipple clamps. Pretty easy to just hard wire one into every vehicle you plan to use it with.

The bulldog will freeze up on me and pop the relief valve when we are snow wheeling just my 2 cents


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Upgrading to a proper air line would probably fix that


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pointsnorth wrote: ↑Mon Jul 31, 2023 9:54 am Upgrading to a proper air line would probably fix that


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Those PVC spiral hose things are bullshit. Definitely worth spending the $20 on some better hose. Using standard couplers is a good idea too.

Scott Cee AKA 2drx4 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 27, 2023 2:42 pm Honestly, I'd love to order that Thor one on a gamble to see what it's like.

It should fit in one of the PA or Cambodian Tire waterproof cases. I'm not into putting something like that in a soft bag. Also they sell a wiring kit for it with Anderson connectors, I'm not sure if that kit is a good deal but if it really can draw that much amperage I would absolutely go with Anderson connectors over the nipple clamps. Pretty easy to just hard wire one into every vehicle you plan to use it with.

I was thinking of mounting it in a ammo can or other water proof box and have it mounted in the box of the truck so can be hard wired to the batter. The thor one is tempting as the CFM is crazy high so doesn't need to be 100% duty as wouldn't have to run it as long I feel.