Those that have OBA

What are you using for gear, inflators, hose etc. How about supplying a link to what you use.

Thanks

 

Power tank liquid filled inflater and ARB compressor. Broke 3 kolbalt inflator's. The screws would come out of the gauge while offroading

https://powertank.com/collections/t...ng-haul-0-160-psi-liquid-analog-tire-inflator

 

I've put a lot of research into this, Viair is a great company to go with if you want an all in one kit, their website ( link ) makes it very easy to see what you need and order it (Amazon often has it on sale)

My friend is buying the Viair 400H ( link ) for his Jeep on 33" tires. Whereas I bought the

$164 Smittybilt 5.65 CFM Air Compressor - 2781

Smittybilt 2781 because of the higher Duty Cycle and CFM as I will be running 35" tires soon. I've heard nothing but excellent reviews about the Viair and the Smittybilt (although be warned, any air compressor like this that isn't using a tank will get hot).

I recommend getting the Viair all in one on board air systems ( link ) as it comes with a tank and everything you need. I will be eventually hooking up my Smittybilt compressor to a tank for ease of use.

Getting a 4 tire inflation/deflation system is also very helpful (such as the morriflate) but if you don't want to spend upwards of $200+ on one, I put together an Amazon list here for it that costs around $90.

I will be getting and testing the custom inflation system on Wednesday as well as the compressor. I haven't personally used the things I have listed so take that with a grain of salt, I'll be happy to answer any questions

 

I got this during a sale. They all look the same just like the Smittybilt. Running 285s They inflate backup from 18-40psi very fast.
AIR CHAMP PRO 5.65CFM - 12V HEAVY DUTY PORTABLE AIR COMPRESSOR
https://ironman4x4america.com/air-champ-pro-5-65cfm-12v-heavy-duty-portable-air-compressor/

I have the screw on valve stems preset to deflate and they have worked out good once set. Any compressor and a 4 way splitter which I will get one of these days should work.

 

Been using the portable ARB single air compressor. Works awesome so far, I have viair on board in my Tacoma and also works well. Having a good portable is nice when you're taking different rigs.

 

I am planning to run the ARB dual compressor, mounted under the hood on a Bannock bracket. I installed the bracket and compressor last weekend but havent done the wiring yet. The bracket fit nicely and wasn't too hard in my opinion. I do not have lockers, just want to air up 35's (and potentially 37's in the future) as quickly as possible. I have no plans to run air tools, either.

Couple tips on installing the Bannock bracket and the dual compressor you may find useful: Install the compressor onto the bracket before mounting the bracket to the truck. I thought the most efficient way to to do this is to connect the compressor to the bracket with one bolt only until you get the bracket solidly mounted. I installed the bolt in the slot closest to the firewall on the passenger side of the bracket. This allows you to install the bracket and compressor as a combined unit (much easier than separate) but still allows you to swivel the compressor for reaching the backside of the compressor and connecting the wiring harnesses. Once the bracket is mounted to the truck and you connect the harnesses, you can get the remaining 3 bolts started from the underside of the bracket and tightened without too much trouble. The idea of trying to connect those harnesses before mounting the whole thing seemed problematic and trying to get all 4 of those bolts started and torqued from the underside of the bracket after it's in place seemed like a hard way to go, as well. I didnt get any sort of install manual from Bannock so that's what I came up with. They may recommend something similar, I dunno?

I plan to install a short (maybe 12"-14"?) braided airline terminated with a standard quick connect from the compressor that will just hang out on the passenger side front fender under the hood. This will allow me to hook up my longer fill line and give some flexibility when pulling it around the truck for airing up tires. I'll have to open the hood to do air up tasks, but that's ok with me as it will probably help to keep the compressor a little cooler anyway.

I think for my air up hose I'll build one with an integrated pressure gauge so I can just hook it up and start filling and not have to worry with separate gauges/equipment.

 

Quick connects suck once you get dirt/dust in them. You'll be on a trail somewhere trying to air back up or fix a flat and the fitting doesn't want to snap back in - annoying AF. Even if you get the covers the dirt manages to find its way in.

