On-Board Air or Portable?

@MNMLST
Bro, I appreciate your energies and your post.
I'm not judging- just saying- please becareful with wire nuts and electrical tape. Especially under the dash.
The ARB can draw like 80amps...(I think)

and for ALL that read this. BE SAFE IN OUR BUILDS.

 

I'm not sure if I posted here or not.
This is how I ran my air lines inside the front bed cross bar to remote air chucks for the passenger / driver side. My intent for this was to avoid opening the hood for air ups/down and locationally the air chucks are as centered on the truck as possible.

https://youtu.be/dB0muc0XWX8

As for airing down I have Apex Precision Valves installed, they are incredible fast and expensive. It's worth it for me so I can be done airing down and go mess around with the gang while there are still airing down.



I don't really like the idea of having the air chucks in the wheel wells as where and how I wheel they would be covered with thick, crusty clay.
Also not a huge fan of any of the under seat mounts. They look cool and are great for taking photos for IG but for actual use the location is piss poor.
Think about it, installed under the driver/passenger how are you getting the air line to the opposite side of the vehicle, over it, through it.
Installed under the rear seat. So every time you need it you have to remove the rear lower seat and then still get the air line to the opposite side. I don't know about you, but when I go on trips my rear seat is covered with gear.
If you are not really going to use the compressor often, once a month or so, any mount or a portable will do.

 

Again, can easily be done with a portable compressor.

Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

 

I love my onboard air….i have used it so many times
And I also have the Wifey system from Rago Fab…

 

My favorite part about onboard air….. it’s accessible and easy

 

If you're constantly airing down and up, then go onboard. If it's a once and a while thing I would just go portable so you're not constantly lugging the system around, plus you can use it for other things without being in the vicinity of your truck. Also portable is typically cheaper once you tally up the cost of brackets, extra houses, splitters, etc.

 

True.

 

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Make sense?

 

Portables have pretty much obsoleted on-board air systems. Just match to your existing cordless setup. No brainer...JMO

 

This should be a sticky

 

Which sliders do you have? They look good.

 

But sometimes we need to learn the hard, shameful and embarrassing way.
Sorry guys I'm learning.

 

No worries, dude. You havent broken any rules or pissed anyone off (yet).

Don't stress if you don't pick up on the culture right away, everyone else went through the same thing. Enjoy the forums however you see fit.

 

@Hairless_Ape, how often do you use your portable and how often is the bed of your truck packed up with gear when you want to use your compressor? I'll happily pass on collecting that $200 just to not have to dig everything out, pop the hood and connect the alligator clips to the battery, then pack it all up when I'm done.

No worries and certainly nothing to be shameful or embarrassed about....yet.

I used 6 AWG welding wire to run power to my bed directly from the battery. I put a 50 amp breaker under the hood and a small fuse panel in the bed cubby to protect the accessories in the bed. Once you know the draw of your compressor, a quick internet search for 'wire gauge chart' will give you the proper wire size for the length you plan to run.

 

Hey folks I think we all agree that on board or portable have their place.

But a note of Safety.
The right gauge wire and proper related connectors.

Portable, they can get Hot.
So practice a good domain awareness when airing up.

The inserted pic is my neighborhood full of wildfire smoke. Hit air compressor,hot exhaust pipes.

Also consider the gear in the cabin
I try to practice SOFT gear.
An airborne portable may be what gets ya.

 

ARB Twin with the wifey air system. Mount from Rago Fab

 

Here is my version. Works great for my 32" Wildpeaks. Been in there for 2 years zero issues so far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsRGuHM7ffA&t=594s

 

First, I kept the portable behind the back seat. Keeping it in the bed would be decidedly inconvenient, and quite frankly, silly.

Second I have air bags, so I have have a fairly substantial OBA system. 5 gallon tank, 2 compressors, solenoids, yada yada yada. Yes, I still have the portable behind the back seat.

You're barking up the wrong tree. It's unnecessary unless you've got bags or air lockers. But like I said, if someone wants because they like having cool stuff, go for it.

I've done lots of unnecessary mods to the 2 dozen cars/trucks I've owned over the last 25 years just because. But I don't feel the need to rationalize, I'm honest with myself.

 

Well a portable behind the seat would be even worse than in the bed for me since my rear seat had kids car seats that made access a pain and when we're on a trip there's a good chance the back seats are occupied by people, blankets, pillows, and snack bags. Again, a bunch of crap you need to dig out to get to the compressor then put it all back when you're done. This certainly won't impact all but it is the reality for many.

One could argue that owning a vehicle is unnecessary but since this is about a portable vs OBA, when airing up tires do you pull out the portable or use your OBA? My guess is you use the one that's more convenient. Hard to get much more convenient than plugging in the air line and flipping a switch.

You could have simply replied with what you have, what you use it for, and some details about the install but for some reason you keep coming at people telling them they don't need OBA to do what they intend to do but that wasn't the point of the OP.