Offroad Trailblazers and Envoys

TrailHead Tire Deflators

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by HARDTRAILZ » Wed Feb 10, 2010 11:40 am

If this needs moved..do it please, but I figured it dealt with tires.

I hate letting the air out of my tires and having to keep checking psi as I go down, so I started looking for a simpler quicker way and found a deal on these...

http://trailheaddeflators.com/warranty.htm

Image

They are made in the USA and had some good reviews on them.

I looked at the cheap Teraflex ones, but they still need watched and checked often. I looked at the Smittybilt and a couple similar that were ok, but couldnt match the deal I found on these.

I liked the screw on and drive off, so that you can get started to the first obstacle then get out and double check they worked properly and remove them.

I got mine for under $25 shipped in a month long search and bid session on ebay. The kit I got is brand new and is worth the full price they ask, but I had the time to search and was willing to wait for a deal. Mine are the 5-20 PSI version.

Here is a write-up from Jp Magazine...

What: Trailhead Automatic Tire DeflatorUsing It: The Trailhead deflators are 100 percent made in the USA and offer a no-questions lifetime warranty-even if you found 'em in a riverbed, the company will replace 'em with no questions asked. They're available in either 15 psi to 40 psi or 5 psi to 20 psi versions. Inside the leather carrying pouch, the kit comes with four adjustable deflators, an Allen wrench, a low pressure gauge, a laminated instruction card, and a tire deflator guide. Initial setup is pretty simple. You spin the deflators to the valve stem and use the supplied Allen wrench to adjust the pressure. Tightening the screw raises the deflation pressure and loosening it lowers the deflation pressure. On our low pressure models, one full turn of the screw equates to a 1.5 psi increase or decrease. Once the deflators are set, simply screw them onto the valve stems and forget them. You can drive the whole trail with them and then take them off for airing up.Highs: Killer warranty; good quality vs. value; setup not difficult; easy to useLows: Initial setup takes a few minutesPrice: $60 (per kit)Get It: Trailhead Automatic Tire Deflators, 800/725-0478, trailheaddeflators.com

I will be hopefully setting them this weekend and get to try them out in a couple weeks. I will let y'all know how they work out.
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by bartonmd » Wed Feb 10, 2010 12:39 pm

Cool!

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by Philberto » Wed Feb 10, 2010 12:49 pm

From what I've read in reviews, they're grossly inaccurate from one to another, due to the variations in the springs. Your mileage may vary though. Best of luck with them, I'm going with the Stauns. It's not like I'll ever be needing to replace them.

ETA: Although you CAN drive with them on the wheels, most advice recommends you not, as you can damage both the deflators or the valve stems. What's 4 minutes' difference anyways?
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by bartonmd » Wed Feb 10, 2010 12:55 pm

Philberto wrote:From what I've read in reviews, they're grossly inaccurate from one to another, due to the variations in the springs. Your mileage may vary though. Best of luck with them, I'm going with the Stauns. It's not like I'll ever be needing to replace them.

ETA: Although you CAN drive with them on the wheels, most advice recommends you not, as you can damage both the deflators or the valve stems. What's 4 minutes' difference anyways?


This seems like the kind of thing you'd set by adjusting them, and testing the adjustment with a pressure guage once they get done draining the tire to the set point...... I'm not sure what kind of moron would just twist the screws and hope it turned out where they wanted...

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by Philberto » Wed Feb 10, 2010 1:23 pm

I'm aware of that, but there was a problem in that even the starting pressure of the target tire played a role, and temperature affected the springs as well... Like I said, your mileage may vary, just pointing out what I've read on the internet :shoot:
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by bartonmd » Wed Feb 10, 2010 1:30 pm

Philberto wrote:I'm aware of that, but there was a problem in that even the starting pressure of the target tire played a role, and temperature affected the springs as well... Like I said, your mileage may vary, just pointing out what I've read on the internet :shoot:


I'd believe that not all the start points are the same, but spring steel doesn't change much in the relitively small temperature range that one of these would see... I suspect that there was an issue of whether the tires were cold or hot when they dropped the pressure, compared to the tire temperature once they started wheeling...

