Air Compressors - On Board or Not

Just want some insight on a reliable source of air for airing back up after a trail run. Been using a conventional car compressor and I'm now in search of something reputable and reliable for off road use - mounted on board or not. What compressors you guys running and why?
 

Jsouder53

Hooked
I’ve been running the shittybuilt portable air compressor for 5 years. Works well but it’s bulky and in the way. Not bad for $100 though… when I can, I will get an arb under the hood. It is low on the priority list.
 

Speedy_RCW

Hooked
ARB twin here too. Never let me down. I used to run a CO2 setup but it requires refilling and making sure you have enough for each trip. Plus takes up too much space. ARB under the hood is a nice setup.
 

onlyone

Active Member
I’m kind of the opposite, I used to run a ARB twin which was awesome but I run a CO2 tank now. You just can’t beat how fast they air up. I run a moreflate 4 tire kit. Makes it so fast and easy to air up.
 
I’ve been running the shittybuilt portable air compressor for 5 years. Works well but it’s bulky and in the way. Not bad for $100 though… when I can, I will get an arb under the hood. It is low on the priority list.
Lol, my buddy uses that and has never had an issue or complaint. He's told me to get it a dozen times, and I just might to avoid dropping $600 on the ARB right now. It's definitely on my list though.
 

JimLee

Hooked
ARB twin in the rear tub. Got annoyed with the extra steps to use a portable, especially considering my airing up is done over 100 degrees temp for a large portion of the year.
 

Sgt_USMC

Active Member
I use a Viair 450p right now, but I am thinking about having OBA of some sort eventually. A York or ARB not sure which yet.
 
I have the ARB single barrel compressor with Eddie’s ACM mount. Not sure the mount would work on a JK but no doubt there’s room under the hood for the compressor.
 

WJCO

Meme King
I've used three ARB compressors, one being the Twin. Great compressors. I also used a cheap Slime one which worked but took forever. I've seen brand new other offbrand compressors fail on the trail on their first use. Spend the money for a quality brand. Plus you can air up all kinds of stuff at home and even help people on the side of the road.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
I have the ARB single barrel compressor with Eddie’s ACM mount. Not sure the mount would work on a JK but no doubt there’s room under the hood for the compressor.
Yup, Synergy makes one:

For me personally, a single is all that I need. Sure, a twin is faster but as mentioned, you're only as fast as the slowest guy and really, why in the hell is everyone so hell bent on going home so fast LOL
 

OverlanderJK

Resident Smartass
I had issues with twin compressor and relays. It’s a pain in the ass to change. I would only buy a single in the future because of it. It’s enough. Also the twin got stupid hot mounted under the hood when airing up 40’s. Would sometimes shut off and need to cool down.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
I had issues with twin compressor and relays. It’s a pain in the ass to change. I would only buy a single in the future because of it. It’s enough. Also the twin got stupid hot mounted under the hood when airing up 40’s. Would sometimes shut off and need to cool down.
Aside from the cost savings, I think this is the biggest reason why I never went with a twin. I have seen way too many people have heat issues with theirs. Not saying that it can't happen but in the almost 20 years that I've been running a single, I've never had a problem with any of mine. And, this is even with airing up 40's.
 

onlyone

Active Member
It definitely is faster. But when you’re out with a group, you’re only as fast as the slowest guy anyways. Lol.
Truth. But in our case, we are rarely with a group. We are usually by ourselves, so we pack our vehicles accordingly. I loved our ARB but I had relay issues and some other problems ARB took care of, only after I sent it to them. Great unit I would buy again but for now the CO2 is our best choice. If you roll out with a full tank, all it takes is a scale at home and you’re good to go, if you run out after that, that day, something is wrong. No different than a bad solenoid or relay I would guess.
 
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CalSgt

Hooked
If I had to choose only one I would get the Viar 450P kit

I've tried a few different ones, here's my experiences

$70 slime unit - Failed first time I tried to air a trailer tire from 25 PSI to 60 PSI. Melted the hose right off of the compressor & left me stranded.

Viar 450P -
Pros - Portable Great compressor 100% duty cycle (under 100 PSI) and faster than a ARB singe, can be packed in any vehicle, airs up my 265/17R16's from 20PSI to 75 PSI in about 8 minutes each.
Cons - PIA to dig it out of a fully loaded Jeep to air up after a big trip, always a chance it is not with you when you need it

Mounted ARB Single -
Pros - Good compressor, can be mounted in an out of the way location, airs up 37/13.5R17's from 8PSI to about 28PSI in about 3 minutes per tire, always with you when its needed
Cons - Cant be taken in another vehicle, if you sell the vehicle it need to be uninstalled or replaced with the new vehicle, only has 50% duty cycle, mine has shut off (overheated maybe) a few times while airing up my final tire, at least it got me to 25 PSI which is drivable.

Power Tank - It was given to me because it was out of date & needed to be certified. Previous owner was sick of having to get it filled
Pros - can run air tools and has enough volume & pressure to seat tire beads, super fast air up times especially with the monster valves.
Cons - Super expensive, mounting brackets and accessories are expensive too, runs out & needs to be filled $20-30 each fill, super heavy when full and still heavy when empty, super bulky, rural areas don't usually have any place to refill, I have to take it to Reno 1.5 hours away for a refill. Tank needs to be recertified every 5 years, it took two weeks and $40 to get this done (at least they refilled it for that price.)
 

Bullwinckle

Hooked
I use the ARB single under the hood. (Same setup I used in my JK) Works perfect and out of the way. I thought about going with their portable version but that just takes up more room. Would be especially for you with a two door.
 
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