VE6AB Technical

Go Big Or Go Home

Have you ever found yourself with a low tire and with no air source to top up the tire resulting in you having to replace the tire with the spare for your vehicle.

Many people carry a 12 volt tire inflator in their vehicle for inflating a tire when faced with with such a situation.

Now if I was at home the problem of an air source is not a problem as I own a small 110 volt air compressor, however its away from home when the problem arises.

Years ago when I met my wife she carried such a unit in her car at the time, and it seemed like it got used regularly. However over the years we got away from owning one.

Recently I found myself in a situation where while going down a sideroad, the information center on the dash of my Avalanche informed me that my front right tire was low and indicating 156 kpa (20 psi) instead of the normal 244 kpa (35 psi) the other 3 tires were inflated to.

Being close to a town with a garage, I was able to add air to the tire and head for home without changing out the tire. This happened on a weekend, and with almost new tires on my Av and not knowing what the problem with the tire was, I wanted to return to the tire shop that had installed the tires on my Av. Having to wait for a day until they opened, and with my Av in the garage at home, I knew I would have a flat tire by the next business day. Now it wasn't a problem, as I could use my home air compressor to pump the tire up for the trip down to the tire shop.

Still, I got thinking that maybe I should invest in a tire inflator for the next time one of our vehicles was in a situation of needing a tire pumped up, and no air source handy.

I did some research and decided that Canadian Tire was the best choice for a inflator that would do the job. I also quickly realized that the small 12 volt inflators that power from the power outlet socket would not be up to the job of filling a full size tire found on a full size truck.

In the end I purchased the heavy duty model seen in the photo that has the capability of filling a truck tire in short order. It came factory set to shut off at 45 psi if no action was taken to stop it. There is a digital gauge built in to the top of the unit that can be preset to the required pressure that you wish it to stop at. Initially I left it set as it came and in no time the pump shut off with my hand held pressure gauge agreeing with the digital gauge that the tire was inflated to 45 psi.

Now normally my tires are inflated to 35 psi, however being the tire was leaking air, I inflated the tire to 45 psi, for the trip down to the tire shop.

In the end the tire shop found that I'd picked up a nail in the tire and repaired it in short order, even rotating the tires while they had my Av in the shop.

Back to the inflator for a moment, the inflator comes with a quick disconnect coiled air hose allowing the inflator to reach any corner of a full size vehicle. The power cord has alligator clamps for connecting to the battery direct, as the unit draws more current than the power outlet socket could provide. With the unit nested in it's carrying case as seen, I won't be leaving home without it loaded in the cargo bay of my Av for the next time I'm short on air.