On-Board Air or Portable?

I have the Viair P400 since I have 3 other 4x4s so I can bring it with me whenever I want in any of the vehicles. Non of them have pneumatic lockers.

 

I saw a couple videos of Nate from dirt lifestyle modding that compressor to really beef it up and added some awesome power quick disconnects to it. If it mounted under the hood nicely I would have probably chosen this instead.

 

Really interested in seeing how you ended up.

 

I went dual ARB in the engine bay with a SLEE mount. I ended up putting in an ARB rear locker so this was the choice from the beginning. Also bought a MORRFlate, can air down all 4 tires in 2-3 minutes and air all 4 up in under 5 minutes.

SLEE mount - https://sleeoffroad.com/products/sok0038/

MORRFlate - https://morrflate.com/shop/morrflate-multi-tire-air-kits/morrflate-quad-plus-4-tire-air-kit/

 

X2 on the Slee mount. I installed my ARB ckmta12 compressor a few weeks ago. @ClassyTacos has an awesome install video that I used. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...C3AnoECAwQAg&usg=AOvVaw1kP0-bVvHJmvQidBAwYwmN

 

Did you need to remove the air intake to install it? Also, how did you turn the wires to the fuse box?

 

Nah, just a step stool so I could reach from the side. If it's easier, by all means don't make it harder on yourself trying to cut corners.

I ran the wires across, following the main harness along the firewall. Should be plenty of length from factory.

 

Thank you! Much appreciated.

 

Almost the same setup here.
OP there are pros and cons to under the seat or under the hood. Under the seat is nice for keeping the compressor clean and dry. However, it's going to be loud in the cab under the seat. If you plan on adding lockers I'd mount it under the hood. But that's just MHO

 

Unless your running airbags or air lockers OBA serves no purpose other than cool points...and there ain't nothing wrong with that. Do whatever fits your budget.

 

Interested in how much better/faster the arb dual is to the single compressor. Also interested to hear what @Rock Lobster thinks of his viair 88. Im thinking that may be sufficient enough but not sure

 

Space saving?

 

Ummm.... Air up for your tires!?!? And yes of course, the cool points too

 

It delivered last night and I have it in the truck. Thanks to this mornings cold front I had an opportunity to top off the tires.

I really debated between this one and the smittybilt that had twice the flowrate. The 88 claims under 1.5 CFM, while the smitty and the 300 are in the neighborhood of 2.5 CFM. The big boys are all above 5, from what I could read.

So why did I choose the weenie model? Storage space. I want something that can not only fit behind the rear seat, but can share a cubby with my recovery strap, tire plug kit, battery jump-pack, sunshade, and ice scraper. I figure that if I can air up using a $30 inflator, this must be light years ahead, right?

So here are my initial thoughts:

Impressed (pro)-

• Small. Really small. Smaller than my cheap inflator.
• Reasonably fast. Not lighting fast, but it topped off each tire in 20 seconds (27 to 33 psi, right at the compressors weakest point on the inflation curve.) The cheap inflator would have taken 5 minutes for the same job. I don't even want to know what the big compressors can do.
• Duty cycle. I didn't even come close to challenging the 25 minute duty cycle. By comparison the cheap inflator has a 10 minute cycle. I used it to inflate my trailer tires from 0 to 50 once. 25 minutes later, the kobalt was too hot to touch. Same with airing up after off-roading. Little blue guy gets HOT, and you can hear it struggling when it does. This is my fear, and the reason for buying something more robust for Big Bend. Breakdowns happen, but I'd take it personally if I was stranded by cheap tools.

Things I'll miss (con)-

• Not digital. I guess no "real-man's" compressor is. I did like the Kobalts' ability to set the number and walk away.
• A minor pain in the ass to coil up and put back in the bag when the job is done.

Verdict - the Kobalt is being moved to the Mazda. I'm pretty happy with the 88. It ain't big, or cool. But it works for my usage.

 

Thanks for the write up and the pics 88s looking pretty good

 

I think, first you have to decide what you're using it for. If you just want it to air up a low tire or for emergencies, then a portable is fine. Heck, for that usage, a cheap portable is fine. For airing up and down for wheeling, something on board is the best way to go in my opinion. I tried to go the cheap route with a portable, but airing up 33s after wheeling sucks with those. They're slow, and they get super-hot. I have burned my hand, melted carpet and a seat cover because of how hot they get. If you don't want to spend the money, I get it. I still have a Harbor Freight compressor that I modified I keep around as a backup. After modifying it, it's served as a decent in-betweener. I'd actually pick the Harbor Freight over ViAir. I've built/installed a few air suspension systems on cars and ViAir reliability was always hit or miss.

I wish there were options other than ARB. There are a few untested, off-brand running around, but I'll spend a little extra for the ARB. That and there are multiple mounting options for the Tacoma. Mounts for under the seats, under the hood, and in the bed cubbies (I also think there's an option out there for bed mounting if you don't have the cubbies). The ARB is also reliable. And it sort of backs up itself if you have the dual model.

Thems my two.

 

following this post. Good info from everyone here.

 

Yes, because you can't air up your tires with a portable compressor.