Ring RAC900 Compressor
Having a portable tyre compressor in your 4x4, or any vehicle for that matter, is just as important as carrying a spare tyre. Ring classes their RAC900 as a professional model, which certainly explains its performance. It can inflate a 13" tyre from flat to 35psi in just 90 seconds, and Deux Smurf’s 265-75-16 KM3s from 15psi to 31psi in just over 2 minutes.
First impressions are that everything about it feels well made, even the heavy duty carry bag has a quality feel about it - I especially like that there are 2 compartments that allow the hose and compressor to be kept separate. I’m going to describe the RAC900 as a no-frills compressor as it lacks niceties such as a digital gauge, auto-stop function and lights.
You connect the 7 metre coiled air hose to the pump using the push-on brass fitting, then using the two medium sized crocodile clips, attach the pump direct to the battery. On Deux Smurf and older vehicles this is quite easy, but on some modern vehicles it would mean unclipping a fiddly plastic battery cover, which can be a nuisance.
The power cable isn’t that long, so to reach the rear tyres you rely on the coiled air hose. Using the brass screw-on tyre-valve coupling I’d recommend smearing a bit of copper grease on the threads of your valves to ease fitting and removing.
The instructions say that when in use the pressure gauge shows over pressure (around 6psi) which means switching the unit off to check the proper reading.
Annoyingly, this means when inflating the rear tyres, you have to get up, walk to the front of the vehicle, switch the unit off, walk back to the rear tyres and recheck the pressure, then if they’re still low, get up, walk back to the compressor to switch it back on again, and repeat. This can be a bit laborious, especially in the dark when you have to use a torch, and a bit painful if you have dodgy knees! It would better if it had a longer electrical power cable and shorter air hose.
That said, there’s nothing stopping you from over inflating your tyres, walking back to the compressor to switch it off, then deflating them to your desired pressure. This is easily done by pushing the small black grip connector towards the valve, and if you’re deflating for off-road use, you can lock the grip into position by turning it ¼ of a turn. This is a really useful addition.
The build quality and speed in which it inflates tyres are really quite impressive, and checking the pressure gauge reading against my digital gauge shows the readings to be accurate.
Have I mentioned the thermal overload protection and waterproof on/off switch yet, and attachments/adaptors that come in a sealed bag? It has those, as well as an inline fuse to protect vehicle electronics, anti-vibration rubber mounted feet and a carry handle.
Overall, apart from the faff of walking back and forth to check the pressures, I’m really very happy with the RAC900 and it's now part of my Deux Smurf kit.
price: RRP £74.99 (though we found prices vary quite dramatically!)