Has anyone mounted a compressor inside the cabin on a rago modular storage panel?


Also (and this may seem ghetto) but could you drill holes in the little platform on a portable viair or smitty built compressor and mount that sideways on a storage panel? My thought was to cut the alligator clips off, solder on an Anderson connector, and run an Anderson to the rear cargo area.

Interesting idea, can't think of a reason why not at the moment. I've got the Orangeboxx ones and a Viair 400p myself...hmm....lol. Think Viair says just not to mount them upside down, I'll do some more research.

Your issue won't be mounting one, rather supplying the necessary power to the unit that has a significant amp draw so far from the battery. I know the ARB harness is ~6ft, but from the cargo area, you'll need at least double that and a larger gauge wire to compensate for the additional distance.

Final thoughts: Mount in the engine bay, or prepare to work for it.

So that’s a big beefy ARB, but what about a smaller portable? Are those pretty amp hungry? Sorry I’m decently savvy with electrical stuff, but the technical aspects of it - amp draw, understanding when you’ll need higher gauge wire, what gauge you’ll need, etc - are a bit beyond my understanding. I figured if a compressor has 10 awg wire on its leads, you could extend that ~10 feet with the same gauge wire.

I would think 8ga, maybe even 10 would be fine. Fused at the battery, ran in vehicle or underneath and come up in the Jack storage area, then route to location on PSD. If you ran it all on the driver side so it's on the battery side, and mounted to Driver PSD, distance wouldnt be too bad.

Just mount it in the engine bay.

- An air compressor in an open cabin would be really loud.
- They also vibrate like crazy and if your mounting points aren't really solid that may be an issue. Even on a ground mount to a plate the portable VIAIR 450P wore through it's rubber mounts in 2-3 years.

I don’t really want an arb at this point. I also want a dual battery with the second in the front battery location. This requires moving the secondary air pump and washer reservoir to the rear passenger location in the engine bay - the location everyone mounts the arb.

Good points.

And the amount of work required to route an air comp to the back of the vehicle on to window panel mounts is baffling easier?

An air compressor is going to be a far more valuable use of space, and a higher priority than a dual battery.

I would also be concerned about safety. Air compressors are not light and it would be the last thing I would want flinging at me or my passengers in a collision.


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They also tend to get pretty hot. I've personally never seen an air comp explode, but it IS a pressure vessel after all.

That said they get excessively hot during long work cycles, like airing up 6 tires, or 3-4 vehicles because I seem to be the ONLY guy on a run with a compressor because everyone else is lazy and don't have theirs.

@jayhat , I am going to second LawnDart here. He is right. I at one point thought I would do the dual battery before the ARB Dual air compressor and the air compressor came first (in the passenger firewall location on a Bandimount) and I cannot even begin to describe how useful the compressor has been (tubes for boating, air mattresses, compressed air for cleaning things off, tires, etc.)

To put it in perspective I went ahead with a solar setup and the compressor over a dual battery setup. (Dual is still on my radar) but I would NEVER move the compressor out of the engine bay. It gets hot, its loud, and i like not having to open any doors (not even the hood) to get to the air. Also the ARB dual is HEAVY, maybe too heavy for where you want to put it (unless i missed it and you wanted to go with a smaller, lighter air compressor).

I understand you are going to do what you want to do, but seriously contemplate your REAL needs and then make a decision.

I guess I don’t understand why it matters what order I buy MY stuff in. I also already have a portable viair that works just fine for now.

The reason I want a dual battery (and also a SPOD) first is I want my electrical system in order before I add anymore electric stuff. I don’t want to wire a bunch of stuff to my primary battery only to have to move it all to a second battery, reroute/re cut/terminate wire etc.


Is there any other location in the engine bay to mount the arb ASIDE from the time passenger rear engine bay location?

I am super paranoid about that. All my gear (a lot) is stored in sturdy boxes, strapped down with weight rated straps and biners, and covered with a safari straps weight rated big cargo net. Believe me, I’d take that into account. There is way more gear and weight in the back than an arb compressor already.

I am not saying I will do this but if it did, it would be mounted to a steel platform with steel bolts. I am fairly sure it would be very stout. I was actually asking more about my current viair compressor vs the arb. No idea how heavy an arb dual is but my viair is not that heavy.