Best Airdown Method/Tool?

[2TimingTom]

If I have my rig all outfitted with everything more necessary than something to automatically air down my tires, ill consider these. Until then I'll continue to bleed them down manually.

And Luke- ^^^^ that hits close to home, doesn't it. Have you checked them lately?

 

[Brian1]

Look what just came out today, a test of many of the airdown tools available

http://www.fourwheeler.com/techarti...the_great_tire_deflator_shootout/viewall.html

 

[Tbars4]

..It's almost like ESP that we were just discussing this and all of a sudden it's in print..

..Wait a minute..:scratch:..Those look like Brian1's hands...

..Out of everything tested, are the Trailheads the only ones "Made in the USA?"

 

[FROADER]

It looks like the Powertank and RimRock Mountain Supply are also made here.

 

[Tbars4]

...Sweeeet..Looks like Brian outdid himself this time with all of that research info in the article and that huge but easy to read Graphic..:biggthump

 

[Brian1]

This article is in the December issue but unfortunately the chart wasn't included. Now that it is online they put the chart in there.

..Wait a minute..:scratch:..Those look like Brian1's hands...

Just one of my hand modeling gigs Apparently handling a tire makes your hand dirty in no time at all.

...Sweeeet..Looks like Brian outdid himself this time with all of that research info in the article and that huge but easy to read Graphic

Harry did all the work compiling the info into the article. I just had a fun time getting to try out all the deflators!

 

[Rick]

When looking at the chart keep in mind that you shouldn't be running your big offroad tires at 40psi on the pavement unless you like wearing the centers out of them

I run mine at 25psi on the road to get a full contact patch.

 

[rookieshooter]

I run mine at 23. Reason... The weight of the truck and more importantly, it's the smallest of the odd Pillai prime numbers which is some strange mysterious way, give me infinite tread life
Great info here. I've only used one air down tool and that's the ARB.

 

[james t]

I use whatever those doohickys are that Rick gave me. Before then, i just pulled valve cores.

 

[bronchole]

One thing that strikes me when I look at the chart and wansn't mentioned in any detail is the time needed to deflate 4 tires. I know that most of us can make the logical extrapolation of this, but it would have been worth pointing out. Another column on the chart that added a bit of time to go from tire to tire....

When you put that in to the equasion, ARB/Currie or even removing the valve core doesn't really save you much time over the couple (not counting the obviously not functioning well Smittybuilt) automatic deflators.

This has got me thinking, I gotta get my trailhead deflators to be more reliable. I guess I'll tear in to them, clean and lube them and make sure I have the same batch of valve cores so I give them the best chance of perfroming correctly.

 

[RangerX]

I mentioned this method as the one I use, back on page 1 of this thread, but since it's included in the 4wheeler test, I'll mention it again.
From the article:
"Slime Four-Way Valve Tool
How It Works: This tool ejects the valve core at a high rate of speed into the dirt if you are not careful. By the time you find the valve and wipe it clean you might be left with no air in the tire. Getting the valve core back in can be a challenge while the air is escaping.

Installation Notes: We simply pulled the valve core out and let the air out until we got to 10 psi. Without a secondary location to hook up a gauge though this is not always easy on the trail, but we found that escaping air changed pitch as the pressure got lower. We were surprised to find that this method was no faster than the ARB or Currie gauges, which we assumed caused some resistance.

Pros: Fast, dirt cheap, easy to transfer between vehicles.

Cons: Prone to losing valve cores, difficult to stop airing down at desired pressure.

Our Take: As cheap and simple as it gets if you are not picky about exact pressures, but remember to pack a few extra valve cores."

I've been doing it this way for at least 12 years. The tool cost about 2 bucks, like mentioned. I have NEVER lost a valve core in all that time, not even damaged one. Together with my $3.99 pressure gauge (the same one for 12 years) I get the job done, and done fast.

From the test, there's only 4 tested items that are faster, the cheapest of which is $29.95, and the most expensive is $149.95.

Versus $2.

I know some people gotta have the cool tools, but I'm very happy with my way.

 

[Scott B.]

Before I got my inexpensive tool, I used to use a small Phillips screwdriver. Just push down on the valve core. Not the fastest, and you hand gets cold in the wintertime, but it worked.

 

[DB_1]

Another player:

 

[Tbars4]

..I ran across these tonight..
http://www.extremeoutback.com/product/17/Mil+Spec+Multi+Choice+Deflator-+Rock+Crawler+Series.html

And you don't need to worry about having a minimum required pressure in your tire to start the deflator working. Our units can restart from 4 psi down to 2 psi. Imagine, being at 6 psi and wanting to drop to 4 psi or from 4 psi to 2 psi? This is now possible and as easy as turning the selector dial.

The Rock Crawler units are pre-set at 2 psi, 4 psi, 6 psi, 8 psi, 10 psi and 12 psi. Our Standard Deflator units are pre-set at 10 psi, 12 psi, 14 psi, 16 psi, 18 psi and 20 psi.