Thinking about on board air compressor ...

[Texops]

a person could install a Air up down system & plug an air tank to it to inflate even quicker all at the same time also using to deflate.

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[smlobx]

There are two basic schools of thoughts and apparently I am in the minority camp..

‘Personally I see zero benefit to spending a huge amount of money to hard wire a compressor for my truck. I am a firm believer in using a portable compressor because it gives me the flexibility to use it without being tied to my truck if necessary..for instance if your buddy needs to use it and you can’t get that close to him etc. Plus I have two trucks that I routinely drop the air pressure so buying two set ups doesn’t make any sense.

My other truck is a F-350 with 80 PSI, 35” tires so I ended up buying this:

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200672535_200672535

It has been able to air up my big tires from 20 psi to 65/80 psi in about 15 minutes so it will easily handle the Gladiator.

 

[capercrew02]

I’ve had multiple rigs and done several variations of attached and removable. Personally I prefer dedicated because then I know it’s always there when I need it, I can’t count how many times I’ve used my compressor for something when I otherwise wouldn’t have normally packed it or kept it in the Jeep. Also I like that it’s tucked out of the way and permanently wired. The less I have to pack for a wheeling trip, and the less stuff rumbling around is a win in my book.

There are two basic schools of thoughts and apparently I am in the minority camp..

‘Personally I see zero benefit to spending a huge amount of money to hard wire a compressor for my truck. I am a firm believer in using a portable compressor because it gives me the flexibility to use it without being tied to my truck if necessary..for instance if your buddy needs to use it and you can’t get that close to him etc. Plus I have two trucks that I routinely drop the air pressure so buying two set ups doesn’t make any sense.

My other truck is a F-350 with 80 PSI, 35” tires so I ended up buying this:

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200672535_200672535

It has been able to air up my big tires from 20 psi to 65/80 psi in about 15 minutes so it will easily handle the Gladiator.

 

[smlobx]

I’ve had multiple rigs and done several variations of attached and removable. Personally I prefer dedicated because then I know it’s always there when I need it, I can’t count how many times I’ve used my compressor for something when I otherwise wouldn’t have normally packed it or kept it in the Jeep. Also I like that it’s tucked out of the way and permanently wired. The less I have to pack for a wheeling trip, and the less stuff rumbling around is a win in my book.

As I said, two schools of thoughts.
I actually have a (preflight) checklist that I use for my overlanding trips. It helps me with my CRS disease!

 

[Texops]

I used my portable ARB for a couple of years moving from my JK to my Seqouia that i towed my camper with & used it for camping blowing up floats & things. But since i only have this truck to camp with & hit the trails, i converted it to onboard so i agree whatever works for you is right

 

[khokhonutt]

I've got a couple of 10 lb CO2 tanks. I've had them for years, going back to when I ran a TJ Wrangler. I fill mine at a local fire supply store. It's been ages since I've refilled on, so I don't know current pricing, but it used to be around $15 a tank. I don't have the official brand tanks, my set were put together on the cheap, using tanks you would use for beer, etc. I think I paid around $70 per tank, and maybe $100 or so for the regulator.

I do believe they need to be secured. I've gone through a couple of iterations to do that in my Gladiator.

1st option was pretty cheap. I used quick fist clamps on a scrap piece of plywood.

Second setup is much more expensive (molle setup and powertank clamps), but a better use of the bed and not something I have to work around when using the bed.

CO2 works for me because it's portable, can be used to run air tools and as long as you have 2 tanks, should be all the air you need for a long time. I get the arguments for pumps and other on board air options. If they work for you, cool. I doubt I'll ever veer away from CO2, though.

 

[slothead]

ARB Twin AIr Compressor mounted under the passenger seat on an ARB bracket. Only real complaint is you have to order several bit-piece parts to put the system together since it's designed for a variety of use-cases. They let you pick the small pieces you need, and with the tight space under the seat, your local hardware store probably doesn't have it. A friend built me a hose system to hook it up to all four tires, If I can get this STFA working correctly it will be quite nice (I can't select a pressure higher than 27 PSI). Even without it, it's nice to not have to squat at each tire holding the air line in place. You can see brief video of the system in operation here ...

