ARB Twin Compressor under Bonnet, plus distribution box

[Overland Vagabond]

Hi there,

Sharing how I installed an ARB Twin Cylinders Compressor under the bonnet of my Ford Ranger Wildtrak 2016, this with a custom build stainless steel bracket.
Note that this is for a LH drive model...

View attachment 55321
First find where to put it - next to the coolant reservoir seems the best place

View attachment 55322
Build the model - I used a malleable aluminium sheet to easily bend it as I needed

View attachment 55323
Fabricate the support - I've chosen 4mm stainless steel

View attachment 55324
Welding detail - proper job!

View attachment 55325
Test fitting and marking all the references for the holes

View attachment 55326
All the holes drilled and/or threaded

View attachment 55327
Added power terminals - for another build, you may not need this

View attachment 55328
Mounted the compressor - 6 bolts will do

View attachment 55329
Installed it in the engine bay - tight and neat, and it fits

View attachment 55330
Compressor install completed!

The top plate with the power terminals is part of another mod, if interested I can share those pics as well.
I did not have to drill any holes in the chassis, I've used existing ones instead.
I guess Ford has kept this spot for an optional 2nd battery - well, it's taken now.

Please see my intro for the links to my entire Overland Vagabond build!

Cheers,
Marcel

 

[Boort]

Marcel @Overland Vagabond

Awesome attn to detail on that fab, Beautiful work!

Boort

 

[SubeeBen]

Beautiful craftsmanship & nice welds

 

[Overland Vagabond]

Thank you, Boot and Jku Ben!

 

[DRLExpress]

Awesome work. Yes, I want to see the other mod going on the top plate.

Doug

 

[Overland Vagabond]

Awesome work. Yes, I want to see the other mod going on the top plate.

Doug

Thanks Dough!

As requested... The top plate has been designed to accommodate an electrical distribution box, where all the low-power cables (30A or less) would be connected together - just another of the many custom mods I've done:

View attachment 55456
Starting with a plain piece of wood, some terminals and 4 relays

View attachment 55457
The board fits into an industrial standard IP6x box, starting the cabling work

View attachment 55458
All the cabling that can be done on the bench is completed, properly labelled and ready for the install

View attachment 55459
Finding where to route which cable was a bit tricky, staying away from heat sources and other hazards

View attachment 55460
Every cable strand is properly insulated against heat, fire or water - I've tried to match the Ford factory standards

View attachment 55461
Install pretty much done, including the fused power cables that go straight to the external terminals you saw in the compressor support mod

View attachment 55462
A closer view reveals that there isn't much room, but the box eventually went into its destined place

View attachment 55463
From this angle you see now also the coolant reservoir, which can be mounted/removed without having to uninstall the box

View attachment 55464
And finally the finished build, including an aluminium heat-shielding plate on the right side

You may wonder why all this effort... Well, I had to somehow wire and connect 9 different additional pieces of gear (winch control, compressor control, LED bar, LED Pods, additional horn, power to the cabin selectable from the starter battery or from the LiFePo battery in the cell, SP-8100 switch, and a few other), and the only proper way to me was to centralise everything in this distribution box. I've tested it, it's splash proof... it perfectly works and I didn't blow-up any fuse .

Cheers,
Marcel
.

 

[totalnobody]

WoW absolutely stellar workmanship.

Marcel I'm prety sure it is safe to say YOUR A THINKING MAN.!

Beautiful work, well done.
we would love to see more of your mods

 

[Overland Vagabond]

WoW absolutely stellar workmanship.

Marcel I'm prety sure it is safe to say YOUR A THINKING MAN.!

Beautiful work, well done.
we would love to see more of your mods

Hi totalnobody - thanks for the comment!

I've done dozens of such mods, and I will post some of them here - no worries.

The overall build can also be viewed in the videos I post by-weekly, please have a look at the main thread "Overland Vagabond - Cool Global Expedition Vehicle" for the links to the YouTube channel.

 

[PintSize]

Excellent welding! Good job!