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by The Roadie » Wed Feb 10, 2010 3:07 pm

Great find. Teebes and I have Stauns, but he drives around a lot more on the beaches (or did before Baja safety got to be even bigger an issue). And his quit working - presumably because of salt build up on the brass. I keep meaning to see if I can soak them in CLR or something and bring them back to life.
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by OregTrailBlazin » Wed Feb 10, 2010 4:29 pm

These are a great product, they are the ones I use, and have sold for a couple years. After initially getting them adjusted to drop to the same pressure, they have worked great for the past couple years, on my Sami and on my TB. I don't know about any mileage problems, as I only air down when wheeling, which is usually pretty low speed stuff. TrailHead advises you to remove them if traveling over 20MPH.. I usually stick them on when everyone is meeting up at the trail head, and pull em off when we're ready to roll, the main reason is I've ripped valve stems before and don't want those guys damaged!!
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by Zero » Wed Feb 10, 2010 4:48 pm

I like whatever deflator Roadie is using. We used his to deflate both of our trucks, and I was very impressed with the quality, and ease, plus they deflate the tires pretty damn fast!
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by HARDTRAILZ » Thu Feb 11, 2010 11:22 am

i only plan on driving with them from the heck in to where we have our drivers meetings or not at all. I would not hit the trails with them on there.

All the reviews I found seemed to say that once you set them up and fine tune them a bit they are good to go. I dint find many negative reviews, but I found planty of positive ones. Hopefully with some time in the garage with a small tire and air compressor (thats what they recommend so the pressure and be raised and lowered quicker) i can get them dialed in fairly good. I will still check them after airing down for safety.


Roadie--The stauns do have a 5 year warranty, not sure how long he has had them but that might help. They back there products pretty good from what I read.
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by The Roadie » Thu Feb 11, 2010 2:13 pm

HARDTRAILZ wrote:Roadie--The stauns do have a 5 year warranty, not sure how long he has had them but that might help. They back there products pretty good from what I read.
Appreciated. I filed my paperwork and forgot it was so long. We got them about the same time a couple years ago when we were trying to out-spend each other in the traditional mod contest. :roll:
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by Zero » Thu Feb 11, 2010 2:41 pm

They also come in a nice kangaroo pouch.
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by HARDTRAILZ » Thu Feb 11, 2010 2:55 pm

The Roadie wrote:
HARDTRAILZ wrote:Roadie--The stauns do have a 5 year warranty, not sure how long he has had them but that might help. They back there products pretty good from what I read.
Appreciated. I filed my paperwork and forgot it was so long. We got them about the same time a couple years ago when we were trying to out-spend each other in the traditional mod contest. :roll:



This may help...

CLEANING
If necessary, the deflators are incredibly
easy to disassemble and clean.
Keeping the cap up, simply loosen the
lock ring, then screw the adjustment cap
off. Now, pull the spring and piston out.
Note how the O-ring is positioned onthe
bottom of the piston for reassembly.

From-- http://www.eco4wd.com/products/Hardware ... unHelp.pdf
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by The Roadie » Thu Feb 11, 2010 9:52 pm

Zero wrote:They also come in a nice kangaroo pouch.
Made from kangaroo leather from animals that ONLY died of natural causes. They say.

Like being hit by a Defender 110 in the outback? :shoot:
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by HARDTRAILZ » Fri Feb 12, 2010 12:18 am

Mine also came with a nice leather pouch, but i believe it was just a dead cow that provided the material.
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by The Roadie » Fri Feb 12, 2010 2:24 am

Dead cows have so much less panache than dead 'roos. :excited: Cows can't be taught to box, for instance. Or drink Fosters.

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by HARDTRAILZ » Fri Feb 12, 2010 10:49 am

But does kangaroo taste as good as a nice filet wrapped in bacon?
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by HARDTRAILZ » Sat Feb 13, 2010 12:24 am

[quote="Philberto"]From what I've read in reviews, they're grossly inaccurate from one to another, due to the variations in the springs. Your mileage may vary though. Best of luck with them, I'm going with the Stauns. It's not like I'll ever be needing to replace them.quote]


Can you post some links to these reviews. I cant find any negative ones.
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by Philberto » Sat Feb 13, 2010 1:16 am

http://www.4wheelnoffroad.com/04airdown.html

However, just re-read a review I found a while ago: http://www.parksoffroad.com/prodreview/deflatortest/deflatormain.htm and I'm prepared to eat my words if they work out well for you. Can't wait for a review!
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by janesy86 » Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:21 pm

Kyle, how are these working out for you so far? I got some $$ to spend and was thinking I might pick up a set.
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