Cybertruck Air Compressor + Tire Repair Kit -- User Experience Review

[ABILISK]

The All-Terrain tires people commonly run on the Cybertruck are not tires engineered for rock-crawling, nor are they engineered as floatation tires (or designed to conform around rocks). Tires like that would completely suck on the highway and I wouldn't run them because I don't want to have to change wheels every time I go off-road. That would be over 100 wheel changes per year!

What would you recommend for a daily + moderate use off-road tire? Tesla did their Hell’s Gate video with KO2s, and those aren’t bad as daily tires. But I’m an extraordinarily amateur off-roader. I’ve taken the Beast to the drag strip more times than it’s been taken off-road. Looking to change that soon because off-roading is way more fun than the umpteeth launch.

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[HaulingAss]

I'll take a leap and suggest that perhaps it's not the wisest choice to take a not-obvious-how-it-works thing, not read the instructions, then try and sort through how to make it work... in the dark. And then pronounce it to have usability issues because that all didn't go well.

I dunno, because I don't own one. But what I can suggest is that lots of things have their instructions online these days. Flashlights are kinda nice things to have when it's dark. And if you don't like the Tesla compressor, I can highly recommend this one:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YTKQLVK?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_5&th=1

Yes, that is well-suited for off-road Cybertruck use. It puts most other compressors to shame. Pair it with a four way inflator hose and you will have a killer setup for airing tires up or down, or emergency tire plugging. The extra inflation power of this compressor would be handy if I ever had a difficult tear or puncture to plug (because it can be easier to plug a tire that is not completely flat).

This inflator hose is the one I've been using with the TC-BL compressor for the last 20 months. It's setup to plug directly into a compressor like this that comes with a standard male quick release pressure fitting.
MORRFlate Braided Quad+: 4-Tire Hose Kit, Up to 155" Wheelbase • MORRFlate

If you don't anticipate needing to air up/down (because you don't tow heavy trailers and you don't do anything other than easy off-road trails) then you can get by with a smaller compressor for emergencies. But if you use it all the time, I really recommend this unit. It fits perfectly in the left or right 1/3 of the Smuggler's Bay with room on top for the MorrFlate hose.

I had a Heating/Air conditioning guy over to my house for some upgrades and I noticed his work van had a tire half flat, it looked like he would be lucky to have 15 psi in it. All the other ones were low too. He said he had noticed that a couple of days ago and had been meaning to air up. Since I know each technician/salesperson is responsible for maintaining the tires on their own company vehicle it made me second guess his work ethic/knowledge level.

I told him to pull around to the back and I would air him up. I hooked the Morrflate hose up to all four tires and read only 19 PSI after they had equalized! This is a compact work van loaded to the hilt with heavy HVAC tools and gear that has to travel on the freeway from job to job! Very irresponsible! I flipped the switch on the TC-BL and started BS'ing. Less than a minute or so later I turned it off to check the pressure and it was already 5 PSI high!

No problem, I unplugged the MorrFlate hose from the compressor and after a 6 second burst of released air, and another 1 second burst, all four tires were spot on (40 PSI if I recall). The Service Tech was super impressed, he had never seen anything like it and said he would need to get a setup like that for his beat-up off-road rig.

The all-in cost of TC-BL compressor, MorrFlate hose system and a tire plugging kit with various additional spare plugs in different sizes and lengths is still a lot less than the Tesla compressor and the evil tire goop it comes with.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of ways you could do worse than the Tesla Cybertruck Tire inflator, it's just over-priced by about double, maybe more.

 

[Scrambler]

For future reference, it's not a good idea to air down to 20 PSI on a Cybertruck with regular All-Terrain tires for such trails. Yes, I know, your buddies will tell you it's the mark that you are an experienced off-roader, but it's something that is generally not necessary and can have devastating effects on the reliability of your tires down the road.

Tesla recommends a minimum pressure of 36 PSI and this is good advice, not only to protect against de-beading, but also to keep your tires reliable as they age. I will go below 36 PSI in rare situations, but only when actually necessary for the particular challenge I face. Why shoot yourself in the foot? Reliability is the name of the game when off-road.

This is one reason so many off-roaders claim they need a spare wheel/tire assembly with them, because they get a lot of flat tires. Too many flat tires. They don't even know they are doing it wrong. Airing a Cybertruck tire down to 20 PSI causes the carcass of the tire to over-flex repeatedly, which causes fatigue fractures in the sidewall and tread reinforcements and micro-tearing where the rubber bonds to those reinforcements. It also causes the sidewall to bulge out further, making your tires more susceptible to sidewall punctures and rock cuts.

