Air compressors

[KY JKU Recon]

I am new to the Overlanding community and just starting to build out my 2017 JKU and my sons 2014 5th gen 4Runner. One of the issues I keep hearing about is airing down/up for best traction on a variety of trails and needing a good air compressor to be able to deal with this. We ride in the southeast now but are planning a trip to Ouray and Moab for summer 2019 and realize we will need to be able to air down/up and are looking for advice on the best compressor set up for doing this. I have seen numerous ARB setups for both under the hood or under the passenger seat as well as portable set ups. I have heard good and bad about under the hood and am just wondering what the pros and cons are for different set ups. Cost is always an issue as I would like to keep the cost under $600. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[vegasjeepguy]

I have a portable Vaiar 440P that hooks up to the battery terminals and it works great for airing up my 33” tires from 15psi back up to 32psi. The drawback is unpacking the compressor from the tailgate, hooking it up to the battery and then repacking the compressor (after waiting for it to cool down). A buddy of mine hardwired an ARB compressor under the passenger seat of his JKU and that is so much more convenient. When we go out together, I don’t even bother to unpack mine and just use his. Pretty sure the ARB setup was right at $600.

 

[systemdelete]

While the installed ARB's are great, something portable like the viair is much easier to hand off between the two vehicles. That's what's kept me using one similar for so long. One weekend it can be in my car's trunk at the track, the next it's in the FJ out wheeling. Good news is that they make portable versions of the ARBs too. :)

 

[KY JKU Recon]

Thanks for the quick responses. A couple of more questions for you. How long does it take it air up your tires in general? I have 35” tires and have read some reviews that with duty cycles it can take some compressors 20 minutes to air up 4 tires. Second question is how easy is it for you to air up your tires from your friends under seat compressor? I would like to be able to air up my sons tires as well and a under seat set up sounds intriguing.

 

[vegasjeepguy]

Second question is how easy is it for you to air up your tires from your friends under seat compressor? I would like to be able to air up my sons tires as well and a under seat set up sounds intriguing.

As long as I am parked next to him (within 8-10ft) on the passenger side, I can get all four tires on my Jeep without moving.

 

[Lindenwood]

My Puma 12v compressor, rated at 100% duty cycle, is wired to my 2nd battery. It will inflate all 4 of my 33s from 15 to 40 PSI in about 9.5 minutes. They are available for about $250. I built a little spider hose setup that allows inflating and deflating all four tires at once, and is long enough to reach a 2nd vehicle parked directly behind me.

Here is a kinda rough shot showing how I have the compressor mounted and testing out my bumoer-mounted air hookup.

 

[Craig M]

I have this one and it works fine for me:

I'm running 35 x 12.50 x 17's and it will air up all 4 tires without needing a rest (from ~18psi to 30psi).. It takes less than 15 min, maybe less than that, I can't recall exactly now but when I first used it I timed it out and calculated the duty cycle and it was comfortably below. No sharing without some rest between though.

I keep it in a .50 ammo can, and it fits nicely. I prefer it in there so that I can put it away when it's hot and not worry about it damaging anything.



Eventually I'll probably get lockers, and at that point, onboard air. I just don't find I need to spend the money on it until then.

 

[RedRob]

I got onboard air primarily for my air bags. I have a Firestone setup that has a fairly small compressor and tank and will not fill my tires without resting. Taking my 32’s from 20lbs to 35lbs takes just under half an hour.

If I’m with someone with a totally cool air setup I’m the wet blanket keeping the good times from rolling. If I’m the only one with onboard air I’m the hero and everyone’s best friend.

So what I’m trying to say is that when you’re pricing out, time is in fact money and you have to decide how much you want to pay to save time.

I wish my setup were faster and I could blow the dust out of my rig also, but sitting at the air-up spot at the end of the run for an extra 15 - 20 minutes doesn’t bother me that much.

 

[KY JKU Recon]

That’s actually really helpful advice. Given that I’ll be airing up my sons tires as well time may be a bigger issue than I had previously thought. Been looking at the ARB twin and mounting it under my passenger seat. Little more than I want to spend but given I will always be airing up multiple vehicles it might be a good investment.

 

[Hourless Life]

That’s actually really helpful advice. Given that I’ll be airing up my sons tires as well time may be a bigger issue than I had previously thought. Been looking at the ARB twin and mounting it under my passenger seat. Little more than I want to spend but given I will always be airing up multiple vehicles it might be a good investment.

