Air compressor - is it still a must have tool?

[Gary Lewis]

I was looking at the onboard welder set-ups on "overland" vehicles and they're pretty cool. Kind of over my head in terms of electrical know-how but if you are ever way out somewhere by yourself it could come in handy.

There are a couple overland builds I come back to every now and then for their onboard electric features, various lights, communication set ups, onboard air, etc. I use my trucks to get in to town and go to work so I'm not exactly overloading but I do need to be prepared for various circumstances and I don't like having a bunch of jenky tools bouncing around the truck when I'm driving so I'm always scheming on ways to build some of those upgrades into my vehicles.

One cool upgrade I saw on an overland build is a cell-phone signal booster. Apparently it's a big rig trucker thing but it's on my wishlist for sure.

I think your post puts a different spin on the original question. At the time that was questioning whether an air compressor was needed in a shop, not a vehicle. But to your point about overlanding vehicles, I do think some form of air is a big benefit - but mainly for airing up tires and not for air tools. I say that because my battery-operated tools are more than adequate for the vast majority of tasks. In fact, it is rare that I have to turn to my air impact gun. So I'm happy to take them on my upcoming overlanding trips.

But, I do want onboard air for those trips as well.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I think your post puts a different spin on the original question. At the time that was questioning whether an air compressor was needed in a shop, not a vehicle. But to your point about overlanding vehicles, I do think some form of air is a big benefit - but mainly for airing up tires and not for air tools. I say that because my battery-operated tools are more than adequate for the vast majority of tasks. In fact, it is rare that I have to turn to my air impact gun. So I'm happy to take them on my upcoming overlanding trips.

But, I do want onboard air for those trips as well.

Any progress on your tank, Gary?

I was discussing on board air with my friend that bought the motor coach yesterday.

He wants train horns (real Nathan ones) badly.

When I told him they require 150psi and x volume it sent us geeks down a rabbit hole.

*** while I like the deeper sound of the P series, I think he has a point about the K's being even more startling ***

This will get done before he leaves in a couple of weeks.

As energy density and amp hours increase there are less reasons for air tools in the shop.

Paint guns and blasting/blowing/inflation are obvious exceptions.

Fiberglas and body work too. (The abrasive dust eats switches, brushes, commutators and bearings quickly)

[Gary Lewis]

Any progress on your tank, Gary?

I was discussing on board air with my friend that bought the motor coach yesterday.

He wants train horns (real Nathan ones) badly.

When I told him they require 150psi and x volume it sent us geeks down a rabbit hole.

*** while I like the deeper sound of the P series, I think he has a point about the K's being even more startling ***

This will get done before he leaves in a couple of weeks.

As energy density and amp hours increase there are less reasons for air tools in the shop.

Paint guns and blasting/blowing/inflation are obvious exceptions.

Fiberglas and body work too. (The abrasive dust eats switches, brushes, commutators and bearings quickly)

No progress on the tank. I'll get Big Blue running and then tackle that. But I will have to decide if I'm going with the engine-driven compressor or an electric one before I get to that point. The engine-driven one will require a serpentine pulley and a bracket made, and doing the bracket and mounting the compressor will be easiest before the radiator support, radiator, grille, etc are installed.

As for fiberglass dust, I've killed several tools with that. It is awful!