Vacuum pump?

[alwaysFlOoReD]

What should I look for in a pump? I plan on evacuating the system on my truck before adding refrigerant. I was looking online and see single and two stage pumps that go down to anywhere from 75 to 15 microns for $45.00 and up to over $4,000.00 for an all inclusive unit. What do I need seeing as this is hobby, not work?
And on a related note, is there any way of recovering the old refrigerant without paying over $100.00 for someone to come out to my truck? I did a little phoning and found a company that will let me use a recovery tank for a $200.00 deposit but I'm unsure if I can use the vacuum pump to transfer the stuff. Can someone enlighten me?
Thanks,

Richard

 

[4x4junkie]

I used the $12 Harbor Freight venturi pump for use with an air compressor for mine.
In spite of it's specs though, you absolutely need a high-volume shop compressor that runs @125-150 PSI to make it work well (typical home units (especially the noisy oilless ones) will never get it to pull a good vacuum).

Edit:
I guess it's $16 now (15.99)
http://www.harborfreight.com/air-vacuum-pump-with-r134a-and-r12-connectors-96677.html

Not having that, HF also has a couple self-contained rotary vane type pumps that reportedly work well. They're of course a fair bit more $$$ though.
http://www.harborfreight.com/25-cfm-vacuum-pump-98076.html
http://www.harborfreight.com/two-stage-3-cfm-air-vacuum-pump-66466.html

Not sure on your recovering the refrigerant Q... Both times I had to do anything with my A/C was because of a leak = little-to-none in there lol.