Onboard Air Installation

Just wanted to show how we installed the onboard air on my truck behind the rear seats.

I purchased the VIAIR Heavy Duty Onboard Air System. I saw that most people removed their spare tire and put the tank underneath their truck, which wasn't an option I liked, so we put it inside the truck. Looking back on it there's a few things we would've done differently during the install, but overall it worked well. There's a toggle switch under the dash to turn the unit on and off, so the switch in back always remains on currently. The tank and pump were a perfect fit for behind the seats.

The kit was complete, along with some extra parts and the installation was very easy and straightforward.

Obviously it's quite loud in the drivers cab when it's running, so I only use it right before needing it. I plan to add some sound dampening material as well as a large steel plate behind the seats to shield the rest of the cab from noise and in the very unlikely events of the tank failing. I hope this helps gives people more options!

 

Looks very nice!

Can you run an impact gun off it?

 

My understand is that the kit does advertise it, but most people report it won't run for more than a few seconds without a duel pump setup, the tank just isn't large enough. I'm mostly going to use it to fill tires on the truck, dirt bikes and air mattress.

 

Looks like you forgot to put the air-filter on the compressor. Also, were is the drain / how are you going to drain the tank? You will get a lot of water in the tank with a setup like that, and it needs to be drained from the bottom of the tank somehow, preferably after every use.
BTW, If you want to run air-tools, one way to help overcome the lack of volume in a smaller tank setup is to use a 200psi tank, rather than the normal 120psi

 

That pump would not be able to push 200 PSI.

 

looks good! I would have gone this route if I had a DC, and not gotten the ARB twin compressor 100% duty cycle.

Not to thread jack, but I am selling some leftover parts from my build:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/fs-air-tank-parts.478048/

 

Looks like he has the Viair grey housing filter.

 

The filter is mounted directly to the side of the compressor, you can see it on the right side in that picture. Also the drain is on the lower right hand side of the tank, and can't be seen in this picture. It's accessible with a wrench and a sponge or rag for draining. One of the things I would do differently, and will in the future is remove the plastics inserts again, and instead of cutting holes for the hoses, cut out a large sections of it so the plugs are more easily accessible.

 

Probably right, I have no idea what model# that is, that was more pointed to the person asking about running tools.

 

Just for clarification in case more people are wondering it's the Viair 400C.
http://www.viaircorp.com/c-models/400c/

 

that's quite the set up just to air up lol.

What Viair is that?
When I was looking at their hardwire models like that they didn't seem to have many geared towards airing up and running tools. Most were for air ride systems.

Just curious you said you want to put a steel plate in case the tank failed, do you think the tank would likely fail? I mean they're usually made to handle a hell of a lot more PSI than they are labeled to handle, and if your plan is to stop shrapnel, its going to need to be a decent piece of steel. Seems like a bit of waste.

Takes some serious dedication to on board air to lose the entire interior cargo space behind the seats to air. Main reason I sold my ARB twin compressor was because I couldn't accept loosing the entire small storage spot to a compressor.

Not trying to knock the set up or anything...but I don't really see the point to the level of overkill to inflate tires and air beds.
I have a Viair 400P auto and it works great for airing up tires and beds
Takes up a hell of a lot less space too.

 

It's the 400C. It works great for airing up tires on the truck after being on the trails, my understanding is you'd have to be running the dual compressor model to run air tools off of this type setup.

The steel plate I know is not necessary, and it's highly unlikely there'd ever be a tank failure of any sort. My brother works as a welder so the material is not hard to come by and it's just more of a precaution to make me feel better.

Also as far as the cargo space, I don't usually carry much in my truck and that space has gone mostly unused as of now so I decided to try it. I am not opposed to moving it to another location at a later date.

 

Even for cheap material steel plate will just add a lot of weight and might even make the noise even worse.
Besides not sure its a good idea running that with the seats back. Won't have much air flow and likely will over heat pretty quick.
For what it cost you, you could have got a single ARB that would work just as good if not better and could save a lot of space. But if you're not using it I guess why not.

 

Yeah I'm sure there were better options. I got this unit very cheap and if it were not for the deal I probably would've gone differently. I will check out the ARB though per your recommendation as I'm not married to anything on this truck.

 

they're great systems.
I had the twin which was a beast, and I know guys that ahve the single they're great I just wanted something portable

 

Thanks for doing a write up. Im about to commit to the same/similar setup. Where did you attach your grounds to?

 

For a high amp circuit like a compressor or winch, its best to ground directly to the battery, otherwise you may cause transient voltage to run through the other circuits of the truck.