Though pricey... buy once, cry once. I have the dual ARB compressor mounted under the hood. It has never failed me and I can help all of my neighbors as well. I've also assisted a few stranded motorists.. just because I could. At the end of the day go with what your budget allows obviously, but if you go with the ARB dual air compressor you won't be disappointed. Best of luck!

 

[ILLFOZZ]

I'm thinking of adding a dual ARB air compressor on the molle rack in the back of the Forester and add an air tank with bulkhead fittings to the spare tire well. I'm hoping to be able to air down as much as I want and have the ARB maintain the volume tank while I'm topping off the tires. I'm only on 28.5s so I think I'll be ok but being able to help out people makes me want to overbuild it a bit.

 

[sabjku]

I have this one and it works fine for me:

I'm running 35 x 12.50 x 17's and it will air up all 4 tires without needing a rest (from ~18psi to 30psi).. It takes less than 15 min, maybe less than that, I can't recall exactly now but when I first used it I timed it out and calculated the duty cycle and it was comfortably below. No sharing without some rest between though.

I keep it in a .50 ammo can, and it fits nicely. I prefer it in there so that I can put it away when it's hot and not worry about it damaging anything.

View attachment 68099

Eventually I'll probably get lockers, and at that point, onboard air. I just don't find I need to spend the money on it until then.

Great idea with the ammo can! I've put my Harbor Freight compressor back a few times after using it and wondered whether I was going to burn my Jeep to the ground

I've had a $60 Harbor Freight unit for about 2 years, and it's worked perfect. I'll move up to an ARB dual eventually, as you definitely wouldn't want to have a compressor decide to fail while you're out on the trail! I was just being cheap at the time.

 

[Flyte74]

My Puma 12v compressor, rated at 100% duty cycle, is wired to my 2nd battery. It will inflate all 4 of my 33s from 15 to 40 PSI in about 9.5 minutes. They are available for about $250. I built a little spider hose setup that allows inflating and deflating all four tires at once, and is long enough to reach a 2nd vehicle parked directly behind me.

Here is a kinda rough shot showing how I have the compressor mounted and testing out my bumoer-mounted air hookup.

View attachment 68085

I also have a 1.5 gallon Puma. Put it in 4 years ago and it still going strong and have zero issues. From 12 to 32 psi on 37”s takes about 4 minutes per tire. Long enough hose to then help buddies air up too. Also run air tools (lightly) for trail repairs, tire changes, inflates inflatable rafts, bike tires, whatever. Conveniently located and easy to get to. If/when it dies I’ll get another one. Can’t beat the price and the reliability has been excellent so far (again 4+ years of probably what is higher than average use).

Some will detach the compressor and mount the tank somewhere underneath the body of their vehicle. I bought a mount that sits the whole thing on my rear tire bump.

EDIT TO ADD: I also run mine off my aux battery, but before I had dual batts I ran it off the main no problem.

 

[Lindenwood]

I also have a 1.5 gallon Puma. Put it in 4 years ago and it still going strong and have zero issues. From 12 to 32 psi on 37”s takes about 4 minutes per tire. Long enough hose to then help buddies air up too. Also run air tools (lightly) for trail repairs, tire changes, inflates inflatable rafts, bike tires, whatever. Conveniently located and easy to get to. If/when it dies I’ll get another one. Can’t beat the price and the reliability has been excellent so far (again 4+ years of probably what is higher than average use).

Some will detach the compressor and mount the tank somewhere underneath the body of their vehicle. I bought a mount that sits the whole thing on my rear tire bump.

EDIT TO ADD: I also run mine off my aux battery, but before I had dual batts I ran it off the main no problem.

View attachment 68744

Nice! Yeah I ran mine off the main battery initially as well. Once I turned it on and got distracted by my crying baby. 20 mins later I remembered, and at that point all 4 tires were at 65 psi! Truck still started, thankfully haha.

But yeah, I end up using my compressor for rafts and beach balls more than anything lol.

 

[Captain Chaos]

My Puma 12v compressor, rated at 100% duty cycle, is wired to my 2nd battery. It will inflate all 4 of my 33s from 15 to 40 PSI in about 9.5 minutes. They are available for about $250. I built a little spider hose setup that allows inflating and deflating all four tires at once, and is long enough to reach a 2nd vehicle parked directly behind me.

Here is a kinda rough shot showing how I have the compressor mounted and testing out my bumoer-mounted air hookup.

