20 Best Portable Air Compressor For Off Roading (2023 Updated)

What I like: • Speed – takes only minutes (2-3) to inflate from 10 to 39 psi (35 X 12. 5 R18) • Ease – compressor, electrical cables, air hose, and attachments are thoughtfully designed, easily accessed and stored (in the a portable case), and easy & quick to use.

It seems obvious engineers have listened and responded to user feedback. • Portable – I considered alternatives including under seat mount, rear compartment mount, engine compartment mount, each of which seem nifty and handy.

I am soooo pleased I chose portable. Portable has made it much easier to assist others, and made it useful for stupidly common applications including at home. I’d purchase portable again without reservation.

Be aware: • It isn’t exactly light … not something your children can tote around.

Good quality. Read up on this compressor. Install was straight forward. This was actually a military concept that ARB designed for the military. They didn’t get the contract but instead sold it to the public and good thing cause its fast and reliable! The only minor downside i have to say is that it didn’t come with the elbows and connecting braided hose (sold separately).

Other than that, no complaints.

ARB Air Compressors are simply the very best in my opinion and to have dual compressor in a portable, heavy duty plastic case with aluminum latches makes this so convenient and you don’t have to permanently install in vehicle which allows you to use on multiple vehicles and for a variety of purposes around the house as well! Albeit pricey it’s a great set up that can air down tires very quickly and air them back up very quickly as well.

Recommend getting tire deflator valve stems and digital air gages! Complete set up which hopefully lasts a lifetime!.

Solid unit ARB has here. Fills a 35” tire from 20psi to 36psi in just a few minutes. Pricy little guy but does the job well. The air hose included stretches around a two door wrangler with no issues.

Connecting the unit to the battery is very simple, and has a long cable so you can position the box where you need to. This unit does get very warm, use caution when stowing the hose back in the box after it’s been running.

Would definitely recommend this product. Also recommend pairing with a digital tire gauge as well.

The unit performs as expected and does a great job airing up my 37’s. The unit does get extremely hot during use and I don’t feel comfortable closing it back up in its case immediately after use. To this point, I have been setting it in the back, lid open for the return to hotel or cabin.

Works great. I thought it seemed a little slow but when you think about the price difference between this and the double I can wait a couple minutes. Worked good. My father-in-law was jealous. That is worth it alone.

Overall, they are nicely made and they look good. But for me they’re useless with the light pods I have (Nilight and EyeYourLife). Once fitted to the Wrangler the top mounting plate is (almost) horizontal and so the pod can be positioned facing forwards – great.

But the lower light mounting plate is at a strange angle, going backwards about 30 degrees and with these two makes of light and their mountain brackets it’s impossible to get the pod facing forwards.

Obviously with some other brands these brackets may be OK, but for me they are useless, check your pod adjustment limits before buying. I don’t know why they made it at that angle, it would have been more logical to have the mounting plates horizontal or vertical and cater for all models of light pods.

I haven’t purchase this package yet, but my nephew received and installed it a few weeks ago. The products work and look great! I can’t wait to get this setup for my TJ. The only way you can experience an issue with this product package would be if you have no mechanical skills whatsoever.

I guarantee that only other review is from somebody that has no idea what they’re doing. The guy couldn’t even form sentences correctly.

I just put this on my jeep. one of the best mods I have done. Right now I only use it for tire inflation. But I can easy hook up. Air lockers later. I hooked it up to my painless performance trail rocker setup.

Took a little to figure out the wires but not that hard. I called customer service and they where very helpful.

Needed a replacemnent for another brand OBA system. This one was recommended to me by others. It is a well built and good looking unit. It works very well for my application. I like the 100% duty cycle.

I would like to have received the appropriate pressure switch included as a part of the initial purchase, and believe it is a mistake on VIAIR’s part not to include it as it could cause warranty problems and keep some people from using the unit as soon as possible because it was not included and may not be immediately available to the user.

However, I would positively recommend this compressor.

I used this for a pacbrake prxb compressor replacement. Faster recovery, better duty cycle, quieter and cheaper. I use it alot so time will tell on longevity. mounting grommets leave a little to be desired.

If it had a built in pressure switch I would give it a 5 🌟 rating

I’ve used this now to top of the tires on my truck and trailer. The compressor is impressive compared to the battery powered ones I have used in the past. It seems to be very well made and I suspect it will last a very long time.

The one disappointment was with the air chuck. It does not stop the air flow when removed from the valve stem like most air chucks do. So when you remove it to check the tire pressure, or go between tires, the compressor just continues to blow air out of the chuck.

