ONBOARD AIR

Onboard air is one of the essential tools in overlander's swiss army knife. During any trip we can encounter situations such as flat tires, bent rims, clogged air filters, or some other catastrophic failure requiring the use of tools that can be run on air.

Of course not everything is doom and gloom. Onboard air can be used to fill air mattresses, blow up dolls and even power a Oster blender (1/4" square drive + extension + impact gun) to supply endless margaritas for your lady... or boy . For the more serious overlander air can power lockers.

Seeing some of the setups here on T4R I figured there's just gotta be another way. Personally I think a air setup in the engine compartment is a terrible idea. Subjecting a ~$500 ARB air compressor to extreme heat, dirt, and moisture is not ideal even though ARB's are built for it.

About a week ago I decided it was time for air and put my trusty BNIB emergency walmart compressor in retirement.

https://www.amazon.com/ARB-CKMTA12-B.../dp/B0050DI9YQ

I decided to go with ARB and paid a little north of $500. While it was not cheap I went with amazon for the ease of returns - I also convinced myself that I could save $$$ by skipping the electric impact wrench as I have quite a few air tools at home that can be repurposed for the 4runner.

In the two days it took to arrive I contemplated where I would mount the bloody thing - Under the driver seat, behind the front bumper, on the cargo tray, underneath the 4runner, etc etc until it dawned on me.


I'm going to put it in that weird Tetris shaped cubby hole!

How to removie the interior plastic cover over the left rear wheel

Ripping off the interior was simple...ish. The challenge I had was I had to remove the top portion of the rear passenger seat in order to get the trim fully off. Once it was gone I did this...


To me... it's the absolute meant-to-be placement for the ARB and while I totally understand some may think it's heresy to sacrifice such precious cargo space but please hold your thoughts until it's done.



Fabbing the bracket took me a good part of the day - almost 24 hours. The issue was the compressor is so damn heavy so making the template out of cardboard with the compressor attached resulted in measurements that were off... way off Nevertheless on my second design attempt I came up with the bracket. Made of 6061-T6 aluminum and welded extension screw offsets, (each one of a different length due to the X, Y, Z axis placement of the interior 4Runner body panel supports) I was able to get a S-O-L-I-D and perfect fitment.


The last pic and before I say anything it was my intention to fab up a face plate and a metal shelf to replace the plastic one. Of course that all change once I threw in two plastic water bottles. Stay tuned for the on board air tank

Nice. One thing I may suggest is to check how much heat that compressor generates. I wouldn't want those water bottles to melt if you plan on storing them there regularly.

Nothings finite..you build what suits you..nice write up

Are you running the lines out of the rear or relocating the chuck?

Nice fab work on the mounts. Is that stainless or aluminum?

Are those water bottles your test fitting for your air tank?

I've got a tank that I have never bothered to install. I just carry hand tools and very rarely need those, air tools aren't worth the weight for once in a lifetime use.

I do use my compressors to air up my tires several times a week (at least) and an externally mounted quick connect is fantastic, just make sure to keep it covered/plugged when not in use. The dust and sun will break down the O-rings quickly.

OP, nice looking mounting bracket!

Where do you have yours? On my Land Cruiser I just drilled a hole in the OEM bumper and used a bulkhead fitting. I haven't figured out where to put on with the OEM 4Runner plastics.

I've got aftermarket bumpers, probably wouldn't be so easy with the oem stuff

For those that have compressors engine mounted and put a chuck in the bumper or rear of the vehicle, how/where is the hose typically run? Is it just run under the vehicle and zip tied in various places?

Yep. Mine passes through to the passenger side of the radiator, along with my winch wiring

The water bottles was to test if I had enough space for a air tank (VIAIR 2.5 gallon). In my opinion a 2 gallon tank would be a better choice as fitting the 2.5 gallon required extending the original bracket for the air compressor. Sadly I don't have any pics of the bracket other than the mounting tab that you'll see on the mid point of the tank at the bottom.


I put a few quick disconnects that will allow me to use the pump, tank, or any combination of the two. In the tail light space I plan to mount a regulator and pressure gauge.


Here's the setup in 99% completion. I'm still missing a leader hose, air regulator, and pressure gauge but should have those delivered by the end of the week.

All mounts are made from aluminum. Bottles was just to see how big of an air tank I could fit. Really the only air tool I'll probably run is a blower to clean dust off and a impact gun to take wheels off/on.


Plan is to keep everything in the back. I figure if I need to use the compressor all the hoses and air tools will be in the trunk anyways so I can just grab what I need and connect it and go.

Excellent work!

I will tell you that if you wanted to sell that as a full kit you would probably not be able to manufacture them as fast as they would be purchased.

There are folks like myself that prefer to overpay for a properly done kit (ex. ARB breather kit) that has been engineered by someone else rather than fab our own stuff.

This

I don't even have my T4R yet and I'd buy that bracket.

Good deal..nice work!

Finally wrapped everything up today. Added my pressure regulator and did a test run of the compressor + tank to ARB's limit of 150 PSI. Everything went perfect with nothing falling apart or vibrating itself to death. Also took some measurements as found the ARB drew almost 60amps when running.