View attachment 68085

I don’t have one yet, but I really like the Puma. I have never read a negative review, other than size. One of my next purchases.

 

[Passe-Partout]

I am new to the Overlanding community and just starting to build out my 2017 JKU and my sons 2014 5th gen 4Runner. One of the issues I keep hearing about is airing down/up for best traction on a variety of trails and needing a good air compressor to be able to deal with this. We ride in the southeast now but are planning a trip to Ouray and Moab for summer 2019 and realize we will need to be able to air down/up and are looking for advice on the best compressor set up for doing this. I have seen numerous ARB setups for both under the hood or under the passenger seat as well as portable set ups. I have heard good and bad about under the hood and am just wondering what the pros and cons are for different set ups. Cost is always an issue as I would like to keep the cost under $600. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I’m surprised that no one brought up using a CO2 tank. It fills tires much faster, is more reliable, doesn’t require downtime, is portable, doesn’t drain your battery, it takes up about as much space as a compressor with a tank, has brackets that enable it to mount on toll bars, and very effectively runs air tools. I run 35x12.5 on 17” wheels. Takes less than 2 minutes to go from 15lbs to 35lbs per tire. On the other hand it does require periodic refilling, will run out when you actually need it, and you will become the most popular person in the group during air-up time. If you go this route, make sure that you have enough CO2 before you leave (weigh the cylinder), and have a cheap back-up compressor just in case. The cost is roughly equivalent to a good compressor. I started with a compressor but wouldn’t go back.

 

[ILLFOZZ]

I’m surprised that no one brought up using a CO2 tank. It fills tires much faster, is more reliable, doesn’t require downtime, is portable, doesn’t drain your battery, it takes up about as much space as a compressor with a tank, has brackets that enable it to mount on toll bars, and very effectively runs air tools. I run 35x12.5 on 17” wheels. Takes less than 2 minutes to go from 15lbs to 35lbs per tire. On the other hand it does require periodic refilling, will run out when you actually need it, and you will become the most popular person in the group during air-up time. If you go this route, make sure that you have enough CO2 before you leave (weigh the cylinder), and have a cheap back-up compressor just in case. The cost is roughly equivalent to a good compressor. I started with a compressor but wouldn’t go back.

1) Which system are you running?
2) What size bottle?
3) Do you have it mounted or is it portable?
4) How much is to refill?
5) How many times can you air up on a full bottle?

 

[Passe-Partout]

1) Which system are you running?
2) What size bottle?
3) Do you have it mounted or is it portable?
4) How much is to refill?
5) How many times can you air up on a full bottle?

Great questions!
I'm using a Smittybilt 10lb aluminum tank with the control valves, air hose, handle, and carrying case that come bundled with their tank. Here is a link:
The bundle has a carry bag that holds the hose and tank which makes it completely portable. You can order a bracket from Smittybilt and also from Powertank (likely other companies as well) that will enable you to mount it on a roll bar if you would like a more permanent installation. Here is a link to the Powertank bracket: https://powertank.com/collections/power-tank-co2-brackets/products/bkt-2282

The cost of a refill around here (Washington DC area) is about $35 but I hear that it's much cheaper elsewhere. Tanks can be filled at Home Brewery stores or even fire extinguisher companies in your area.

I get around 20 fills from a 10lb tank on my 35X12.5 17 tires going from 15psi to 35psi. If you have smaller tires or you will need to add less than 20psi per tire then the tank will last longer.

 

[ILLFOZZ]

Great questions!
I'm using a Smittybilt 10lb aluminum tank with the control valves, air hose, handle, and carrying case that come bundled with their tank. Here is a link:
The bundle has a carry bag that holds the hose and tank which makes it completely portable. You can order a bracket from Smittybilt and also from Powertank (likely other companies as well) that will enable you to mount it on a roll bar if you would like a more permanent installation. Here is a link to the Powertank bracket: https://powertank.com/collections/power-tank-co2-brackets/products/bkt-2282

The cost of a refill around here (Washington DC area) is about $35 but I hear that it's much cheaper elsewhere. Tanks can be filled at Home Brewery stores or even fire extinguisher companies in your area.

I get around 20 fills from a 10lb tank on my 35X12.5 17 tires going from 15psi to 35psi. If you have smaller tires or you will need to add less than 20psi per tire then the tank will last longer.

Thanks for the info! I'll check it out.