I've added a little 2 gallon shop vac to my camping gear. It might seem silly at first, but it's proved to be incredibly useful. Thought I might share my reasoning.
It runs easily off my 1000w inverter.
Being a vacuum, it's great for vacuuming sand and dust out of the tent, the back of the truck, the interior of the truck, etc.
Does a good job of cleaning air filters, especially when compressed air is a limited commodity (2gal tank and 2cfm compressor isn't much for blowing out filters)
I can suck an air mattress flat in about 15 seconds.
I can pack bedding/pillows/clothing we only *might* need like coats, etc in space bags, saving a ton of space and offering excellent dust and water protection.
It has a "blow" port in addition to the normal "suck" port.
This allows me to fill an air mattress in about 1/10th the time an air mattress inflator takes.
Makes a handy little blower for tidying up the campsite, getting rid of leaves and such.
The blower also makes REALLY quick work of getting a fire going, especially when the wood isn't the dryest.
Frankly, I use it all the time. My favorite though is vacuum bagging the bedding. Fold it up, stuff it in, suck it flat. Beats the snot out of rolling, re-rolling, smashing, stuffing, and swearing at sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows. I always shake out the bedding real well before packing it, but as an added bonus, bugs don't tend to survive being vacuum bagged for 12+ hours at a time.
It runs easily off my 1000w inverter.
Being a vacuum, it's great for vacuuming sand and dust out of the tent, the back of the truck, the interior of the truck, etc.
Does a good job of cleaning air filters, especially when compressed air is a limited commodity (2gal tank and 2cfm compressor isn't much for blowing out filters)
I can suck an air mattress flat in about 15 seconds.
I can pack bedding/pillows/clothing we only *might* need like coats, etc in space bags, saving a ton of space and offering excellent dust and water protection.
It has a "blow" port in addition to the normal "suck" port.
This allows me to fill an air mattress in about 1/10th the time an air mattress inflator takes.
Makes a handy little blower for tidying up the campsite, getting rid of leaves and such.
The blower also makes REALLY quick work of getting a fire going, especially when the wood isn't the dryest.
Frankly, I use it all the time. My favorite though is vacuum bagging the bedding. Fold it up, stuff it in, suck it flat. Beats the snot out of rolling, re-rolling, smashing, stuffing, and swearing at sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows. I always shake out the bedding real well before packing it, but as an added bonus, bugs don't tend to survive being vacuum bagged for 12+ hours at a time.
