G'day guys, Dan here from Epic Drives Western Australia. Spring's just started,
it's beautiful at the moment flowers have started to come out and the weather is
just slightly warmer and with that it's a great time to get stuck in four wheel
driving if you're not already and I've decided to create a new playlist all
about gear that you just simply should never go off road without. Aimed around
the true beginner so if you're unsure of what you need there is stuff that
will get you home and won't leave you stranded and embarrassed that you sort
of wish you'd you'd gone out prepared for so we're gonna cover one of those
today. If you are new to this channel first of all welcome and please subscribe
click little bell so you don't miss our next adventure.
This series is designed for all of you who are new to four wheel driving and if you're
not well not a problem hopefully I can give you some information that you may
not previously have known. The first thing that I believe you simply can't go
without and it's this thing inside this dusty old broken box I've had it for
about five years and it's still going strong
touch wood. You may all be familiar with what this is it's an air compressor and you
really can't go without one and for this reason this is my number one must-have
bit of kit for your 4x4. Air compressors come in many shapes and forms but for
four wheel driving the most popular is probably the 12-volt air compressor and there
are many brands on the market and some air compressors can be permanently
mounted under your bonnet but perhaps my favorite is the portable unit.
Now it may be tempting to buy a cheap air compressor but it's not very wise
the last place that you want to be let down by a cheap inferior bit of kit is
in the middle of nowhere on a dirt road or on the beach on an incoming tide. Now
air compressors are great for inflating tires they offer high pressure delivered
at a relatively slow rate which is perfect because you can gradually
inflate your tires to the desired psi however if you intend to use it for
other off-road uses namely air mattresses they're virtually useless. It
requires far less pressure but they need to have a much higher volume of air so
in cases like this it's also handy just to have the old-fashioned foot pump.
You'll save heaps of time and your eardrums as well. So the main issue with
cheaper compressors is overheating all air compressors get hot and poor quality
motors pistons and hoses are going to be the things that at the end of the day
let you down so when you're shopping for a compressor a good ballpark range is
anywhere around the $200 to $400 you can spend more if you want but that's just
the flash people out there that have too much money. In that sort of price range
you're going to get a relatively fast inflating compressor, some brands are
faster than others at re-inflating your tires and typically the less you
pay the slower the compressor works it's not the only factor to consider when
comparing air compressors. Just as important if not more important is
durability how serviceable are they and the ease of using them and also a
warranty.A quality compressor should have an air filter that can be easily
cleaned and have a thermal cut off as well as an easily replaced fuse.
Another consideration when it comes to shortlisting air compressors is to
decide whether you want to have a fixed permanent air compressor under your
bonnet of your car or a portable one like this one here and
I guess the main reason for that would be if you're going to use it for
multiple vehicles and the ease of having air on demand without having to remember
to pack one of these portable units. However, the main reason why you might
consider having a permanently mounted air compressor in your bonnet is if
you've got air lockers. If you've got air lockers you've got to have compressed
air and being able to re-inflate your tires it's just a bonus of having that.
Another thing to consider adding to your bag of tricks is a tyre pressure gauge.
Digital ones work the best because you get a much more accurate reading. The
only problem with the gauge on the compressors is they're very inaccurate,
they give you a rough idea so having one of these, whenever in doubt you can chuck
it on and you'll know exactly what your tire pressures are. There's another piece
of kit that I highly recommend that you get ahold of and they're known as
tyre deflators the brand that I use are Staun, pretty much the industry leader in
them, Australian made. I'll try a bit of camera magic here and
see if it can work.
The Great thing about these is you preset them to the desired pressure that you
like you screw them on by the time you put the first one on you go around all
four tyres, the first ones done you go around you unscrew them all again and you're
done it saves so much time. So whilst we're on the topic of air
let's talk about Tyre pressure and this will depend on quite a few factors the
terrain that you're driving the size of your tyres and the weight of your
vehicle. I'll run you through the basics of the pressures that I run on my Hilux
but it all comes down to preference and experimentation. I'll also be making a
video on tyre pressures in the future and I'll link it when it becomes
available but as a general rule most four-wheel drive tyres recommend tyre
pressures of around 40 psi on the highway 32 to 25 psi for bush tracks and mud and
anywhere between 18 to 12 psi on sand to achieve a bigger footprint. Now running
pressures as low as 12 you need to be very very careful that you don't
actually roll your tyre off the rim.
So that about wraps it up for the first episode all about gear however we've
only really just begun to scratch the surface and hey we're all still learning.
I'll also link in the description below about five or compresses that I reckon
are pretty good and I'll also list where you can grab
the digital tyre pressure gauge and the Staun tyre deflators, might help you out
rather than having to waste your time searching the internet if you're in the
market for any of the gear. So there you go, grab yourself a compressor if you
haven't got one ,mess around with tyre pressures if you did like watching
please subscribe, like, share all the good stuff and I will hopefully see you again
very soon on the next episode of Epic Drives Western Australia, catch ya!