10:40 if not forwarded ...

Cool trip and great video! Thanks for sharing

 

[slothead]

I've got a couple of 10 lb CO2 tanks. I've had them for years, going back to when I ran a TJ Wrangler. I fill mine at a local fire supply store. It's been ages since I've refilled on, so I don't know current pricing, but it used to be around $15 a tank. I don't have the official brand tanks, my set were put together on the cheap, using tanks you would use for beer, etc. I think I paid around $70 per tank, and maybe $100 or so for the regulator.

I do believe they need to be secured. I've gone through a couple of iterations to do that in my Gladiator.

1st option was pretty cheap. I used quick fist clamps on a scrap piece of plywood.

Second setup is much more expensive (molle setup and powertank clamps), but a better use of the bed and not something I have to work around when using the bed.

CO2 works for me because it's portable, can be used to run air tools and as long as you have 2 tanks, should be all the air you need for a long time. I get the arguments for pumps and other on board air options. If they work for you, cool. I doubt I'll ever veer away from CO2, though.

Wow Jeff, that post was full of great info. And I really like your second image of the bed - it answered both my CO2 question as well as my hi-lift question! I know nothing about Molle's), but for various applications I am curious about how the Molles are attached to the bed walls.

Thanks for sharing

 

[khokhonutt]

Wow Jeff, that post was full of great info. And I really like your second image of the bed - it answered both my CO2 question as well as my hi-lift question! I know nothing about Molle's), but for various applications I am curious about how the Molles are attached to the bed walls.

Thanks for sharing

Glad to help. The molle panels in the picture are from JCR Offroad. The side panels install using existing threaded holes along the top of the bed. If you don't have the rail system, they are just there to use. If you have the rail system, they are part of the rail hardware and are used to mount the molle panels behind the rails. The front panel uses the same bolt holes on top and makes use of the existing tie downs at the front bottom of the bed. It's a no drill setup. Go to YouTube and search JCR Molle Gladiator and you should find their install videos for the front and side panels. All three panels are sold separately. The only downside to them is you need to plan on them taking a while. I believe they are mostly made to order, so you'll have to wait for them to be produced, then shipped. Otherwise, I'm very pleased with the product and quality.

The two tips I'll share, if you go with their molle panels are: 1. If you have bed liner, you'll want to run a tap (or something similar) into the holes, to clean out the threads. I have a cheap Harbor Freight tap and die kit, so I figured out the right tap and put it in a cordless drill and ran the tap in and out on each hole. I've heard you can have issues with the screws binding if you don't take that step. 2. The bottoms of the side panels make use of a angle bracket and a heavy rubber bumper as the bottom support. I had issues with the rubber support coming off, so I used some heavy duty rubber cement to glue the bumper to the bracket. They have not come off since (knock on wood).

 

[SF_E60]

Great Info all around from many different types of setups. For some people portable works rather than stationary. Has anyone on here installed their air compressor inside the engine bay? Just curious as I'm on the fence of either doing onboard (engine) location or onboard (under seat).

 

[Darel]

I'll admit the engine bay looks pretty tight on these, but on my old TJ I installed OBA using an old York A/C compressor driven off an extra bracket on the engine. Anyone tried fitting an engine driven compressor yet?

 

[slothead]

Great Info all around from many different types of setups. For some people portable works rather than stationary. Has anyone on here installed their air compressor inside the engine bay? Just curious as I'm on the fence of either doing onboard (engine) location or onboard (under seat).

I’m also considering putting the ARB dual in a pelican case (but hadn’t thought about it needing intake air).

 

[SF_E60]

Found this video and where this guy installed his air compressor.

 

[slothead]

Found this video and where this guy installed his air compressor.

Yeah I watched this last week, I was surprised how removing the fender and liner opened up access to the Lower firewall!

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