While we don’t like price inflation, tire inflation is a good thing. At a spring sale we purchased a new tire inflator from Ryobi. We’ve been inflating for six months and really like it because it:
- is compact
- is inexpensive
- has a digital air gauge
- inflates to the chosen pressure and stops
- comes with a 3 year warranty
Adding ten PSI to the tires on our ProMaster takes just under four minutes.
What does it cost?
The new Ryobi PCL001B is $79.00 with a battery & charger. If you already own Ryobi 18V batteries it is only $39.97 for the stand alone pump.
This morning (2026-10-26) it was on sale at Home Depot for $24.97. If you already have other Ryobi tools and batteries, adding this pump is an easy decision.
How about the batteries?
Ryobi lithium batteries seem to last. This 4Ah battery is ten years old and still showed 3 of 4 bars after adding 10 PSI to all four tires.
We had an older Ryobi pump, shown below, which is now discontinued. We used it for six years, but it had disadvantages; (1) you had to hold the trigger to pump air and (2) it had a not-so-accurate analog gauge. It also stopped working midway through year two. I was impressed that Ryobi honored the warranty and we received a replacement in the mail
Back to the new pump…
The digital gauge, inflation set-point, and not needing to hold the trigger make the new model much easier to use. Plus the new version is quieter and takes up less space.
Also, a battery operated pump is much more convenient to use than a wired pump, especially on a large vehicle like an RV.
As an example, we hooked up this Pittsburgh pump under the hood. It is a long way to the back wheels from here, so a long air hose and long electrical cables are both necessary.
Here are three pumps side-by-side in our driveway. Top is the Pittsburgh, middle is the Emergency Pump included in the van, and the bottom is the new Ryobi pump.
The emergency pump that comes with the ProMaster runs from the cigarette lighter, has an analog gauge, and just barely reaches to the rear wheels.
The only disadvantage to the Ryobi that I noticed is you can’t attach other air tools. If you have dual wheels in the back of your vehicle and need a reverse chuck, this pump doesn’t support it.
The bottom line? Go pick up one of these little pumps for your van.
P.S. What other Ryobi devices do we carry with us in the van?
Bug Zapper with light. We put this at the cab end of the van, opposite from where we sleep. Turning it on after dark draws the insects away from us. We sleep better drifting off to the sound of biting insects being dispatched with battery power. It also doubles as a spare light when we want one. The light and bug zapper each turn on and off individually.
Hand-held Vacuum These and the air pump all use the same batteries and charger, so we feel like the space used in the van is worthwhile.
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