Onboard air compressor options

[Overthinker]

I have the ARB single mounted in the engine bay. As long as the under hood temps are reasonable, it works fine. Airs up my 35” tires quick enough for my needs. It’s been bulletproof thus far.

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[Alaska-HWY JK]

I’ve had that ARB in my JK since 2009. It airs up my Shitto 37”Trail Grapplers from 12 - 29 psi in 3 minutes (buy the timer).
It piled up about 4 years ago. I emailed them for parts, they sent me a new one. That’s exceptional warranty.
I have a portable Viair 400P I think it is, it’s a bit faster but just goes with the JT and trailer now. I don’t like leaving home without one now.

 

[Vegas_Blue]

I’m looking at picking up one of these two compressors and am looking for real world experience with either.

ARB CKMA12 - 100psi / $380 / basic install kit and plumbing

VEVOR air compressor - 150psi / $100 w/ coupon / basic install kit and plumbing

Comparing the two, they seem to have the same physical footprint, layout and general design. I can‘t find a huge difference between the two to warrant the $280 price difference.

My use case will be airing up tires, occasional 5 gallon air tank filling and blowing debris.

Any real world use with either of these?

 

[KevinM60]

Another vote for the ARB twin. 100% duty cycle and the ability to fill 4 315/70r17s from 15 to 32 in about 5 minutes.

Why do I care about duty cycle if I'm done in 5 minutes? Well, I air up my buddies too sometimes. Using the 4 tire kit we do our left sides together then swap parking and do our right sides together. Or if I'm doing two friends I do me first, then having them park on either side and switch sides.

Works great!

I don’t think you can go wrong with the ARB.
I also think the deciding factor between single or twin would be the system you’re using.
Since you own one you may be able to correct me if I’m wrong but ARB warns that the twin is made for multi tire systems only so if you’re doing single tire air-up use the single but with 2 or 4 tire systems the twin is safe to use and I would think more suited for that system.

 

[Vegas_Blue]

I’m looking at picking up one of these two compressors and am looking for real world experience with either.

ARB CKMA12 - 100psi / $380 / basic install kit and plumbing

VEVOR air compressor - 150psi / $100 w/ coupon / basic install kit and plumbing

Comparing the two, they seem to have the same physical footprint, layout and general design. I can‘t find a huge difference between the two to warrant the $280 price difference.

My use case will be airing up tires, occasional 5 gallon air tank filling and blowing debris.

Any real world use with either of these?

The Smittybilt is a popular one.
Amazon.com: Smittybilt 5.65 CFM Air Compressor - 2781 : Tools & Home Improvement
They have two models but the 5.65 is twice the volume.
It's $30 off from when i bought mine a few months ago

I was given the Smittybilt and I was pleasantly surprised with it. Fills my 37’s from 17psi to 30psi in two minutes per tire. All four tires without a problem. I’m turning it off briefly only to switch to each tire. The rubber line and the compressor get pretty hot/warm so you have to be careful packing it back up that you don’t touch some of the metal connections. I’ve used it about a dozen times so far without any problems. Would I prefer the Dual ARB on board? Of course, but I’ve already got a working option. If I aired down every week, I’d make that purchase

Cons:
The bag it comes in is flimsy.
The connectors are proprietary.
Have to lift your hood to attach alligator clips to battery. (Add 30 seconds)

 

[BearDog]

Almost 2 years. Hasn't failed me yet. 10cfm.

https://www.stopngo.com/products/stop-go-2100-dual-piston-air-compressor

 

[amoyer_01]

I have never used the Vevor, but if it is anything like the Vevor diesel heater I bought to test I would not go that route. The ARB single will work fine, it just takes a little more time. I think it really depends on how often you use it. The single works for me because I am not airing up and down often. If you are going off-roading often, pay the extra and get a stronger compressor. I would suggest also looking at the ViAir compressors. They have a new system called "VMS" that is tankless. The price point comes in lower than an ARB twin. I design my compressor mounts so that almost all of them will hold the ARB or ViAir compressors. If you need any help with a mount let me know!

Do you have any pictures of the ViAir VMS dual mounted under the front seat? Can it be mounted on the drivers side or does it need to be under the passanger? At some point I would like to add this option way down the road. What would be needed to do this? I would end up using one of the Aux switches to run it. But would like to have a 4 tire hose system running from each side with a dual hose to those tires (passanger and Driver side).