I ended up switching to large bore valve stems (think Schrader valve but bigger and less restrictive) and it has a cap to keep dirt out:


And used large bore clip on air chucks to connect to the valve:

 

Good info! I may look into these. I imagine this large bore stuff also allows you to air up/down quicker since they presumably have higher flow rates?

 

Should, it's what they use on large machinery. Use bigger air lines and don't use elbow fittings. Let the bottleneck be the wheel valve stem or whatever it is you're providing air to.

The frame has random holes that you can mount the valve to. Here's my driver rear:

 

Oh I see what you mean. So the valves in your previous post aren't for the wheels/tires. those are just the "ports" you're using at all four corners?

I thought you meant replacing the valve stems in the wheels with the one's you linked above. I'm not sure I see an advantage in my scenario to putting air ports at multiple positions but I could just use one under the hood instead of the standard quick connect.

 

I'll be getting Monster Valves for my wheels that do use the large bore valves with quick deflate.

 

So I ended up ignoring Cruzer's good advice and just installed 1/4" NPT fittings because they were easy

First fitting is a 90 degree swivel and then I threaded a standard quick connect into that. It's super simple and swivels around so hopefully I can pull it easily from side to side when I've got an air hose on it. I'll probably stick one of those dust caps on there to try and prevent junk from getting into the fitting.
I just ordered some new wire crimping and splicing tools so I can hopefully get this sucker wired up soon when I've got a couple hours to spare.

 

Just got this delivered from Napa yesterday

 

That'll certainly make air for you!

You got a 110V power supply on the truck or do you just rock a generator out there?

 

5000 watt Inverter

 

Nice.

 

I use powertank and an arb single compressor (the one sold in the toolbox) as backup. My powertank is mounted on a molle panel in the bed and the line is long enough to reach each wheel. Less than 10 minutes to air up versus 30 min with the compressor. It's a no brainer.

I also use Staun deflators. Combined together, the entire air up and down process takes 15 minutes.

 

Last night, I made some progress on the wiring for my compressor. I ordered a proper crimping tool and some decent heat shrink connectors last week so I had those in hand to do the job right.

I am using ARB’s harnesses and their provided switch for this install.

After making up the ring terminal connections for the 8 and 10 gauge power wires I hooked everything up to the battery. I also temporarily made up the connections on the switch harness. My plan was to test run everything before I pulled wire through the firewall and set everything in its permanent location. After I got everything wired up I turned on my ignition and was disappointed that it’s not working so I took a closer look at ARB’s wiring diagram. That’s when I noticed the two additional wires (red/yellow and blu/wht circled in my photo) that apparently need to be tied in to a 12v circuit to power the ARB switch? I would have thought that power for the switch itself would have come through the compressor but it looks like it needs its own power supply. After reading more in the install manual they recommend pulling power from a 12v 8A circuit (like a cig lighter or similar). Again I was surprised at the amount of power needed for the operation of a seemingly simple toggle switch but I’m no electrical engineer.

I’m hoping that when I hook up that red/yel wire to some power everything should work.

 

The power from a switch is to power the relay that completes the circuit to power whatever accessory is being switched. The current comes through the switch, relay is triggered, item is powered on. The items current only flows through the relay. Hopefully this helps.

 

So is it typical in low voltage/automotive circuits for a switch (and by your description a relay) to need it’s own power in order to operate the device it’s switching for?

ETA: maybe it’s a DC system thing that I don’t understand?

i don’t know if you’re saying the same thing that ARB’s wiring diagram is telling me, but I see plainly what they are telling me to do. I’ll just use an add a fuse and tap into the small fuse panel under the drivers side dash to splice in power for this switch. I’m still just wrapping my head around the idea that a switch needs to be powered to work.

my understanding of switching is that the switch is simply a “gate” that allows electrons to flow through a circuit. I would have figured those electrons are coming from the vehicle battery through the compressor and then into the switching harness that ARB provides. It appears that’s not the case, but like I said I’m no EE

here’s the next page from ARB’s install guide with pertinent section highlighted.

