On Board Air-tank mock up

I decided to go with Pakbrake for the airbag setup on the 1794LE. After watching their comparison video they seemed to be built better than Air Lift or Firestone's Ride Rite bags.
https://youtu.be/vJiHh-WCYqo?si=9m6uR_aNt5_lr24m

My 08 has Hellwig bags but they don't make them for the 24's yet. I could have fabbed up new mounts for the 1794LE but I'll still be towing with the 08. I pulled the air tank and twin compressors out and left the Schrader valves in to fill the bags.

In the 08 the tank, compressors and all electrical was in a bed tool box. I don't intend on taking up any of the bed space in the 1794LE so I've been crawling around under it to fund suitable locations for everything.

So far the best place I found to mount the 2.5 gallon air tank is under the bed, drivers side closest to the cab.



The tank has a few other fittings that need to go on, right now I threw most of the things on to check clearance.

I'll fab up a mount for the tank out of 3/16 plate that will bolt to the crossmember seen in the first picture. There are 3x threaded 10mm bolt holes that aren't used on the crossmember that I'll utilize. There is a slight bend in the crossmember which brings the right side of the tank up causing it to hit the bed crossmember. Instead of trying to bend it at this point I'll just shim it with some washers. In the pics the tank is resting on some flat stock I had laying around.

As for mounting the two Viair compressors I'm thinking about putting them in the rear wheel wells, one on each side. I can fab up something like this:

They will bolt to the composite bed and the mount using Sorbothane isolators. My concern with this is that despite using the isolators the composite bed will enhance the noise created by the compressors. I'm not crazy about drilling into the composite bed to mount them but I'm at a loss.

I did look at the frame and there are a few spots to put them but that would take more work and more line to feed the tank.

 

All that work and could have just bought an ARB :/ and put it behind the back seat in the cab :/

Cool idea what you have there tho.

 

Yes, I could have spent $600 on another compressor but why waste money when I already have two perfectly good ones? Don't want a compressor inside the cab making a ton of noise throwing off a bunch of heat. I'm generally not one to buy kits and bolt on's when I can fabricate something myself for half the price if not more. There are some things that are easier to buy than fabricate but if it's a matter of saving $100 I'll put the time in. If it'll save me $20 but take me 3 hours to make then I'll spend the $20.

 

I think we might be brothers.

 

Can you guess what is behind those bolts ?



Ok, yup, compressor -


Should be able to complete install this weekend, find out the noise level.

 

If that tank is aluminum, I had the same one at 200psi for 4 or 5yrs. Single 444c made quick work of filling it up. Loved how it had a bunch of bungs.

 

I mounted my 2.5 gal tank in pretty much the same spot on my '08. I also mounted a 5 gal above the passenger side rear wheel well.
I have twin 444c compressors mounted on the forward wall of the bed using those brackets you showed. Problem I found with them is that the are not bent & welded in the same position as each other and both are slightly tighter than 90*. Using Viair dampeners, I will sometimes have the compressor touch the brackets which becomes quite loud.
I run an automatic leveling setup for my bags, a HornBlasters "safety horn", and have an air chuck connector at the rear bumper.

 

What compressor setup is that? Please let us know what the sound level is like!

 

I had twin 444c's also, one died after 10 or so years, piston gave up the ghost and shattered into a million pieces. I've had 485c's for the last 4 years and combined them with the 444c in the tool box, filled that small tank up real quick. I have some 1/4 plate that I can make the mounts out of, probably won't need any gussets being that thick. Even if I use something thinner that'll need gussets I'll only be drilling one hole for each leg so it won't slide. I'm guessing because the mounting bracket holes are slotted to accommodate different mounting locations it slides, touching the gusset?
Did you use the remote air filters or just keep the existing location on the compressor itself?
How was the sound level with them mounted to the bed wall?

 

Airlift

$540 25980ez Air Lift WirelessOne 2nd Generation + EZ Mount On-Board Air Compressor with Mobile App - 25980EZ

25980ez wireless one unit.

 

They don't hit the gussets, but the head hits the bracket if I am at an angle or bouncing around. I currently just have the filters mounted directly to the compressors, I couldn't find a better sspot for the remote mount. The sound level is barely noticeable if they aren't hitting, sometimes I shut my ac and radio off to listen if I can hear them running.

 

Cool setup. I'm curious - Do you plan to run an air dryer, if so, do you have one in mind and how would you mount it? Also, will you be adding any support to the branch of fittings, valves, and pressure senders or is it ok to ride like that?

I'm reconfiguring my onboard air. I currently have the dryer and other peripheral components in the cab, which I would like to move near or onto the tank, once it's relocated (2.5 gal under the bed, planning to move it in front of the RR wheel well). Seeing your setup is helping me decide what route to go, so thanks for your post!

 

Don't have a dryer, don't plan on using one. Never had a problem in my 08 in the 14 years I had the system in except for one of the compressors going out and that didn't have had anything to do with moisture. All the fittings, lines and accessories are either brass, plastic or aluminum. I don't run air tools anymore, Milwaukee takes care of that. About the only thing the setup is used for at this point is to air up the bags, fill tires, air horn and blow off the engine bay. I make sure I drain the tank once a week if I remember. The tank is aluminum so I'm not worried about it rusting. If I were still running air tools I'd consider putting one in but I honestly don't think it's needed.
As for supporting the stem that comes off the tank I'll probably support it somehow. Depending on how I make the mount will depend on how I support the valves. They are screwed in tight enough that I don't think they'd move but anything is possible. I'll probably just tie up some paracord to keep tension on the fittings. I reconfigured the valve system to be next to each other instead of in the T configuration shown in my pic. The way it was configured it would have blocked one of the ports. I could have used a 90 to overcome that but I've bought enough fittings at this point.

 

Quiet. With engine running and windows up, can only hear if listening for it. On the road, with back window down, road noise etc pretty much block it. It's much more quiet than the factory compressor was in my 9-7x Aero.

On the outside, it's obvious it's running.