Topic: Message #608268

[Revivalist]

I just installed an onboard air system with two Viair 480c compressors and two 9 gallon tanks. First we cut and shortened the brackets on the tanks so we could get the tanks tucked up nice and high under the bed. Here's a pic comparing a tank before being modified and one that was cut. . . .





Here they are installed . . .









I also mounted the compressors under the bed as well near the bumper. . . .





I used some reinforcement plates above the bed to help support the weight of the tanks and the compressors . . . .





Here’s the pressure and gauge and switch mounted right in front of the shifter . . .





Here are the results of some tests using the new system. . . .

First I aired down to 7 PSI which is usually the lowest I need to go on the trail. Then I hit the switch on the compressors to start airing up the tanks. I found that it took about 13.5 minutes to get the tanks from 0 PSI to 150 PSI. So when I’m wheelin I’ll probably just hit the switch when I know I’m 10-20 minutes from the end of the trail .  . .

While waiting for the tanks to fill up, I connected my spare tire to the driving tires use something called the 4air (from 4crawler.com) which is basically just a bunch of hoses with Schrader Valves connect to a T. Here’s a pic of it in use . . . .





This lets me take the air from the spare tire (which was at 45 PSI) and dump some of it into the driving tires so I can air them up faster. Doing that brought the pressure from 7PSI to 11 PSI on all four tires. Not a bad boost . . . .

After that, I connected the 4air to the air tanks and this took all four tires from 11 PSI to 25 PSI in about 3 minutes. I was impressed considering these are 40” tires! . . . The compressors came on again and took about 12 minutes to restore the tanks to 150 PSI. Dumping that into the tires again took all four tires to 37 PSI. All done and ready to hit the road. . .

So the nice thing about this system is that I’ll only have to stop to air up twice. Once I reach the end of the trail I can take all my tires from 7 PSI to 25 PSI. That’s enough to start driving on the road if I want, Then after about 12 minutes I can get out again and take tires all the way back up to 35PSI. I would say I’m very happy with the setup.