I ended up having to switch it off between tires just to cut down on noise and power draw. I suspect that I will eventually end up replacing it with a different chuck that has a built-in gauge and that shuts off the air flow when removed from the valve stem.

This Ammunition box gets alot of heads turning at work co-worker’s are amazed at how compact and fast this compressor inflates truck tires on site 33’s 35’s no problem. I’m on construction sites where different trades drops countless nails & screws ex.

Some people drive around with slow leaks and if I see it & you allow me to help I do regularly I love this thing so convenient and easy to use. This thing here is the truth I currently own two M240’s one in my truck another in my daily totally worth it.

Rather have it and not need it then need it and not have it! Get you one you won’t regret it.

I was in need of a replacement tire inflator when I stumbled upon the M240. I was reluctant to spend this much money but the reviews on how quick this thing fills tires convinced me to try it. Since it’s in a 50cal ammo can, it’s much larger than the inflator it replaced.

It does however have extra space to store more tools. I added a flash light, cutters, and extra plugs to supplement the other items that come with it. I used it for the first time tonight to plug a tire on my daughters car.

As soon as I turned it on, I could hear the quality of the compressor. Sounded very smooth and didn’t rattle like my old one did. It filled the tire to 50psi in about a minute from 20psi. The only trouble I had was from the air chuck.

Because of the short valve stem, I had a lot of difficulty getting the chuck attached to the stem due to the angle of the chuck. Once attached I was unable to get a good seal and air leaked from the stem until I was done plugging the tire.

Once finished, I had a heck of a time getting the chuck unhooked from the valve stem. I thought that it may break but didn’t. I’ll most likely replace the chuck with one that has a 90’ elbow. Overall the unit is well built.

The long power cord and air hose are a bonus. You won’t have much trouble reaching whatever you need to connect it to. So if you’re like me and concerned about the cost, rest assured it is well built and hopefully lasts a long long time.

Im very happy with my purchase. I emailed Summit and a few hours later my question was answered and I placed my order…I recieved my order sooo fast!!! of course that made me happy but not as happy as the quality of the compressor I bought! it met all my expectations and then some! One of the main reason I am acting this review is because it so very nice to deal with a company here in the states and that they give so much care to their customer satisfaction, its rare these days so I hope you place your order with them so that this company could always be around! it certainly made my experience soo much more pleasant.

hope this helps you!.

This air compressor is as advertised ! Cant believe how quick it fills tires.

Super happy with the compressor. Heavy duty and high quality product. My best recommendations!

My planter that I use to plant corn and soybeans uses a 12volt compressor to run the row shut off clutches. It went out in the middle of planting season and at 4:30pm I called, ordered my compressor, and HornBlasters came thru and overnight shipped my compressor.

I had it in hand at 9 AM the next day. Was back planting by 10!.

On September fist I ordered this compressor. Due to no shipment after 12 days I canceled this order. Since than, I twice have sent emails of this cancellation WITHOUT having received any answer – VERY POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! Better: NO CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! Now lawyers need to get my money refunded in the hope to get any answer from JB TOOLS.

I liked that it came with a air filter and an extension hose so you could put the filter somewhere besides right on the pump. I wouldn’t say it was a bad thing but it didn’t come with an pressure shut off switch so I had to buy that separate but other than that I have no complaints about the product.

I bought this compressor about 5 years ago to top off my 15” tires from 20 TO 35 PSI. I. only used this pump 2-3 times a year. The pump quit this weekend. Knowing that the pump was out of warranty, I contacted Viar to see if this was a common problem.

Bottom line, the cost of shipping along with parts & labor does not make it worth getting repaired. This pump was used very lightly and infrequently. It sat on a shelf in my garage for 99. 9% of its life.

This is supposed to be a quality product. It should have lasted much longer!.

I just installed on a 2022 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Eco-Diesel behind the front tire on driver side. So if you are using a bracket from Wayalife, it will not fit because the windshield washer storage is on the driver so you cannot use one of the bolts attachment.

So the way I did it is drill another hole and did some little bending to make it work. I am still in the process of testing my air compressor but so far it runs perfectly and no leaks. I wish the wire is a little longer where you attach the wiring connector for power.

Bought and installed this about a year ago. ( I still need to mount the air hose externally so I don’t have to open the hood each time I need to access) installation of the unit was pretty straightforward and easy to follow, The old Jack mount in my engine compartment was a great spot for me to just install on a flat surface.

The unit itself can be altered and adjusted to fit pretty much anywhere. For me, this unit is working out great, I only need it on occasions where I don’t have access tour outside compressor. Fills my 33 inch tires up in about 1 to 3 minutes each depending on how low I dropped my air pressure.

