A tire crew needs somewhere around 15 to 20 CFM at 175 PSI to keep a 1 inch impact gun turning without waiting on the tank. That is the number that decides whether an engine driven Champion reciprocating unit belongs on your truck, and it is the number most buyers never check first.
A truck mount is an engine, a cast iron pump and a receiver bolted to your service body. Gas and diesel driven units with Honda or Kohler engines, electric start and an oversized flywheel will run impact wrenches, grinders, nailers, blow guns and tire inflation all day with no generator and no outlet. They go on flatbeds, service bodies and utility boxes, and they show up in tire service, utility fleets, farm equipment repair, oilfield work and municipal shops.
Where a truck mount stops working
Sandblasting, a 90 pound breaker, or anything else that wants 100 CFM and up. A truck mounted reciprocating compressor is not that machine, and no amount of tank will turn it into one. For that you want a towable rotary screw. Same answer if two techs will be running air at the same time: size for both guns together or one of them stands around.
The install matters as much as the compressor. Run it with an air receiver sized to your peak draw, keep the intake out of the engine exhaust stream, and put a filter and regulator at the outlet. A pump feeding a hose reel with no tank behind it short cycles and dies early. Call us with the tools you run and the truck you are mounting to and we will spec it out.