I watched this trend of excessive airing down become popular decades ago and it just keeps spreading. Yes, it increases the ride quality a bit, but only incrementally, it still rides rough on rugged terrain. And it increases the floatation in soft conditions, but that is only a good thing if you actually need more flotation. If you don't need it, is that really worth a huge downgrade in tire reliability, not just for the trip at hand, but also for as long as you own those tires?

Thank you for the advice, I will keep it in mind. Does it still apply to my particular setup given I am running Wildpeak AT4Ws for tires and they are on properly beadlocked wheels?

 

[Bridgeboy69]

I will go below 36 PSI in rare situations, but only when actually necessary for the particular challenge I face.

I would use pressures under 36 PSI if I was in sand that was so fine and dry that I needed more floatation. Or old snowpack. Or certain types of soft but thick mud.

OK, OK, makes sense....

What pressure would you recommend for hauling...ummmm...idk... ass?

 

[HaulingAss]

Thank you for the advice, I will keep it in mind. Does it still apply to my particular setup given I am running Wildpeak AT4Ws for tires and they are on properly beadlocked wheels?

I don't know, but I doubt it. That sounds more like AI summarizing user advice than a tire engineer providing knowledge based upon extensive durability testing at different weights and pressures.

I'm not familiar with those tires, I suppose they could have a construction more tolerant of airing down to 15 PSI but I doubt it. The really odd thing is they are calling 15-25 PSI "conservative" and yet there is no mention of the tire size or the load on the tire (loaded vehicle weight). I would call it BS simply based on that.

The best advice is if you don't need to air down to 15-25 psi, because the conditions don't require it, then don't do it.

This could have been a defective tire but the user did indicate that had previously aired them down. Read the comments too:

Falken Wildpeak blow out : r/tires

 

[HaulingAss]

OK, OK, makes sense....

What pressure would you recommend for hauling...ummmm...idk... ass?

At least 50 PSI, more if you're fully loaded to the maximum GVWR.

 

[doggod]

my AC plugs work when charging, I make coffee and hot water for tea all the time while charging. perhaps you have power saving mode on.

 

[ABILISK]

my AC plugs work when charging, I make coffee and hot water for tea all the time while charging. perhaps you have power saving mode on.

They work during supercharging. Do yours somehow work during home charging?

 

[doggod]

I have plugs at home no need to drain truck battery unnecessarily. why would I want to degrade truck battery. I would never try.

 

[Bridgeboy69]

I have plugs at home no need to drain truck battery unnecessarily. why would I want to degrade truck battery. I would never try.

Sometimes people have things they want powered from the truck AC all the time, like fridges/freezers, or Starlinks they have mounted somewhere in/on the truck. So when the AC turns off while charging at home they also turn off, which is inconvenient.

There are ways around it for these things, but that is why it's an issue in these scenarios....but like someone mentioned above, it's just something about AC charging that makes it impossible.

 

[doggod]

Sometimes people have things they want powered from the truck AC all the time, like fridges/freezers, or Starlinks they have mounted somewhere in/on the truck. So when the AC turns off while charging at home they also turn off, which is inconvenient.

There are ways around it for these things, but that is why it's an issue in these scenarios....but like someone mentioned above, it's just something about AC charging that makes it impossible.

again why degrade your truck battery when you can use an extension cord at home? I have starlink at home and mini in truck so no need to run it in truck at home. I also have a fridge and a freezer at home. are you living in truck?

 

[Bridgeboy69]

again why degrade your truck battery when you can use an extension cord at home? I have starlink at home and mini in truck so no need to run it in truck at home. I also have a fridge and a freezer at home. are you living in truck?

I am not (yet) living in my truck .

I am just telling you what I have read about others having these issues (on this forum). I am planning to mount a Starlink HP Gen2 dish on my truck, have it powered by a Ecoflow Power Bank, probably my River 2 Pro, and then have the powerbank continually topped off by the 48V frunk feed, and then have everything supplemented by solar panels charging while out and about...but at home I would not really need the Starlink since I have AT&T fiber optic 1.3 GBps service at home; so I would just turn it off. I also have an Ecoflow fridge/freezer, but I wouldn't need it charged from the truck at home, like you mentioned.

 

[doggod]

so I fail to see an issue.

 

[Bridgeboy69]

so I fail to see an issue.

Some people have a Fridge/freezer permanently mounted in their footwell. Like this one:

I don't have one of these because I currently prefer to use that space for other storage for things I like to have easy access to besides cold drinks. But for those who do use these, when charging at home causing them to turn off could be problematic without other work-arounds...

Some people also have to consdier charging at other locations other than just at home...different people have different needs.... (not me currently...)

 

[doggod]

that uses USB port so it should work as my USB stick works when on AC charging and sentry mode is on.

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