On Board Air install (lots o' pics)

Finally getting around to doing a write-up on this. It's been completed for a few months now. Atleast this way I can give a little feedback on the functionality

Compressor: From seller SafeVehicleProducts on eBay. Evidently he's not selling compressors anymore but its identical (specs and looks) to the VIAIR 350C. 100% duty cycle with ~1.2cfm. Although it states it's 200psi capable, I won't ever need to drive it that high.

Tank: VIAIR 2.5 gallon 200 psi tank. VIAIR 2.5gal tank The perfect size to fit in the spare tire cavity

Wiring: 10 AWG since wiring long runs

Hose: 3/8" ID hose (from Lowe's)

Fittings: All types. These things suck to find and plan for. They are never as cheap as you would want them to be either. I did find some quick connect couplers that I like though. They are made by Legacy: Legacy ColorConnex couplers

And lots of other miscellaneous stuff.

On to some pictures:

Started by finding a place to mount the compressor. I've seen this done before and it was the best place I could find to put it. Where it would be mostly protected and would be in my way under the hood.









And back in the truck:


Wired in the relay:




Needed to find a place to put the switch, so I came up with this location. I actually like the location alot. Can't be seen from the rest of the vehicle's seats so it's kinda stealthy, atleast until you open the driver's door.




Now I needed to mount the tank. Removed the spare since that is really the only place, besides the bed, that can handle a tank of useful size. Fabbed up some brackets of 3/16" steel, and it mounted up easily. It's tucked up out of the way but still easy to get to for draining.






Can barely seem them in the picture, but I cut some spacers (white in the picture) that mount between the tank and the bracket on the drain side. This is so that the moisture will make it to the drain. It's a very slight angle. The spacers might be 1/4".


Now the business end of the system. I fabbed up yet another bracket to hold a manifold in the engine bay. It mounts to the pre-tapped holes in the fender. Manifold is 2x 3/8", 3x 1/4"NPT. The 3/8" in comes from the tank in the back, the 3/8" out goes to my horns, 1 1/4" goes to the regulator, 1 1/4" goes to gauge, and the last one is capped for now. This setup has worked awesome so far. Oh, the black thing on the end of the coupler is just a little rubber cap to keep dirt out.






The air pressure gauge inside the cab is from GlowShift: GlowShift gauge Honestly, the gauge is cheap. The bezel is flimsy and easily dented, the wiring is silly, and overall feel is a 6-7/10. Haven't tested its accuracy though. It's an OK buy for an inexpensive gauge, but if I were doing multiple gauges, I would probably invest in a little more well built unit. The color adaptability is a nice feature though.

So you'll notice that the gauge is tilted here. That's because I'm still working on my pillar pod and the fit is really tight with the gauge. I'm living with it for now.




That's it for now. The system has been used several times. I've aired up several tires and used the blowgun with it several times and it has performed well. Don't have times though. I haven't run any air tools with it, mainly because I don't own any, but I plan to test some out on it.

That's it for now. Let me know what you think!

 

Great job..looks nice

 

nice job man!

 

Looks pretty good! I'm planning on getting on board air on my tacoma soon, just building up the funds now

 

Looks nice. Good writeup.

Where is your spare going to go? Does it end up taking more space than the air tank would have?

 

Nice man! As always a well detailed write up!

 

Nice write-up, thanks for taking your time. Onboard air system is on my list of things to do, but will have to wait for now. There are a lot of things I would like to do first

 

Thanks guys! Hopefully it will be of use to someone in the future. That's why I take so many pictures! I always need more info than I can find it seems.

Since you asked...Custom tiregate build

So nope, doesn't take up any of my bed space. Before the gate, I had the spare in the basket on top.

 

Nice! very clean!

 

Were did you run the compressor wires? Did you go under the drivers seat?

 

Yep, through one of the rubber grommets. Sealed it with some RTV. Then along the frame bundled up in some loom.

 

Did you run the power wire for the switch and the compressor through firewall that leads to the engine bay? I ask because I can't find a way to wire something from the bed and have the wires directly lead to the engine bay

 

The switch in the cab only activates the relay. I'm pretty sure I ran the power wire up the inside of the fender, keeping it away from any hot surfaces, and loomed it ofcourse. It's been a little while since I did it! Haha, I'll have to check and make sure, but I'm about 98% sure that's what I did.

 

From the picture it looks like when you rear squats it might hit the tank? Or is it just the angle of the picture?

 

Just the angle. It's away from the axle enough to where it wont hit. I'll try and get some more pictures of the clearance.

 

I NEED on board air...sometimes

 

Any updates on how well this works? I have a different mounting idea, but this is the system that I would like to run.

 

I haven't seen this thread before. Really nice job with the write up and install. Very well thought out project.

 

This thread is WIN!

I just read through your other write-ups as well.

You have some excellent fab skills buddy.

Here are some more green squares for ya...

+1 for mad skills.

 

Can't you just run a pressure regulator relay? That way the pump just comes on when the air pressure gets low to a certain point? I would think that would be better than running a dedicated switch no?