This article is about the best portable RV air compressors to use for travel and camping.

Yes, a good air compressor is an essential piece of equipment for RVers.

Table of Contents

• Why Have A Portable Air Compressor For Your RV?
• An Important Point About The Best Portable RV Compressors
• What Size Will You Need To Inflate Your RV's Tires?
• Air Compressors That Run On 120 Volt Power
• The Best Portable RV Air Compressors That Run On 12 Volt Power
• What Is A Duty Cycle And Why Is It Important?
• #1 On My List Of The Best Portable RV Air Compressors
• #2 – A Great Inexpensive Tankless RV Air Compressor
• #3 – The Best Air Compressor I Can Recommend For You
• An Important Word About Quality
• Conclusion

Why Have A Portable Air Compressor For Your RV?

And the most important job that an air compressor has around an RV is to keep your tires inflated properly.

That’s critical because it’s a life safety issue. But having a good air compressor handy is also great for inflating other items.

Like kids toys, a temporary bed, or things like that. And believe me, it’ll save a lot of time time and effort over trying to blow them up manually.

Also, having an air compressor with a tank attached to it can be good for running air tools.

So for you DIY RVers who like to use air tools in your projects, that could be very useful too.

And with the right adapter, an air compressor can also be used to blow all the water out of your plumbing lines.

And that comes in handy at the end of the RVing season when you’re winterizing your RV.

So I think you can see there’s a lot of good uses for an air compressor around an RV.

An Important Point About The Best Portable RV Compressors

But the question is, what kind of air compressor specifications should you be looking for?

Well personally, I think you need to decide first of all whether it will have a tank or not.

Because if you’re going to be doing DIY projects around the RV, then it can come in handy by doing double duty for you.

But the truth is that if you’re just using an air compressor for inflating tires and other items, there’s really no need for a tank.

In fact, the tank just takes up very precious space and weight that’s not necessary.

What Size Will You Need To Inflate Your RV’s Tires?

Now the other thing you need to know is, what are the maximum PSI ratings for the tires on your rig?

And what kind of tire pressure are they going to require? The answer to that will tell you what size air compressor you’re going to need.

Of course, travel trailers generally only use about 60 to 80 psi in their tires.

But a Class A motorhome could require up to 120 PSI in those big 22 1/2 inch tires.

So my recommendation is, it’s best usually to get an air compressor that’s actually more than your current needs.

Because if you decide to upgrade your RV later on down the line to a bigger one, you don’t have to go and get another air compressor.

Instead, you can just take the one you have with you now and it should do the job just fine.

But another thing you need to know is, how much cubic feet per minute an air compressor will be able to put out.

And that’s simply the amount of air that it’s pushing out at one time. The higher the number, the faster the inflation rate.

And that means you get done with your job of tire inflation faster and easier.

Air Compressors That Run On 120 Volt Power

Also, keep in mind that most tankless air compressors are going to run on 12 volt battery power.

However, air compressors with tanks are usually going to require 120 volt AC power instead.

And that means that you’re going to need an outlet to plug into for AC power.

Also, the outlet needs to be useable even when you’re not necessarily connected to shore power.

Because you may need to use your air compressor for tire inflation when no shore power is available.

The Best Portable RV Air Compressors That Run On 12 Volt Power

But what about 12 volt air compressors that run on battery power instead of a wall outlet?

Well, usually they plug into the cigarette lighter. Or they may attach to your battery directly instead.

And when they do, they’re kind of stationary at that point. They can’t be moved around very far away from the 12 volt battery source.

So the other thing you’re going to need is a long enough air hose that can reach the entire RV.

And I recommend that the hose should be somewhere between 30 and 60 feet in length. Of course, it all depends on the length of your RV.

Also, you should probably get one that’s kind of wound up tightly and can expand out as you need.

That way it doesn’t take up nearly as much room in your storage compartment.

What Is A Duty Cycle And Why Is It Important?

Now the next thing you want to consider with an air compressor is its duty cycle. So what is a duty cycle?

That’s simply how long that air compressor can run continuously without having to shut off and cool down.

Now some air compressors can only run for about 15 minutes and then they have to shut off for a while. But others can run for an hour or so.

And the duty cycle is usually represented in the specifications for an air compressor as a percentage.

So if you see a 100% duty cycle it means it can go a full hour without shutting off.

If you see 50%, that means about 30 minutes. And 33 means 20 minutes, and so on.

With all that said, let’s get to the point of what brands of air compressors you should consider. And here are my recommendations:

#1 On My List Of The Best Portable RV Air Compressors

First of all, let’s consider an air compressor that has a tank. And in that case, I’m going to recommend the Dewalt 6 gallon air compressor.

It can inflate up to 165 PSI. And that means it can handle pretty much anything an RV can throw at it.

Also it’s very good for using with air tools too. So the DIYers will be happy with it. And the cost is going to be around $190.

Of course, there are other air compressors with tanks available. But I chose Dewalt because the name is known for reliability and quality.

#2 – A Great Inexpensive Tankless RV Air Compressor

OK, next up we’re going to talk about two tankless air compressors. And the first one is the Viair 88P.

It can inflate up to 120 PSI, and that’s very good. Also, the duty cycle is around 25 minutes at 30 PSI.

So if you’re inflating at a higher PSI than that, it could be less. And the cubic feet per minute is around 1.4.

Now the average for these kind of air compressors is around 2.0. So it’s a little low on that particular spec.

And it means that it’s going to take you longer to inflate things. But the good news is the price. Because it comes comes in at only $90.

So it’s a very good air compressor to choose for travel trailers and smaller motorhomes.

#3 – The Best Air Compressor I Can Recommend For You

Next up is the best that I can recommend for you. And that is the Viair 400P-RV. And I think you can tell from the name that it’s made for RVs.

It can inflate up to 150 psi for those larger motorhome tires. And it has a 100% duty cycle.

So it can go a full hour running flat out with no problem. And the cubic feet per minute rating is 2.3.

So that’s considerably more than the 88P, and should get things inflated quicker for you.

Now the downside though is the cost, since it comes in at $350. And that’s a lot to spend on air compressor for your RV.

But let me say that this particular air compressor is a “buy it and forget it” type of product.

It can last you through any RV change you’re going to make and still be useful. So it really should be considered for that reason alone.

An Important Word About Quality

Now I guess you’ve noticed that I only recommended Viair for tankless air compressors. And there’s a reason for that.

It’s because Viair is well known in the RV industry. It’s known for its reliability and for its quality.

And if you look on Amazon there are thousands of reviews for Viair air compressors.

And they are all coming in around a 4.7 out of 5 rating. So that pretty much tells you that you’re buying a good product.

But any of the air compressors that I mentioned here will work well. Just follow the links I have provided in the article to learn more about them.

That way you can go check them out and see if there’s something that will work for your situation.

Conclusion

Well, hopefully this article about the best portable RV air compressors will help you choose the right air compressor for your needs and budget.

And that will help you enjoy safe and happy travels on your RV adventures!