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Went with a hard mounted compressor and air tank

Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 5:49 pm
by will e
The trails in Arizona are best done after ‘airing down’ the tires. When you get done you have to air back up. The lower you go and the bigger the tire the longer this operation takes. I used a single MV-50 when I had 35’s and it was adequate. When I went to 37’s it was just too much for it so I bought a second MV-50 and ran them in parallel. I was pretty pleased with this setup until I did a couple of trails with my buddy that has an ARB dual compressor setup that is hard mounted. He would have the first tire done about the time I was getting the first compressor hooked up to the battery. (He also has 37” tires)
One trip I timed my entire operation and it took over 20 minutes to unpack the compressors, hook them up to the batteries, fire them up and fill the tires to about 32 psi. A few more minutes to put them back in the bags and tuck them away.
Twenty plus minutes might not seem like a lot but if you have been on the trail all day and it is getting late or you have come from the high country down to the desert and it is hot the extra time matters.

So, I picked up an ARB dual air compressor. Check out discountbandit.com for the best price.

It’s not small and it weighs about 20 pounds so I was looking for a place to mount it. The easy spot would be in the empty area where the spare tire normally goes but that is a nasty environment. I wanted it inside the cabin. I got to thinking about it and decided a great place was up high and out of the way. I picked up a piece of ¼ aluminum plate along with a couple of 1/8” L pieces for added support and attached it all to the top of the roll cage.

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It’s in a good spot and out of the way. I also mounted a HAM radio to the shelf and have room for other items as well.
I decided to add an air tank as well. I had room for a 1, 2 or 3 gallon so I compromised on the 2 gallon tank. I figured this would allow me to run air tools AND also help with filling the tires. I will be able to fill up the tank before stopping at the trail end and while I am going from tire to tire the compressor will continue to operate. Here is the setup:

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A drain at the bottom, a pressure release valve and a pressure gauge are some of the accessories. I was going to direct mount the feed at the top but decided to go with the coupler. It may end up leaking a bit but if something happens to the tank or its accessories I can just do a quick disconnect and go compressor only.


Here it is mounted. The fire extinguisher is in the way but it has a quick release system.

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With the fire extinguisher removed I can connect the air line and see the pressure gauge. I mounted the gauge ‘upside down’ so I could more easily read the normal operating area.

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So how does it work? Let’s do some comparisons.

In all of these comparisons I dropped the tire pressure to 11 psi. The accuracy of this measurement along with all of the measurements is going to have some variance but should be good enough for our comparison.



First I used my home compressor. It has an 11 gallon tank and a sticker that says 3.5 HP and a max pressure of 125 psi. I waited till it stopped running and then filled two tires.
The first tire filled to 30psi in about 78 seconds. The compressor started running after about 20 seconds and around 90 psi. The second tire was almost as fast. The compressor never stopped running and the pressure stayed around 90 psi as I was filling.
Then I tried the ARB and no air tank. After 1 minute the first tire was at 22 psi. At the 2 minute mark it was at 30 psi and around 30 seconds later it was at 35 psi. I moved to the second tire and in the end it took about 5 minutes 30 seconds to get both tires filled.

I tried it again with the air tank added to the system. I let the tank fill up before starting. After about a minute the first tire was at around 24 psi and at 2 minutes about 32 psi. I hit 35 psi at about the 2:15 mark.
When I moved from one tire to the next the compressor never turned off but did build up pressure to about 90 psi. The second tire took a bit longer but was done in about 2:30.

So the tank saves about 45 seconds on two tires. I figure on four tires it will save a bit more since the tank will continue to fill while I move from one side of the Jeep to the other.

So is the cost of the tank and accessories (along with the labor time) worth it? I would conclude a strong maybe.
Hard to say. You shave off a minute or two which can be significant if you are in a hurry or it’s hot. Another consideration is the cost of the tires. If you air down a bit more and avoid popping a tire OR air up a bit more and wear them down a bit less then maybe it’s all worth it.

Even though the tank didn’t add much benefit I do enjoy customizing the Jeep and learning new things so I got some satisfaction out of the process. As far as the compressor goes, I would recommend hard mounting whatever you have since this saves the most amount of time.

Re: Went with a hard mounted compressor and air tank

Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 10:07 pm
by az chip
I am not an expert but the compressor might shake the hell out of that nice Kenwood radio. Maybe split the plate between the two. I am not sure how much vibe the radio can take. Looks to be a great set up. I am a ways from that step. I have been thinking of options. I saw one guy that had dual York compressors. I have no idea how he did that. Figure you have to air down and up, might as well be efficient.

Re: Went with a hard mounted compressor and air tank

Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 6:51 am
by will e
az chip wrote:I am not an expert but the compressor might shake the hell out of that nice Kenwood radio. Maybe split the plate between the two. I am not sure how much vibe the radio can take.
Interesting, I had not thought of that. After Bob does the Front hoop for me I was planning on putting another shelf from the front to back hoop in the center. I will move the radio to that just to be safe. Thanks for the input!

Re: Went with a hard mounted compressor and air tank

Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 5:24 am
by Lumpskie
Great job, Will e. Those ARB dual compressors are really nice!

