Air Compressor Help

thgdfathr

Jul 10, 2022

I have been using the Harbor Freight cheapo compressor for a few years now. It does fine, but is loud, gets pretty hot and takes forever. I’m looking at these three below options and want some honest feedback. I know a lot of people love the ARB and it’s known to be the best, but I will only be using this to air up tires after being off road, so no need for air locking capabilities. Please chime in with any real world experience or what you all think the best option would be. Other options also more than welcome, just want something that’s relatively quick filling up and not deafening.

ARB Single Compressor w/ engine mount:
ARB CKMA12 On-Board Air Compressor High Performance 12 Volt for Air Locker Differentials and Tire Inflation https://a.co/d/27za3rA

VIAIR 400P:
VIAIR 400P - 40043 Portable Compressor Kit. Tire Pump, Truck/SUV Tire Inflator, For Up to 35 Inch Tires https://a.co/d/hCQjb7z

Smittybuilt 2781:
Smittybilt 2781 5.65 CFM Universal Air Compressor , Black https://a.co/d/cvGTuu4

2022 Big Bend, 4 door, Cactus Grey, on 285/70/17 KO2s

Last edited by a moderator: Jul 10, 2022

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Jul 12, 2022

#20

Bonnie6G
Yeah, wasn’t bad at all. I got the mounting bracket from here. It’s just a matter of removing a few screws and loosening one bolt on top of the shock mount. Took a bit of finesse, but not bad at all. The wiring is a piece of cake as the ARB twin comes with a harness ready to go. Just snap the harness to the compressor and then run the wire over and connect to battery and ground. There’s a separate leg to the harness if you want to connect an on/off switch that stays in the engine bay, but I connected that wire to one of my aux upfitter switches instead.

@Bonnie6G, so these parts (from the compressor):
1/4NPT to flare
90 flare
Braided hose
90 flair
Chuck with flare fitting.

Did I miss anything?

2021 badlands, 2.3, MT, rapid red, soft top

Jul 12, 2022

#21

Shoresy
@Bonnie6G, so these parts (from the compressor):
1/4NPT to flare
90 flare
Braided hose
90 flair
Chuck with flare fitting.

Did I miss anything?

The other thing I added was thin washers for each side of the plastic trim. The nut edges on the chuck are not terribly wide so I put in a couple nylon washers from my local ACE. Nylon doesn’t have the highest temp rating but due to the heat from the compressor, I wanted something to insulate from the metal to the plastic trim. I may swap them out with another material at some point, but so far the Nylon seems to work fine. I’ve aired up a handful of times now. The 3ft stainless hose helps dissipate the heat a bunch and even the chuck doesn’t get too hot.

TK1215, thgdfathr

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