The unit does get very HOT when I have to use it for long periods of time. (if I needed this unit every time I went wheeling I would definitely get the twin) great unit, and I’m definitely not disappointed I bought it.

After 2 1/2 years of using $20 tire inflators from Walmart, I finally sprung for an ARB single air compressor. Build quality is very good and it will inflate a 35 in no time compared to the cheap units I had been using.

The compressor also comes with a wiring harness to simplify the installation. The only negative things I can say are are relatively minor. The first is that you will have to add an air chuck for you hose to connect to separately.

The second is that depending on your mounting location you might have to extend the wiring harness. Overall, I have been very happy with my unit and would recommend for anyone running up to 35’s. It could handle 37’s but an ARB double unit would be more efficient for 37’s and bigger.

The pump works great I drop my tiers to 15lbs to go on the beach with my camper. It took 6 minutes to fill each front tier to 65lbs and 7 minutes to fill each rear tier to 75lbs. not bad. The kit didn’t come with the relay, pressure switch, or fuse which the description made it sound like it did.

still not a big deal it just delayed instal and added 50 bucks to the the cost.

You can certainly get cheaper pumps, but this delivers good flow, quietly (for a compressor). 33 tires from 17psi to 40 psi in under 3 minutes.

This pump is replacing the original unit that came with the Conductors Special Nightmare Edition that was purchased in September of 2019. I’m hoping it lasts this time.

Easy hook the air compressor up to my car battery and fill all of the tires following the sequence of steps as outlined in the instructions. Tires were quickly inflated properly (tire pressure was down and not flat).

So within 30 seconds or less each tire was filled. Old (cigarette lighter-powered) portable air compressor took at least a minute or two to fill a tire and was very loud. The Viair is so much quieter.

I wasn’t too clear on how to determine if the proper pressure was reached. Instructions said with the unit off it indicates the tire pressure (when hose is attached to tire). Having a tire pressure gauge I was able to confirm the tire pressure was correct.

Other owners feedback said it gets hot and that may be due to the fact that they were filling tires that were flat. My tires were not flat – the compressor was just warm after filling two car’s tires (8).

Pleasant surprise I received a carrying case too (I didn’t think this model would come with one). The hose is long enough to get around the car (Subaru Legacy) with ease. The convenience of having this available whenever my tires need air really makes me happy.

With the old /broken cigarette lighter-powered portable air compressor, I wanted something more durable and connected easily. I purchased this based on reviews for durability, ease and quality. I believe I’ll have this for a long time.

Delivery also was sooner than the initial estimate which was terrific. 4 stars because I’ve not used it but once.

I purchased this unit after reviewing other brands and models and deciding I would give this one a try. I decided to buy this one because it gets power directly from the battery by way of 2 alligator clips rather than from the cigarette lighter socket.

I have a 2005 Pontiac Vibe, and I don’t know what the cigarette lighter socket is rated at and didn’t want to take a chance with any compressor drawing current from the lighter socket and blowing any fuses in my car.

I tried this unit twice since I purchased it. On the 2 days I tried it, I released several pounds of air from a tire and tried to inflate the tire. It worked fine both times. The power cord with the air hose are long enough to reach from my battery which is on the driver’s side in the front of the car to the right rear passenger side tire with quite a bit to spare.

That is the longest distance to reach any tire on my car, so I should have no problem reaching any of the tires. The screw on tire coupling is very easy to attach and screws on and off very easily indicating to me very good quality.

The unit is not very noisy in my opinion. I believe on the second try, I reduced the air pressure from about 35 down to about 26 pounds, and it pumped the tire back up to 35 pounds in I think about a minute or so.

The procedure I used to operate the air compressor was that I turned the car on before I hooked up the alligator clips to the battery(The compressor must be turned OFF when this is done), then I screwed the air hose coupling to the tire and was able to read the air pressure of the tire on the air compressor gauge.

The air pressure gauge on the unit will read the air pressure of the tire if the unit is turned off with the air hose attached to the tire. I then turned the compressor on and inflated the tire and watched the gauge.

In order to get a more accurate reading on the gauge, I turned the compressor off to read the tire pressure on the gauge. I unhooked the hose from the tire and checked the air pressure with my air pressure gauge.

It is a good idea to check the air pressure with your own tire gauge. All in all everything went well in my 2 attempts to check the functioning of the air compressor. As of right now my experience with this unit is excellent.

I feel safer having it with me as I drive. It is recommended that this unit be turned on to pump air while the engine is running.