 

The more I think about it, it’s almost like the compressor and the switch that runs it are 2 independent systems. They are of course tied to some extent, but the necessity of a power source for the switch is just perplexing.

Ultimately, it’s all powered by the same 12v battery, they just have the wiring such that the switch is getting its power from a different source than the compressor…sort of…

 

Yes, the switch is a gate and isn't drawing any current to function unless it is a lighted switch in which case it does draw current. The power that is let through said gate simply powers the relay which is an electromechanical contactor of sorts. The relay is more or less a gate also that allows for the current to flow from the source to the powered on/off accessory. If you only used the switch to feed power from the source to the accessory it would likely not support the amperage being drawn, become hot, and possibly melt, burn, etc.

 

The blue/white is for Switch illumination
The red/yellow is power to the switch, which then triggers the relay to power the compressor

 

A relay is equivalent to a magnetic switch for AC motors
Your compressor switch is powering on a small electromagnet in the relay (the coil) that when active will magnetically close the primary switch in the relay to allow power to flow to the compressor.

your switch wires can only handle about 3A of current. Your compressor can draw up to ~35A at startup, and around 25A running. That will quickly fry/melt a simple switch, so the relay the low average switch and coil to activate the high average switch.

in house wiring your switches are made to simply handle the full load.

 

Got it. Makes sense (sort of!) rain man.
Thanks for the explanation!

That makes me feel a lot better because for a couple minutes I thought I had done something bone headed and fried the compressor or something. It is a relief that I just didnt power the switch (and relay) and thus the compressor isn't turning on.

I'll probably try to finish this install up next week sometime.

 

I finished this install today.

I pulled the power for the switch from a 10A circuit in the mini fuse box on the drivers side.

I pulled the switch wiring harness through the firewall on the drivers side. I used the grommet under the large bundle of wires near the master cylinder. It was a little difficult to get the wires pulled through that grommet but I thought I’d rather deal with that vs pulling more interior panels apart in order to get the harness routed from the passenger side to drivers side inside the cabin.

I think I read someone else’s comment regarding their displeasure about ARB’s lack of a template for cutting their switch into the dash. I agree. Cutting the hole in my dash to mount the switch was probably one of the more difficult tasks for me on this install. I used a utility knife and was pretty careful but I still slipped a few times and jacked up the dash panel a little bit around the switch. It’s not the end of the world, but it would be great if ARB gave us a template to make it simpler.

I got ARB’s air chuck to pair with this compressor.

$70 ARB ARB601 Digital Tire Pressure Gauge with Braided Hose and Chuck, Inflator and Deflator 25-75 PSI Readings

https://www.amazon.com/ARB-ARB601-P...52&hvtargid=pla-493510895665&region_id=674469
It’s nice having a pressure gauge integrated into the air chuck. I think I was able to air up from 15psi to about 40 in a little over a minute. I am running 295/70r18’s. Right now I’m using a 50’ straight air hose. It’s overkill but it will allow me to reach my trailer tires if needed. I might go with a 25’ hose to save space in the cab.

Overall I’m really stoked to have this installed and operational. Combined with the stauns tire deflators I just got, my air up/down routine should be much easier.

 

Awesome, great work! Thanks for the detailed write up, too!

 

I've used this setup a few times now. So convenient to have OBA. Makes it so easy to make quick pressure adjustments at a fuel stop or in the parking lot after work.

I'm not super impressed with the little clamping mechanism on the ARB air chuck. It doesnt stay clamped to the valve stem like it seems designed to do. Maybe I'm missing something, but the spring in the clamp doesnt seem nearly strong enough for this task. I have to hold the chuck on the valve stem to make sure it gets good contact and doesnt leak. Kind of a bummer there, ARB.

 

If it isn’t holding, you can effectively screw the clamp more onto the valve stem or just kinda spin it around till it gets a good lock

 

hmm, I'll have to give it a shot. I tried what you're suggesting already to no avail but maybe I was just in a hurry.