On Board Air? Power tank verses ARB twin compressor. Opinions Please

[TiredOldMedic]

Anyone have experience with either of these.

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[Cybindustries1904]

Years ago I ran on board compressors. Now powertank all the way. No wiring no bs and cheap to fill.

 

[TiredOldMedic]

Years ago I ran on board compressors. Now powertank all the way. No wiring no bs and cheap to fill.

Thanks so much.

 

[Rubisquatch]

ARB on board compressor all the way, hidden under the hood.

Who wants this scuba tank riding around with you most of the time? Even if not there and you only take it when wheeling, you basically gotta keep the rack on. Or without a rack you can just let it bounce around the trunk area while wheeling. .

 

[beachman101]

Years ago I ran on board compressors. Now powertank all the way. No wiring no bs and cheap to fill.

May I ask why? Seems a heavy tank to lug around would be worse than an under the hood compressor

 

[Ryuk]

I own a Powertank. Only downside to it, or a similar system is the size and securely mounting it.
It is a great product and if you lose a tire bead, it can shoot a high volume of CO2 to make reseating the tire a piece of cake. You can also run air tools.
Obviously the ARB compressor is significantly smaller. I have not run one of those, but I did have a York compressor that ran off my engine by using a slightly longer serpentine belt with a customer bracket. I am not sure if that's an option on the Bronco engine

 

[Cybindustries1904]

May I ask why? Seems a heavy tank to lug around would be worse than an under the hood compressor

On board air takes to long to fill tires after airing down. They also can't re seat a bead not enough cfm.

 

[Neps]

I run a A/C compressor converted to an air compressor in my crawler. I run twin Viair compressors with a tank in my other rig, never felt I needed more air.

I haven't used an ARB, always found them too expensive compared to other offerings. Most of the reviews I have seen compare a $400 Viair to a $800 ARB, and the less expensive unit always ends up rated lower in the comparisons (no surprise). Make sure you compare units of equivalent costs.

An on-board compressor with a tank can most certainly set a bead, run air tools, air horns, etc.

 

[grimmjeeper]

I've run both over the last 20 years. Neither option is perfect. Both get the job done but both can leave you stuck.

The power tank is fast. It can seat a bead. It's not expensive to fill but you do have to go somewhere to have it filled which can be annoying. I've seen it happen many times where someone forgets to fill their tank or used it to much and they're stuck with no air. And if you need to help someone else or you lose a bead several times on the trail you can use up your tank quick and you're out of luck.

Electric air compressors are fine but the good ones are expensive. The bigger the tire, the bigger compressor you need to fill them. And they tend to be slow no matter what. Cheap compressors will have a low duty cycle meaning you have to let it cool down a lot, making it take longer. Alone, they have a hard time seating a bead but with a hard mounted tank, they can do it. But that adds to the complexity and expense. I've also seen a friend's cheap electric compressor melt the wires, leading to an interesting failure. Better quality compressors like ARB and Viair are a lot less likely to break down and leave you stranded.

Right now I'm running a Viair 400P portable compressor in a bag. It was fine for the 35's on my Wrangler that I sold. It's really good for the 32's on my Cherokee right now.

As I build up my Comanche, I'm going to use the air conditioning compressor as an air compressor and put in a tank. That should do reasonably well filling 40" tires. But I'll still keep my 400P as a backup just in case something goes wrong.

 

[Ryuk]

This got me thinking
Since the Mid Package and above comes with a 110V/150W AC power outlet.
That means I should be able to run my Fini Airboss.
It's only 16" x 7" x 15" in size.

I'll have to test this out on the Bronco to see what the times are for airing up tires, but it works great on my current vehicles.

 

[Mike E]

ARB on board compressor all the way, hidden under the hood.

Who wants this scuba tank riding around with you most of the time? Even if not there and you only take it when wheeling, you basically gotta keep the rack on. Or without a rack you can just let it bounce around the trunk area while wheeling. .

The PowerTank is the only way to go...Quick and simple. Simply Awesome!

 

[Ryuk]

It can be mounted or tied down in plenty of other places that will not be in the way.

 

[awall987]

I used to use a cheap portable that always got the job done but was slow and would get very hot, which meant I had to let it cool down before putting it away. One time I forgot it and had to use someone's twin ARB, he filled up his tires and I filled up mine before most of the other guys were even close to being done.

So I ended up hard mounting one in the engine bay of my FJ. It's always there and for me I didn't want to deal with the hassle of filling a tank (plus I wanted to run an air locker). It's been there many years without any issues, only downside is now I have a Jeep as well and can't share between vehicles like you can with a tank.

I've also found speed isn't a huge deal for me; usually you wheel in groups and talk with the other guys or put things away while airing up at the end of the day. Plus your only as fast as the slowest guy in the group.

 

[Peter Gosenya]

This got me thinking
Since the Mid Package and above comes with a 110V/150W AC power outlet.
That means I should be able to run my Fini Airboss.
It's only 16" x 7" x 15" in size.

I'll have to test this out on the Bronco to see what the times are for airing up tires, but it works great on my current vehicles.

I'm not sure if you were joking or not but this compressor draws 9.5 amps so it's a no go.

 

[Rover72]

Interested in learning a bit as I plan to start wheeling once I get the Bronco. I have zero experience airing up & down and am trying to learn about the requirements of a compressor and when to air down for rocks, sand, lumpy trail or mud.

Have to keep an eye on this thread for compressor solutions, prefer a standalone vs a built in solution for my occasional needs. Once addicted to wheeling that may change

If someone can tell me when its appropriate to air down and to what psi? That would be awesome. Thx

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