LOVE this tire inflator! It’s not as noisy as most and doesn’t vibrate and jump around. It’s also faster than another one I have that cost more and also had great reviews. Viair 78P is so good we have 3 of them.

Only drawback is that there is no ac/dc plug with it. It only plugs into your car power point. I have to pull cars into the driveway from the garage to inflate tires lest I pass out from carbon monoxide! :0 Not a big deal considering how fast it works.

Great buy to keep in your trunk. Great gift idea too!.

Bought this 2 months ago to replace a full size compressor that I rarely used as ut was a hassle to move it to where I needed it. This one is so small and light that it even fits in the boot of my MX5 so can take it to track days and alter tyre pressures easily.

The main use is for quick inflation and seating tubeless tyres on my mountain bike. Kept all my old compressor tools so use it for general air blowing, Brad nailer works great, the pressure sprayer with nozzles is perfect for spraying degreaser under pressure for driveway oil stains and for cleaning the motorbike chain.

Even used the rattle gun. Yep that uses air pretty quickly but you can easily take 5 wheel nuts off a wheel on a std car. Larger air tank capacity would be good but then it would be bulkier. It is so portable!! As I have batteries for other ryobi tools made sense to use these in this compressor.

100% agree not suitable for pro sized jobs but general home use its perfect.

Purchased specifically to carry in the farm pickup to air up low tires on equipment. Not something I’d use in the shop due to it’s low output but beats the heck out of struggling with large air tanks and/or gas powered compressors.

About 2/3 the size/weight of Milwaukee with 75% of the output for 1/2 the cost. Since I didn’t want to add another set of batteries to my inventory, I bought an adaptor to allow the use of RIDGID batteries and that was a super idea.

A 4. 0 RIDGID battery will run this compressor for approx 45 minutes.

the leads could have been longer. did not reach from my battery to the tires on my boat trailer. I used jumper cables to make it work. the compressor worked great !

Small, light, very portable, easy to use and effective. Have recommended it to friends.

Great little pump and has impressive CFM compared to others of this size. We use it when we travel with our travel trailer and tops off my 33″ truck tires in under a minute. Definitely worth the purchase.

After considering several brands, output levels and user reviews, I picked up a Pittsburgh Automotive 150 PSI compressor from my local Harbor Freight. My wife and I travel full time in our RV home and were looking for a compact model to keep our truck and trailer tires properly inflated.

After one use, I am sold. About as noisy as you would expect from a compact compressor, and easily and quickly topped off all 8 tires – 36psi on the truck, 65psi on the trailer. This unit does get hot! Auto-stopped once on the last one, after approximately 8 minutes continuous use filling 7 tires.

Let it cool for 10+ minutes and finished the last one no problem. Easy to use. Plenty of cable and hose length for most situations (reached each tire on the truck without disconnecting from the battery).

I am pleased with our purchase and recommend it for anyone wanting a compact compressor for most any car, small-to-mid size truck, SUV, trailer or RV.

Without abusing the product, I unboxed and used it to top off some tires. This thing gets hotter than two squirrels in a wool sock. Overall the construction seemed okay. It is quite heavy and dense, but one thing I notice right away are the “heat sink” fins on top of the cylinder head.

The fool you thinking they’re metal for better heat sinking, which for $80 I wouldn’t have been surprised. However, one fin snapped off at some point on first use, I have no idea when or why, but they are simply weak plastic.

There’s no functional use for them than for looks. How lame. Also, be used to estimating pressure on the gauge installed on the hose. For me, 5 psi over gave me exact psi I wanted in the tire. It’ll read higher during pumping because you’re forcing air through it.

You cannot turn the inflator off to verify – well you can. But to fire it back up you must unhook your hose from the tire, turn it on, then reattach. The direct drive motor will not overcome the pressure and blow fuses.

Worked great for the first few uses. I kept it stored in a cool, dry garage. I have plenty of experience with portable pumps like this one and am very careful to not exceed the duty cycle and let it cool down (exceeding the duty cycle without a cool down period is the #1 killer of portable pumps).

Took it out to use it this week and the piston is locked up. Pump has power and will try to start but the piston will not move. I may open it up and try to get it freed but at this point I feel like I paid $20 per use.

Unfortunately I have had this pump for about 6 months and am past the 90 day warranty period. At this point I cannot recommend this item because it has failed with very little use and Harbor Freight will not replace it.

This is unfortunate because I buy a lot of items from Harbor Freight and overall have found them to be of good quality and reliable. For comparison purposes I’ve had a VIAir brand pump for 4 years now and it’s still going strong; my son has the same pump and it works great.