The Best Tire Inflator for Cars, Trucks, and Inflatables
A tire inflator is one of those household essentials. OK, maybe not if you live in an apartment and don’t have a car or a bicycle – but it is for most of us. Not surprisingly there are plenty to choose from. Search Amazon for ‘best tire inflator’ and you’ll get over 1,000 results.
That means picking the right one isn’t easy. You could just pop over to your favorite online retailer, and grab the one with the most ratings. If thousands of people like it, and it comes out 4 stars or better, it’s not a bad idea.
The only problem there is it might not be quite right for what you want. So I went and did the looking for you, and my top 3 tire inflators should have just about everyone covered.
In a hurry? Use these quick links:
Best tire inflator overall: Avid Power Tire Inflator
Best tire inflator for the money: Teromas Tire Inflator
Best tire inflator for trucks: Milwaukee M18 Inflator
Tire inflator checklist
Before we look at what I think are the best portable tire inflators around in more detail, let’s have a look at the key details. Some of these are important, some less so, but when you’re trying to find the right performance it all adds up.
n Power: Lots of portable tire inflators run off the 12-volt DC socket in your vehicle (the cigarette lighter). There are also cordless tire inflators that are increasingly popular because you don’t have to mess around with cables.
It’s a good idea to check the type of battery needed for these. Some might be plain old AAA but they’re likely to burn through pretty quick so keep some spares handy. Lithium-ion rechargeables are better, and often have a USB port for charging which is convenient. Some cordless tire inflators also come with 12V DC adapters so if the battery runs flat you can carry on pumping.
You can also get a 120V tire inflator that plugs straight into the mains. I’ve never used one. I guess they are OK if the car is in the garage, but cord length might be a pain. Some offer both 120V mains, and a 12V DC socket which seems a much better idea to me (check out the Teromas below).
n Pressure: Sometimes the description will tell you that a tire inflator has a maximum output of 120 PSI (pounds per square inch) or 150 PSI, or whatever. Considering your car tire takes around 30 to 35 PSI these are plenty powerful, right? Well yes and no. Unfortunately, maximum pressure is no real guide to how fast they pump. It might take just a couple of minutes to get up to pressure, it might take ten.
So most tire pump makers give some indication of speed. Like it will pump up a completely flat 195/60 R14 tire in 3 minutes. It’s this figure you need to look for. Bear in mind that truck tires are bigger, and need higher pressure so car tire inflators can struggle. That’s why I included the Milwaukee tire inflator below.
By the way, if you’re not sure what 195/60 R14 means, check out how to read a tire sidewall here.
n Pressure gauge: Usually you can’t rely on the air pump at a gas station to be very accurate, and the pressure gauge on portable tire inflators can be equally poor. Manual dials tend to jump around all over the place so it’s difficult to tell how much air is in there. A digital tire pump is generally more accurate, and doesn’t fluctuate so much. In addition to PSI they can often give readouts in BAR and KG/CM for those who need that.
n Auto shut-off: On the cheapest tire inflators you need to keep an eye on the gauge so you don’t over-inflate. Some of the best tire inflators have an auto shut-off feature. Just input the pressure you want, and the machine will turn itself off when it gets there. Very handy if you’ve got other things to do.
n Nozzles/Adaptors: All the tire inflators I know of come with a nozzle that fits standard tire valves (called a Schrader valve). These are found on cars, trucks, motorcycles, garden tractors, etc. Many bicycles also use a Schrader valve but road racing bikes sometimes have a Presta valve. You might want to check if one is included, though adapters are available if it isn’t.
You should also get a needle nozzle for paddling pools and beach balls, and maybe another for air mattresses. Sometimes tire inflators come 5 different adapters but what they’re all for is beyond me!
n LED lights: A built-in flashlight is often included, and is obviously useful if you need to pump things in the dark. It’s not just handy for tires. I once had to inflate an air mattress in a house where the power was out.
n Size and Weight: Not particularly important maybe, but if you’ve got somewhere in mind you want to stow your tire inflator a quick check of dimensions might be worth it. Also, some of the larger models might be a bit heavy for those with reduced physicality.
OK. Crunch Time!