 

[Sandevino]

I’ve had that ARB in my JK since 2009. It airs up my Shitto 37”Trail Grapplers from 12 - 29 psi in 3 minutes (buy the timer).
It piled up about 4 years ago. I emailed them for parts, they sent me a new one. That’s exceptional warranty.
I have a portable Viair 400P I think it is, it’s a bit faster but just goes with the JT and trailer now. I don’t like leaving home without one now.

I don't mind paying more up front if the warranty / company behind the product will be there down the road when problems occur.

 

[Rahkmalla]

I don’t think you can go wrong with the ARB.
I also think the deciding factor between single or twin would be the system you’re using.
Since you own one you may be able to correct me if I’m wrong but ARB warns that the twin is made for multi tire systems only so if you’re doing single tire air-up use the single but with 2 or 4 tire systems the twin is safe to use and I would think more suited for that system.

I know of no such recommendations against single tire inflation with the twin. Not saying they don't exist, just that I was never previously aware of them, nor could i find any in a quick search of their website. Perhaps I'm not looking hard enough? Not sure

 

[SSinGA]

I don’t think you can go wrong with the ARB.
I also think the deciding factor between single or twin would be the system you’re using.
Since you own one you may be able to correct me if I’m wrong but ARB warns that the twin is made for multi tire systems only so if you’re doing single tire air-up use the single but with 2 or 4 tire systems the twin is safe to use and I would think more suited for that system.

Use my dual ARB to fill Jeep and MTB tires all the time. Never any issue

 

[SSinGA]

I’m looking at picking up one of these two compressors and am looking for real world experience with either.

ARB CKMA12 - 100psi / $380 / basic install kit and plumbing

VEVOR air compressor - 150psi / $100 w/ coupon / basic install kit and plumbing

Comparing the two, they seem to have the same physical footprint, layout and general design. I can‘t find a huge difference between the two to warrant the $280 price difference.

My use case will be airing up tires, occasional 5 gallon air tank filling and blowing debris.

Any real world use with either of these?

@Northridge4x4 has the Up Down Air dual on sale right now.

 

[fourfa]

I've seen warnings like that from other mfgs/retailers, when the pump flow rate exceeds the valve core limit. Valve cores are a restrictor in the system (sonically choked in both directions, in fact) so if the flow rate exceeds what can physically move through the core, wonky things can happen in the pump. Hard to break anything I'd think, but expect more backpressure, friction, heat, reduced lifespan etc. Easy solution is remove the valve cores (not very practical, lol), or pump into multiple tires at the same time. There are also high flow valves out there too

I don't want to discourage anyone buying top of the line gear (as we see a lot of here)... But for what it's worth I have a smaller Viair 300P from a previous truck with 31-32" tires. The 37s on my Jeep are definitely outside of its recommended range. Despite that I'm using it heavily, airing up 2 at a time under the passenger seat with the A/C blowing on it at max. And it's just fine. 6-7 minutes per side from ~18 to ~32psi, temps are reasonable. Would a big twin be faster, for sure. Is it going to blow up on me someday, maybe. But I don't think people need to convince themselves that nothing less than a $600 install will work

 

[SSinGA]

The Smittybilt is a popular one.
Amazon.com: Smittybilt 5.65 CFM Air Compressor - 2781 : Tools & Home Improvement
They have two models but the 5.65 is twice the volume.
It's $30 off from when i bought mine a few months ago

I have been using this one for a few years now. Great portable solution. I did swap out the hose and filler nozzle for a more robust system

 

[CoachA]

ARB Twin for the win. Airs up all 4 tires quickly enough for me, about 10 minutes, doing one tire at a time on 33s. Mounted mine on the fire wall. It was a pretty easy installation.

 

[813 Fabrication & Design]

Do you have any pictures of the ViAir VMS dual mounted under the front seat? Can it be mounted on the drivers side or does it need to be under the passanger? At some point I would like to add this option way down the road. What would be needed to do this? I would end up using one of the Aux switches to run it. But would like to have a 4 tire hose system running from each side with a dual hose to those tires (passanger and Driver side).

I don't have photos to share yet but will do so as soon as I have the final production setup ready. I have to do one last test but everything should work under either seat. I can also set you up with mounts for both seats to have an air coupler on each each.

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