ARB Compressor Fender Well Mount for Hybrid

I’ve got an ARB Dual Compressor that I had on my former Tacoma and now trying to figure out where it’ll fit on the 3rd gen Tundra Hybrid.

I’ve seen @PapaDave418 setup but my bed is open. However, his setup made think about putting it inside the fender cavity and bolted to the bed.

I’d like to hear if you’ve got or seen a better idea.

Merry Christmas

 

Where I put my power management box, on the inside of the fender well by the tailgate, I think would allow enough room. Hang it on the inside

 

Thanks for the help! What Rivnut kit did you choose? Looks like a nice flush option for the ARB switch/coupling bracket.

 

I used 5/8” large flange rivnuts, they collapse out to a larger surface area

 

I finally got my ARB dual air compressor installed in the fender well for a hybrid.

Ran 1/0 AWG Ancor marine grade wire to the engine bay through the large grommet in the firewall to power a positive Blue Seas 150A bus bar. Installed a Blue Seas 150A circuit breaker in battery box just in case of a short. Ran the 1/0 wire under the kick plates, which pop off.







Spliced in two 8 AWG Ancor marine grade wires for the positives back to the compressor, while keeping the 40A fuses close to the bus. Then I tapped into the ignition fuse for the ARB switch positive leg. You can easily push the wire out of the fuse & relay box along with all the other wires. Loomed up all three positives and ran down, under, and back to the compressor. For the ground, I just used a brake line bracket bolt on the frame near the air bags.



Drilled holes for the compressor brackets from Quick Draw. Removed the driver side tail light to get access to the cavity instead of the fender well liner - there were too many clips to break.



I used the ARB fittings and short braided hose to connect the ARB universal coupling and switch bracket.




Sounds easy but it was a lot of lining up parts and took ~12 hours to complete. Please ask questions if you’re interested.

 

This is the bees-knees! I've heard that means "cool"

 

Nice install, looks clean and well executed!

 

Man nice work!

 

Thank you! I took a lot of inspiration from your build. I appreciate you sharing details.

 

Holy shit. Bravo!

 

That’s awesome!

 

Thank you, glad it you like it.

Summary:
Battery -> engine compartment -> compressor

More Detail:
I went from the battery under the rear seat, under the kickplates along the door jambs, up through the large grommet in the firewall, and to a bus bar. This was to get power to the engine compartment straight from the battery with 1/0 AWG wire (read as lots of amps for extra goodies later).

From there, I spliced 8 AWG wire into the ARB wiring harness for the hot legs only and connected them to the bus bar. I also tapped into the ignition fuse and ran a separate hot leg back to the ARB switch. Then ran it all together in split wire sleeve down and back to the compressor under the truck along the frame rail/running board and up over the wheel well. I used a bolt on the frame in the rear as my ground.

If you need more clarification or pictures, just let me know. Happy to help.


Here's the 1/0 AWG wire coming through the large firewall grommet. Hard to see the large black wire. I got it through the grommet by taping it butted up to a sharp stick. Sounds silly, but it made a clean puncture and allowed me to pull the wire straight through without snagging.

 

Looks amazing and clean! A bit beyond my skill set. Think 4 Wheel Parts would do something like that?

 

Where did you get the switch/chuck plate you cut into the bed at? Nice clean install BTW

 

Amazon for the

$24 ARB 180222SP Replacement Rocker Switch Spare Part Compressor Replacement Rocker Switch

switch and Summit Racing for the rest.

 

No idea, I’ve never used them.

 

Thanks for being so helpful. I was going to attempt something similar but your idea is way better. Thank you.

 

Side bar question. Is the battery an AGM or wet lead acid battery?

 

Unsure. I’ll take a look and see if it has any indications.

 

It’s hard to tell for both the non and hybrid models. The batteries don’t have standard markings. Since we have stop/start engines some say it’s AGM, my hope is to replace mine soon with a larger AGM for camping but we will see.

 

Your build BTW is amazing. It looks like it came from the factory and is better than what a lot of shops can do.

I'm a retired shop teacher and my best kids got to build what ever they wanted (as long as they could afford it). This is the kind of quality I expected and nearly always got from them.

 

So, I don’t see any markings like @PapaDave418 said, but I believe it’s flooded lead acid since there is a vent for the hydrogen gas released during charging. AGM does not require vents. Please correct me if you find otherwise.

 

I sure appreciate the compliment! It’s very rewarding to do a nice, clean job. This community helps make that possible.

 

That's so from the 20s, like 1920s... Good to see it come back around like Bell Bottoms...

 

This is great! What buss bar did you use? And does it have an amperage rating? Any reason to think it won't support a winch (since you and I are both planning on that)

 

Thank you

I used the Blue Sea Systems 150 Amp Mini BusBar

$20 Blue Sea Systems 2303 BUSBAR 150 AMP 4X1/4-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MMDL7K

We’ll need more amps for a winch and I will probably go with this: Blue Sea Systems 600A-1000A PowerBars

$92 Blue Sea Systems 2104 PowerBar BusBar with Four 3/8, 600A

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000XBB758. Maybe overkill but that’s my MO with electrical work.

I just posted the following today on another thread: https://www.tundras.com/threads/2022-hybrid-mod-install-reference.114721/page-3#post-3118884

For a winch, I plan to run a large ground back to battery and replace the 150A circuit breaker with something much more substantial. Probably a circuit breaker bypass where I can switch between always having 150A power for the compressor and then 500A for the winch. This should do the job: https://www.bluesea.com/products/11...y_3_Position_Selector_Battery_Switch_with_AFD

Now, I understand you could need 600A on a max capacity pull but I try to never do that and typically use a snatch block which doubles your capacity / reduces the necessary line pull by half.

Here’s a nice article about winches and amps needed for specific pulls: https://www.mikesjeep.com/articles/choosing-a-winch

 

I just realized that was you in the other thread ;-)

 

Yup! One more question - have you found a good source for a 500A 12V DC (or, preferably, 600A) circuit breaker? In my googling so far, all I'm finding is one on Ali Express - and not sure I'd trust that...

 

No, and why I’d just use a heavy duty switch. That way I still have my compressor powered all the time but then full amperage for the winch when I need it.

 

Before the winch (for compressor), did you only run the positive wire from battery to under the hood? And just ground the compressor (or other accessories) to chassis?
Would that not work with winch current? At what point (amperage) do you need to run direct battery ground?
Learning, thanks