Have you ever been running late to an important meeting and as you near your car you realize one of your tires is nearly flat? Then you finally find the nearest gas station and you realize you don’t have 75 cents for the air pump. Good grief! It happened to me a few times.

I’ve also experienced leaving the car headlights on all day while I was at work and when I got out to the parking lot after a really late shift you can imagine my frustration when I tried starting the car with a dead battery. Luckily a co-worker helped me jump start it with her car. But what if there was no one around?

Yes, I could have called AAA, but as you probably have experienced, that can sometimes take anywhere from an hour to several hours depending on your location. My point is that I realized from that experience how much a portable jump starter with an air compressor could have helped and how it really is an overlooked tool that should be in every car trunk for emergency.

So around last year I started browsing for portable jump starters with air compressors online. To my surprise, I did not find too many websites offering them, not as much as I presumed anyway. Fortunately, now there are plenty of these jump starters with air compressors online and hey, when your old man’s birthday comes around guess what you can buy him!

So, for practical drivers out there I hope my story grabs your attention, because I’ve noticed that many of my friends and family have never owned a tool like a portable jump starter. I want to get one for my Dad, he would love it. I’ve recently discovered that some jump starters have the “all-in-one” features of built-in light and power source and inverter!

As you all know, keeping your tires properly inflated is one key way to maximize performance and gas mileage for your vehicle. It reduces the “drag.” Experts estimate that you can improve your gas mileage by up to 3.3 percent with proper tire pressure. That’s a savings of about $0.11 per gallon. I know that does not sound like much, but with gas prices at record highs, every bit helps. Under-inflated tires, however, can lower gas mileage by as much as 0.4 percent for every 1 psi drop in pressure of all four tires. Plus, properly inflated tires are actually safer and last longer.

Remember to always look for the maximum psi on your tires before you get carried away pumping. I always keep a Vector 400 amp jump starter with air compressor in the trunk of my car. What’s so cool is that it even has a pressure gauge to read the psi while pumping the tires.

As far as jump starting your car, always follow the safety tips. Here is a good outline to follow:

Clamp one cable to the positive (+) terminal of the dead battery. Don’t let the positive cable touch anything metal other than the battery terminals. Connect the other end of the positive cable to the positive terminal of the good battery. Connect one end of the negative (-) cable to the negative terminal of the good battery. Connect the other end of the negative cable to metal on the engine block on the car with the dead battery. Don’t connect it to the dead battery, carburetor, fuel lines or moving parts. Stand back and start the car with the good battery. Start the stalled car. Then, you may remove the cables in reverse order. Also, remember to always wear polycarbonate goggles with the designation Z-87 on the frame that are splash-proof and designed for activities like automotive repair.