Do it yourself clip-on deflators
Author profile: Bill (Admin)
Bill has been a Jeep freak since 1995 and has since owned and modified three Jeeps, all YJ's. He lives in East Tennessee. Although his wife calls him a cheapskate, Bill prefers to be thought of as "budget-minded".
For years I used the back of a tire pressure guage to air down my tires on 4x4 trips. During this time I noticed more and more Jeep friends using deflators. Eventually I bought a set of Staun Automatic Tire Deflators for $50 and they've worked great but being cheap, it was hard for me to part with that $50. Somewhere on the internet I came across a picture of a homemade DIY tire deflator. It's not automatic but you can clip it on and check every couple of minutes, which is still way better than kneeling for 10 minutes next to each tire.
To make one of these is simple. Purchase binder clips anywhere (Walmart should even have them). Size is up to you. In this example I used size 20 which is probably the smallest you could use. It might be better to go with a larger clip so you could slip it further down the valve stem. Next, find a bolt that will push in the valve nipple when you clamp the clip onto the valve stem of your tire. I wouldn't try anything bigger than a 3/16 bolt. The length will depend on the size slip you bought. For the size 20 clip, I used as 3/16 bolt that was 1/2 inch long. Find a nut to go with it. Then carefully drill a hole the size of your bolt diameter into the clip. Hold the nut on the inside of the slip and screw the bolt through it all the way. Done! Here's a pic:
Simple, huh? Cost is around $3 and I bet you can get the deflation timing down by practicing at home.
To make one of these is simple. Purchase binder clips anywhere (Walmart should even have them). Size is up to you. In this example I used size 20 which is probably the smallest you could use. It might be better to go with a larger clip so you could slip it further down the valve stem. Next, find a bolt that will push in the valve nipple when you clamp the clip onto the valve stem of your tire. I wouldn't try anything bigger than a 3/16 bolt. The length will depend on the size slip you bought. For the size 20 clip, I used as 3/16 bolt that was 1/2 inch long. Find a nut to go with it. Then carefully drill a hole the size of your bolt diameter into the clip. Hold the nut on the inside of the slip and screw the bolt through it all the way. Done! Here's a pic:
Simple, huh? Cost is around $3 and I bet you can get the deflation timing down by practicing at home.