ATV Accessories And Tools - Abused

Sony ATV Offroad Fury Pro For The Playstation Portable
Dude! Have you played this yet? I'm talking about ATV Offroad Fury 4 Pro ($39.99) for the PlayStation Portable (PSP). It's just as good as the regular ATV Offroad Fury 4 for the PS2 but fits in the palm of your hand. With 64 tracks and 30 vehicles to choose from, I was entertained during the entire drive from La Paz, Mexico, to San Diego, California, on our way back from the Baja 1000.

If that weren't enough, the custom track editor has been carried over to this game as well, providing even more entertainment as you race around your own custom-designed courses. The super-fun Mini-Game Mode is a great way to turn on the PSP and play for a few minutes without becoming involved in a long race.

I don't know what Brian's talking about; I loved the hard-hitting soundtrack! The reason he hasn't heard of any of the bands is because at 25 he's practically an old man-while I'm still 21. Get with the times, Brian! I do agree with him on the sound effects, though. It just sounded, well, a little weak. Also, the clutch button is on the right-hand side of the controller, but everybody knows the clutch lever is always on the left-hand side, so that took some getting used to. The graphics were really good, and the replay value keeps me coming back for more, whether I'm in line at the bank, the barber shop or just mellowed out on the couch at home. I give it an overall score of 92. Peace out.-Levi Marana, member of '06 Baja 1000-winning Team Temecula Motorsports

Slime Pro Power Heavy-Duty Tire Inflator
When you're traveling with a trailer full of ATVs, it's only a matter of time before you need some compressed air to inflate a tire. First, there's your truck with four tires (six if you drive a dually), then at least two more on your trailer and four for every ATV you're hauling. That's a lot of tires to think about. When's the last time you pulled into a gas station and found an air compressor off to the side that actually worked? It's usually broken, or some jerk has parked a 1988 Corolla right in front of it and has disappeared. You also might find yourself needing an air pump when riding at the sand dunes. Airing down is a necessity to keep from burying your truck, but it might be a long drive back to the gas station for reinflation, which could damage the sidewalls of your tires in the process.

Eliminate all those hassles by carrying the $59.99 Slime Pro Power heavy-duty tire inflator. Weighing in at about five pounds and featuring a nice black canvas storage bag, a 16-foot coiled air hose, an integrated light and pressure gauge plus air-mattress and sports-ball adapters, the Pro Power talks a good game right out of the box. But is it a steadfast companion to have behind the seat of your truck, or will it leave you hanging on the side of the road during a dark and stormy night? I put the Pro Power through its paces to find out.

First came the ATV tire inflation test. I unscrewed the valve core on our Can-Am Renegade 800 and let its 25x8-12 tire run completely flat. Then I replaced the valve core and screwed the coiled air hose onto the end of the valve stem, plugged the Pro Power into the Can-Am's 12-volt accessory outlet and flipped the switch. After 50 seconds, the tire was inflated to 10 psi. What's impressive about the Slime Pro Power is that the pump is really quiet-quieter than the more-portable Slime Power Sport we tested back in the December '06 issue.

For the second test, I repeated the process on my Ford Ranger's P225/70R-14 tire. Zero to 32 psi took 4 minutes 55 seconds. Not bad, but not great, either. When filling up the truck tire, I also noticed that the handy integrated light has a regular incandescent bulb-not the LED advertised on the box. It dims considerably with the pump on but still puts out a decent amount of light for those times when you need to use the Pro Power at night.

Next came the test that separates the pumps from the chumps-the heavy-duty truck tire. The ATV Rider tow rig is an '03 Dodge Ram 3500 equipped with LT235/80R-17 tires. Recommended pressure for the rear tires on this hauler is 70 psi. After letting all the air out of the tire, I connected the Pro Power, turned her on, popped in a CD and shut the door on the Dodge. The pump is really quiet and couldn't be heard over the stereo, even on very low volume. That's a good thing, because you're going to be waiting a while to inflate a tire like this to 70 psi-in my case, 20 minutes 3 seconds. The pump never faltered, though it did get mighty hot. The instructions called for a cooldown period after 12-15 minutes of constant use, but please, who's going to do that?

The Pro Power is pretty tough, but since it is advertised for truck, SUV, 4x4 and even RV use, I thought the pump output could have been faster. The box claims it inflates a standard car tire in approximately three minutes, but its definition of "standard" is a puny P195/65R-15 tire inflated to 35 psi. Unless you're towing an ATV with a Nissan Sentra, which we doubt, you're going to wait longer than three minutes. Still, when you consider the added time, expense and embarrassment of having a tow truck come and rescue you, the Pro Power is good to have on board to bail you out.-Brian Purtymun