Xtra cab OBA compressor In-Cab

I am trying to figure out where to put my compressor (

$338 ARB CKMA12 On-Board Air Compressor High Performance 12 Volt for Air Locker Differentials and Tire Inflation

ARB CKMA12) I would like to keep it in the cab. I had it under the hood of my 2nd gen, but I couldn't keep it as clean as I like. I'm thinking about mounting it in under the rear seats in the storage compartment.

Does anyone have a better idea? Pics if you can, please.

 

Buuump! Someone has a compressor in the cab. I know it.

 

Copied and pasted from my build. Maybe this can help someone else out. I'm very pleased with the outcome.

$338 ARB CKMA12 On-Board Air Compressor High Performance 12 Volt for Air Locker Differentials and Tire Inflation

ARB CKMA12 compressor.

Step one is ridding it of LBL mud. Check.


There is zero room to work in this cab so I pulled the passenger seat. Also ditched the little fold out cup holder thingamajig.


You know that feeling when something fits exactly like you had hoped it would? Yea, that just happened. With only millimeters to spare.


I had to get rid of this bungee tie down by drilling out the rivets. I'm not sure what it was intended to hold. Just be sure not to drill too deep.




Made a cardboard template for the holes and drilled them.



Mounted with plenty of room for the hose hookup.


Here's a shot showing the room between the floor and the bottom of the compressor.


Wired the switch by tapping into the hot for the 12v outlet. Also tapped the illumination wire for the A/C panel.


I'll be operating the compressor from the passenger side of the truck so I made the switch face that way. It's the little things.


Plenty of room for my accessories.


And my favorite part of this whole project... Like it's not even there.

 

Is this the compressor you used?

$338 ARB CKMA12 On-Board Air Compressor High Performance 12 Volt for Air Locker Differentials and Tire Inflation

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009F49NP0/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8

Super Clean install, thanks for sharing. Any reason not to store it under the hood?

 

Yes, that's the one. I had the compressor under the hood of my 2nd gen (pictured below). It bothered me that I could not keep it clean in that location.

 

Guys I just mounted the

$338 CKMA12 On-Board Air Compressor High Performance 12 Volt for Air Locker Differentials and Tire Inflation

CKMA12 under the hood. I only plan to run it for filling tires. I simply want a power switch for it (B+ to switch to pump), but that switch may not be able to handle the current, and I suppose that's why they have it wired with a relay in the harness.

How can I get around this so I don't have the entire harness there when I'm only using a part of it?

 

Do you have the switch mounted in the cab? It didn't feel like the harness could fit throuh the firewall where the main harness goes through

 

You will use the "isolating switch" for the compressor. The other two are for powering lockers. The extra wire will tuck neatly behind your dash with a little encouragement.

Yes, switch is here.


and was here is my 2nd gen

This is very simple, but might be hard to describe so hang with me. The harness is two separate pieces. One section has your battery connections and relay (put this in the engine bay). The other has the switch connections as well as a red and blue wire for powering the switch (place this in the cab). These two pieces each have a white (I think) connector that will click together, joining the two peices. Each side of the connector has maybe 4 wires (guessing again) going into it. The wires have blade connectors with tiny tabs that "click" into the plastic connector. This connector is too large to fit through the firewall. Remove the white plastic connector from the wires by depressing the tiny tabs with a tool. Tape the ends of the wires to a wire clothes hanger and feed them through the firewall. Once into the cab, put the wires back into the connector. Snap both ends of the connector together.

Does that make any sense at all? If not, providing me with some pics if the harness will help, as I wrote all this from memory. My memory has been known to fail me from time to time. Ha ha.

 

Makes perfect sense. I see what you're talking about! thanks!!

 

Well that's a miracle. I confused myself when I read what I wrote. haha.

 

I just took the switch side of the harness out to the truck, and it looks like it's too short to reach through the firewalls. The harness from the switch to the connecter is only about 14"

How did you work this???!

 

That part goes in the cab. The other piece should be very long. That is what you will pull through the firewall.

 

Again, I'm just going off what I think I remember here. Post up a couple pics of the harness and I can tell you for sure.

 

No, that makes sense! Thanks!

 

Ok so I'm back at it. I got the harness throgh just like you described. Thanks!
Next step is installingn the switch. I popped out the blank switch to the left of the steering wheel, but the ARB switch won't fit in it!

What are you guys doing to make it fit? The switch seems to wide. I'd file down the sides of the hole in the dash if I was sure that would work. Anyone else encounter this?

 

Yes, I used a Dremel to widen the hole. Jut don't take too much. You want it to be nice and snug.

 

Thanks man it's sure nice having someone answer questions directly with experience. This turned out to be much more than I anticipated.

 

No problem. The only reason I know is because I ran into all the same hiccups that you are right now. You'll be an expert when you're finished.