*This post is sponsored by The Home Depot

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This is my honest review- all opinions below are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of any sponsor.

Hello everyone! Thanks for dropping by! Today I am going to be sharing some thoughts on this 4 Gal. 5.0-Peak HP Portable Wet/Dry Shop Vacuum & Premium Car Cleaning Kit. Don’t let the size fool you, this little vac has some power! In fact, it has more CFM than my 9-gallon shop vac and is perfect for vacuuming our vehicles! Not to mention, right now it is being sold in the link above as a combo with a lot of accessories just for cleaning out your car/truck!

Includes 1-7/8 in. x 7 ft. Hose, 2 Extension Wands, Utility Nozzle, Car Nozzle, Standard Filter, Dust Bag

Everything comes assembled right out of the box and is basically ready to go! This vac is compatible with 1-7/8 in. accessories and some of the included accessories and hoses are 1-1/4 in. compatible. Although this vacuum comes with its own hose and accessories in the box, the 4-gallon portable shop vac is on sale at The Home Depot right now and includes the Premium Car Detailing Kit as well! That is an incredible deal since the Premium Car Kit is right at $40 by itself and basically comes free with the purchase of the 4-gallon shop vac. Because I now have it, I will mainly be using the hoses and accessories in the Car Cleaning Kit as they are specifically designed for auto detailing.

Premium Car Detailing Kit includes a 1-1/4 in. x 10 ft. hose, a soft bristle brush, a stiff bristle brush, a flexible crevice tool, a claw nozzle and two adapters.

Before heading out to my truck, I attached the included 1 layer standard filter and also chose to attach the included dust bag for extra filtration and easy debris collection. Installation of the bag was very easy and the only thing left to do was to plug it in and start cleaning!

1-layer filtration captures general debris and is perfect for car cleaning!

POWER:

OK, I have to be totally honest and say that I expected a lot less out of this tiny vac. When I powered this on, I was so surprised at the sound and suction that I immediately grabbed the box to check the CFM. I was shocked that it said the CFM was 103! I honestly assumed this was going to be less pick-up power (CFM) than my 9-gallon because my 9-gallon has less CFM than my 14-gallon. I mean, that makes sense right? Smaller vac should equal smaller CFM, but not this time! I also expected this small vac to scream at a higher pitch sound because I know my smaller 9-gallon sounds higher pitched than my larger 14-gallon. However, all of my assumptions were wrong. Somehow this vac is designed to sound better and pick up stronger than my 9-gallon vac. It claims to have 5.0 peak HP which again is stronger than my other vac. I do not have a way to test or prove the HP or the CFM, but I was pleasantly surprised.

At my truck, I immediately recognized that I really like the orange premium hose that comes with the Car Cleaning Kit. It is super flexible, a smaller diameter, and is 10 feet long. It is easy to handle, and I am able to leave the shop vac on one side of the truck and crawl across my bench seats to vacuum the other side with plenty of reach. The black hose that comes with the 4-gallon shop vac is 7 feet long and less flexible, so I am thankful again that this current promotion includes the Car Cleaning Kit. In fact, I like this orange hose so much that I may get another one and use it with another designated shop vac located in my shop.

Speaking of length, the power cord is 20 feet long and is great for reaching an outlet inside the garage without the use of an extension cord. The top handle has plenty of room to wrap the cord when not in use as well.

The large rear wheels and casters allow it to follow me where I go as I pull it along around my vehicle as I clean it. I love that I don’t have to stop what I am doing to pick it up and move it somewhere else; just a gentle tug and it rolls right where I need it.

All in all, I have been very satisfied with the 4 Gal. 5.0-Peak HP Portable Wet/Dry Shop Vacuum & Premium Car Cleaning Kit. I haven’t had it very long and will be sure to update this review if I experience anything negative, but honestly, it is a shop vac and as long as the motor runs and continues to outperform my larger 9-gallon vac in CFM and HP then I doubt I will have anything really negative to say. Well, besides the fact that it sucks! ;-) Feel free to ask any questions I may have not thought to include and I will do my best to answer!

In short, here is the breakdown:

PROS:

Small overall size that is convenient to store away or take anywhere
20-foot power cord and 10-foot hose length (the orange hose in the in Car Cleaning Kit)
Large wheels on the back and the smaller casters op front makes the vac easy to move around
Strong suction! Pick up power is more than my 9-gallon shop vac and was surprising for its size.
The Car Cleaning Kit currently comes with the purchase of the vac in this promotion (at the time of this post). Huge bonus!
The Car Cleaning Kit has 7 accessories that are better for auto cleaning.

CONS:

Obviously not as powerful as my 14-gallon shop vac (but it doesn’t claim to be)
The black hose is just a basic hose. I am spoiled and much prefer using the orange hoses on my other Ridgid vacs
The back compartment for storing accessories is only designed for holding the few accessories that come in the box with the vacuum itself. If you also get the Car Cleaning Kit, you will need to find a place to keep some of the other accessories.
No clear way to store the vacuum hose on the unit itself. I will probably need to wrap it up and store it elsewhere when not in use.
It would be nice if they eventually took the battery-powered technology and applied it to this sized vac.

Ridgid 4 Gal. Portable Wet/Dry Shop Vacuum & Premium Car Cleaning Kit