- Joined
- Mar 15, 2021
- Threads
- 2
- Messages
- 15
- Reaction score
- 70
- Location
- Columbia, MD
- Vehicle(s)
- F150
- Your Bronco Model
- Badlands
- Thread starter
- #1
Grab a cup of coffe for this one. This project has gone on for the past six weeks with a couple weather delays and engineering hurdles that required some thought. Overall, I'm satisfied with the outcome. I still need to do some extended run temperature tests in the compressor tray compartment, but it handled inflating four 33" tires from 18 to 39 psi without incident. I want to wait for a hot summer day to really give it a test.
Physical Mounting - This decision consumed hours of evaluating options. Honestly, there is no slam dunk decision for the Bronco. Lots of pros and cons all over the vehicle. I've never been a fan of underhood compressor mounts because of the hostile conditions. I also ruled out the under vehicle option because of similar concerns. I'm a big fan of stealth installs, so that left me with the storage tray under the rear floor. So I put on my engineering hat and got to work. I started with the ARB dual compressor. It obviously wouldn't fit as-is, so I started experimenting with mounting positions for the two separate pumps. I finally found a scenario that worked with a few extra parts from ARB. I had to chop the dual mounting bracket to provide the two separate rubber isolation mounts.
Electrical - I was able to reuse about 80% of the wiring kit that came with the dual compressor. I had to add 2x20ft 8 AWG wires plus a control wire for the relays. I could have reused the fuse holders, but I wanted something better. I had to fabricate a bracket for the fuse holder. The wires were routed down the driver's side frame rail and zip tied to the factory electrical loom ... fairly well protected and out of harms way. The water tight connectors were handy for the connection at the compressor tray. I used AUX 5 for the control switch. And I was able to reuse the pressure switch which cuts the control power to the relays at 150 psi.
Air Intake - Given that the compressor tray doesn't have any forced air cooling, I needed clean cool air from the cabin, so I had to use the filter relocation kit. In case I hit deep water, I wanted the intake as high as possible. I was able to find a place behind the rear trim panels that placed them 46" off the ground (one filter on each side of the vehicle). I had a little bit of luck on this one. Ford left a gap between three pieces of sheet metal that was just big enough to get the hose from the tray to the cabin. It looks like Ford installed a plastic "floor" in this dead space and used spray foam to seal it. I just used to step bit with an extension bar to drill through the plastic floor from below. Yes, if I need to replace the filters, I have to take off the rear trim but the cabin air source should be pretty clean. Btw, the empty space on the driver's side also makes a nice place to mount a cell phone signal booster.
Air Output - Options were kind of limited. I do a fair amount of trailering, so I wanted the air coupling near the back of the vehicle so I could easily reach the trailer tires. More for symmetry reasons, I decided to fill the gap next to the hitch (opposite the trailer electrical connections). I had to fabricate some aluminum brackets (2"x2" angle plus some 3/16" plate) and used one of the existing bumper bolts to attach it (i.e. no drilling in the frame). I'm not thrilled about having the air coupling that low, but I got the dust/water cap to try to keep it clean. I also set it back a little bit further than the electrical connections, hoping the hitch takes any physical abuse before something hits the air coupling.
ARB Parts List #1 (the common parts)
CKMTA12 - 12v Dual Compressor
171302 - Air inflation kit
171314 - Remote hose coupling kit x1
171319 - Air filter relocation kit x2
740113 – dust cap
ARB Parts List #2 (the special parts - ordered all through Summit Racing. The first two were special ordered from ARB but they only took a week to come in. Initial estimate was three months)
320224 - Short Manifold Tube x2
320214 - Manifold Cap x1
320301 - o-ring kit (only needed one o-ring for the second manifold cap, but had to buy a maintenance kit to get it)
740201 - 0.3M reinforced air hose x1 (air hose between the compressors)
740203 – 1M reinforced air hose x1 (air hose from the compressor to the bumper coupling)
740110 - 90 deg elbow JIC4 1/4" 2 pack x2
Physical Mounting:
Electrical:
Fabricated bracket for fuse holder:
Air Intake:
This is where the intake hose goes from the compressor tray into the cabin.