Best Tire Inflator Overall: Avid Power
You could probably pick any one of a hundred portable tire inflators, and they’d all do a decent job. So why is this one my favorite? Well for a start there’s that pistol grip design. Easy to hold, and easy to carry around but it stands up fine if you want to leave it.
It offers dual power. Either cordless or a 12V DC adapter so even if you forgot to charge it, you can still pump your tires (or paddling pool, or whatever). There’s a digital gauge that gives plus or minus 1 PSI so it’s pretty accurate. It also has auto shut-off. Set it and forget it. It’s pretty rapid too, inflating a chunky 215/60 R16 tire in about 5 minutes. There’s a bright LED for working in the dark, and the whole kit packs away into a smart bag.
I suppose the big question is whether you want to pay 70 bucks for a tire inflator.I don’t think that’s too much, but you might want to check my next pick before you decide.
n What I like
- Functional design, powerful, with accurate digital gauge
- Dual power options
- Auto shut-off
- Full kit all fits in a smart bag
n What I don’t like so much
- Owners complain of slow battery charging
- Not suitable for truck or tractor tires
Best Tire Inflator For The Money: Teromas
Let’s start by saying that the Teromas is not the cheapest tire inflator on the market. What makes it the best value, for me, is the number of useful features you get for the money. It offers just about everything the Avid Power tire inflator does, for around 30% less money.
The Theromas will run from a 12V DC socket but can also be plugged into a household power outlet. It has a big, bright digital gauge with 3 buttons to set pressure for the auto shut-off. There’s a 3-second delay before you can hit the ‘go’ button which is a bit odd – but not really a problem. It has a built-in flashlight, and comes with 4 extra adapters.
The inflator will stand up, but it’s probably best laid down as it looks like it will topple easily. There’s a built-in carry handle, and a bag for storage. It comes in a choice of 5 colors. I’m not a big fan of the shape, and it’s a bit bulky but maybe that’s just me. I didn’t find many complaints although a few owners have reported breakdowns. To be fair that’s often the case with something so popular.
n What I like
- Tough to beat for the price
- Similar feature set to more expensive models
- Dual power options
- Auto shut-off
n What I don’t like so much
- I’m not mad about the design, and it’s a bit bulky
- Not for truck or tractor tires
Best Tire Inflator For Trucks: Milwaukee M18
As you’ll no doubt have noticed my first two picks are not recommended for truck or tractor tires. It’s because those things are way bigger, and run on much higher tire pressures. The Avid Power or Teromas might chug away all day and never get there.
So the Milwaukee M18 is one of a number of high-performance solutions. Let’s say right off the bat that it’s a lot more money than either of the previous two, but it’s actually pretty competitive when compared to other models that produce the same kind of output. It’s also got the Milwaukee name behind it, and their reputation for reliability.
It’s a sturdy unit with a nice built-in handle. It also has rubber feet that stop it wandering around, and help reduce noise. There’s the usual clear digital pressure gauge, and this model has the added advantage of being able to store 4 different presets. That’s handy if you have a couple of different vehicles because there’s no need to reset the pressure every time.
I should point out that the Milwaukee tire inflator is perfectly OK with car, motorcycle, and bicycle tires (and a Presta valve adapter is included). Incidentally, the Milwaukee comes with a brass Schrader valve connector. It’s good quality, but you have to twist it on rather than clipping it over. No big deal.
Any of Milwaukee’s M18 batteries will fit, so if you have other Milwaukee cordless tools that’s a bonus. However, it will only run as a cordless. There’s no option for 12V DC or 120V AC cables which is a bit of a surprise. Hose and adapters all store onboard which is just as well because there’s no bag or case either.
n What I like
- High-performance but very portable
- Pre-set memory options
- Milwaukee’s reputation for reliability
- Neat onboard hose and nozzle storage
n What I don’t like so much
- No DC or AC option
- Fiddly Schrader connector
- It’s expensive
So what do you think?
The Avid Power tire inflator is my all-round favorite but I don’t think many people would be disappointed by the Teromas. They are both good general-purpose inflators to keep in the trunk or the garage. If you’ve got a truck then the Milwaukee is powerful, and versatile too. That preset memory function is great if you’ve got more than one vehicle.