Re: Went with a hard mounted compressor and air tank

Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2017 7:08 am
by rocklaurence
I've often wondered weather it would be more cost effective to install a 110vlt pancake compressor set up with a DC/AC converter? Seeing how a quality DC compressor is sooo expensive and you cant get a replacement in town/ hardware store. A small mid-quality AC compressor with a tank is only $99-$150. If you already have extra battery capacity because of a winch, it would be cheap.

Re: Went with a hard mounted compressor and air tank

Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2017 5:56 pm
by jpswapmohn
I would like to see your rollcage! I am constantly looking for cage ideas for the GW.
I have ARBs in the YJ, with the smaller ARB compressor. I keep intending to put the pieces on to use for oba, but wasn't sure it was up to the task. i think the compressor is same, just with 1 tank.

Re: Went with a hard mounted compressor and air tank

Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 5:43 pm
by will e
I tried it again today with my buddies ARB twin compressor hooked into the system. It took two 37" tires from 11psi to 35psi in 3 minutes 45 seconds including the time to move from one tire to the next. The first tire was about 1 minute 45 seconds. So it's faster with two compressors but not twice as fast. I think on 4 tires the difference would be greater since I would get the tank more filled while moving from one side to the next.

Re: Went with a hard mounted compressor and air tank

Posted: Wed Apr 26, 2017 8:40 am
by AwesomeJ10
I have this in my LX450 http://www.viaircorp.com/oba/oba-dual444c/

it airs up the 285's in just a few seconds. I think it takes like 2 minutes per 42" tire going from like 5psi to 15psi on the Honcho. These little compressors are faster than my york.

Re: Went with a hard mounted compressor and air tank

Posted: Wed Apr 26, 2017 11:09 am
by will e
That's a nice system and a bit cheaper than I spent piecing one together. Their web site shows a 2.86 CFM at 30 psi compared to the ARB claim of 4.65 CFM at 29 PSI. Their system goes up to 200 psi vs 150 for the ARB so that helps too.

They show 15 to 30 psi in 1 min 55sec on a 37 inch tire. I went from 11 to 30 psi in about two minutes with the twin arb and a 2 gallon tank.

Re: Went with a hard mounted compressor and air tank

Posted: Mon May 01, 2017 5:06 pm
by jpswapmohn
Blake wrote:I have this in my LX450 http://www.viaircorp.com/oba/oba-dual444c/

it airs up the 285's in just a few seconds. I think it takes like 2 minutes per 42" tire going from like 5psi to 15psi on the Honcho. These little compressors are faster than my york.
We have one of those on the rear fender well on the 50 CJ3. My FIL built the jeep and we have it in storage until time/resources allow a good going-through. I guess it would be poor of me to start taking some of the excellent accessories he put on it to use in my other junk.. but it sure is tempting! Good thing I have it stored a few hours away.. :twisted:

Re: Went with a hard mounted compressor and air tank

Posted: Mon May 01, 2017 5:59 pm
by rstep
Mike may have some more room for you
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Re: Went with a hard mounted compressor and air tank

Posted: Mon May 01, 2017 6:53 pm
by will e
rstep wrote:Mike may have some more room for you
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I like it. It looks pretty tight to the roof.

I could toss the sun shade, cot, chairs and tent on top. Okay, probably not the chairs since I like quick access to them. ;)

Re: Went with a hard mounted compressor and air tank

Posted: Mon May 01, 2017 11:08 pm
by tedlovesjeeps71
rstep wrote:Mike may have some more room for you
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That's pretty sweet! Did you build and dimple-die it yourself??


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Re: Went with a hard mounted compressor and air tank

Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 5:43 am
by rstep
For the most part

Re: Went with a hard mounted compressor and air tank

Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 2:48 pm
by Gumby
:-bd rolling almost complete unit now :fsj: I meant testing is in progress :fsj:

Re: Went with a hard mounted compressor and air tank

Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 3:00 pm
by will e
Gumby wrote::-bd rolling almost complete unit now :fsj: I meant testing is in progress :fsj:
Sweet. I would love to hear some preliminary measurements on how high it is.

Re: Went with a hard mounted compressor and air tank

Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 7:58 pm
by Gumby
will e wrote:
Gumby wrote::-bd rolling almost complete unit now :fsj: I meant testing is in progress :fsj:
Sweet. I would love to hear some preliminary measurements on how high it is.
Not much more than stock :-bd

Re: Went with a hard mounted compressor and air tank

Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 10:21 pm
by will e
Gumby wrote:
will e wrote:
Gumby wrote::-bd rolling almost complete unit now :fsj: I meant testing is in progress :fsj:
Sweet. I would love to hear some preliminary measurements on how high it is.
Not much more than stock :-bd
Sweet. My jeep barely clears the garage door now so I don't have much wiggle room.

Re: Went with a hard mounted compressor and air tank

Posted: Wed May 03, 2017 6:07 am
by rstep
Mike at the high point of the roof line in the rear it is 2.5 inches tall.

Re: Went with a hard mounted compressor and air tank

Posted: Wed May 03, 2017 6:01 pm
by rstep
Quick view of Martins new rack
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That' s mounted nice and low