Passenger side air intake
Drivers side air intake with filter removed. Ignore the cell phone signal booster.
Air Output:
Finished Product:
Physical Mounting - This decision consumed hours of evaluating options. Honestly, there is no slam dunk decision for the Bronco. Lots of pros and cons all over the vehicle. I've never been a fan of underhood compressor mounts because of the hostile conditions. I also ruled out the under vehicle option because of similar concerns. I'm a big fan of stealth installs, so that left me with the storage tray under the rear floor. So I put on my engineering hat and got to work. I started with the ARB dual compressor. It obviously wouldn't fit as-is, so I started experimenting with mounting positions for the two separate pumps. I finally found a scenario that worked with a few extra parts from ARB. I had to chop the dual mounting bracket to provide the two separate rubber isolation mounts.
Electrical - I was able to reuse about 80% of the wiring kit that came with the dual compressor. I had to add 2x20ft 8 AWG wires plus a control wire for the relays. I could have reused the fuse holders, but I wanted something better. I had to fabricate a bracket for the fuse holder. The wires were routed down the driver's side frame rail and zip tied to the factory electrical loom ... fairly well protected and out of harms way. The water tight connectors were handy for the connection at the compressor tray. I used AUX 5 for the control switch. And I was able to reuse the pressure switch which cuts the control power to the relays at 150 psi.
Air Intake - Given that the compressor tray doesn't have any forced air cooling, I needed clean cool air from the cabin, so I had to use the filter relocation kit. In case I hit deep water, I wanted the intake as high as possible. I was able to find a place behind the rear trim panels that placed them 46" off the ground (one filter on each side of the vehicle). I had a little bit of luck on this one. Ford left a gap between three pieces of sheet metal that was just big enough to get the hose from the tray to the cabin. It looks like Ford installed a plastic "floor" in this dead space and used spray foam to seal it. I just used to step bit with an extension bar to drill through the plastic floor from below. Yes, if I need to replace the filters, I have to take off the rear trim but the cabin air source should be pretty clean. Btw, the empty space on the driver's side also makes a nice place to mount a cell phone signal booster.
Air Output - Options were kind of limited. I do a fair amount of trailering, so I wanted the air coupling near the back of the vehicle so I could easily reach the trailer tires. More for symmetry reasons, I decided to fill the gap next to the hitch (opposite the trailer electrical connections). I had to fabricate some aluminum brackets (2"x2" angle plus some 3/16" plate) and used one of the existing bumper bolts to attach it (i.e. no drilling in the frame). I'm not thrilled about having the air coupling that low, but I got the dust/water cap to try to keep it clean. I also set it back a little bit further than the electrical connections, hoping the hitch takes any physical abuse before something hits the air coupling.
ARB Parts List #1 (the common parts)
CKMTA12 - 12v Dual Compressor
171302 - Air inflation kit
171314 - Remote hose coupling kit x1
171319 - Air filter relocation kit x2
740113 – dust cap
ARB Parts List #2 (the special parts - ordered all through Summit Racing. The first two were special ordered from ARB but they only took a week to come in. Initial estimate was three months)
320224 - Short Manifold Tube x2
320214 - Manifold Cap x1
320301 - o-ring kit (only needed one o-ring for the second manifold cap, but had to buy a maintenance kit to get it)
740201 - 0.3M reinforced air hose x1 (air hose between the compressors)
740203 – 1M reinforced air hose x1 (air hose from the compressor to the bumper coupling)
740110 - 90 deg elbow JIC4 1/4" 2 pack x2
Physical Mounting:
Electrical:
Fabricated bracket for fuse holder:
Air Intake:
This is where the intake hose goes from the compressor tray into the cabin.
Passenger side air intake
Drivers side air intake with filter removed. Ignore the cell phone signal booster.
Air Output:
Finished Product:
Sponsored
I love your design, fab, and electrical work. 
