Hi guys, here is a link to my On Board Air Album



The A/C system on the truck leaked, so after a bit of internet research I decided to get into this. I removed all of the A/C system, apart from the compressor. This is used for the on board air supply. The system is basicaly the same as a workshop compressor-on-wheels-jobby, but a bit more spread out.

Air comes from the airbox (filtered and less likely to be submerged!!) and goes through an inline compressor oiler (from Machine Mart), through the compressor, out through a coelesing filter (removes the oil and any moisture, also from Machine Mart), through a one way valve into the compressor switch (black box with red knob on the top), then out to a gauge and then to the rear where a 25ltr tank resides. There is a manifold on the tank wth a 130psi PRV amd two outlets, which both go to bulkhead fittings, either side of the truck, under the rear seats as you open the door.

I run it at no more than 1500 engine rpm and it fills the tank in around 45 seconds to a minute, to 110psi. It inflates a car tyre from completely flat to 30psi in about 12 seconds and my big 35" jokers from 15psi up to 30ish psi in about 20 seconds each. Its definatly got the grunt. I also ran the 1/2 impact gun i used for the propshaft bearing with no issues...bearing in mind i had the trigger held down for a good 20-30 seconds to get the bloody nut off...

Anyway, if anyone has any questions, or suggestions, give me a shout.

tonka I like it mate what a bloody good idea. Who needs air con here any way.
Could I do this with my VW passat?
The matrix behind the dash expoded and let the gas out into the car.
I take it you only neeed the compessor and the matrix is not used for this purpose.

Yep, you just need the compressor. The compressor inlet hose fits straight to the oiler and I chopped the outlet off near the end and fitted a barbed adaptor with good ol' jubilee clip.

There is a bit of wiring involved with hooking the pressure switch up to a on/off switch (i used the original a/c switch) and through a relay to the compressor clutch.

When its wired up right, you switch it on, the pressure switch turns on the relay, which powers the ac clutch and starts charging your tank. When it reaches a pre defined limit (adjustable in the pressure switch), the pressure switch clicks off and disengages the ac clutch. When you use air, the pressure switch clicks on again and away you go. This carries on until you turn the main switch off when you are done.

Was massivly impressed on N44 with this and still am with it on here too !!!

Wait till you see it in action when we are out next! It'll be Barnwell for me.

care to do a full write up with pics mate, i can see something like this being of more use than a winch

I certainly can. I am away from home until. Next week so ill do it when i get home. With the plethora of air powered tools available, this may well be of more use than a winch...

Thanks Tonka.
Sounds like a plan!
I will wait for the full how to before I atempt this on my beloved car!

I suspect a fair few people would like this. I had one on mine, was brilliant for running air tools for repairing and as i trusted my tyres running silly low pressure without beadlocks it came in handy to reinflated tyres...

I could do with this on my RR unfortunatly it never had aircon !!

You can still make an on board air system though, just slightly harder fella,

Yup.

I have a couple of compressors from costco ready to go in with a air tank etc.

Reason being im running bead locks (or will be when they are welded to the rims) so want to drive to events on road pressures then drop to offroad pressures at the play sites.

Yeah, you can get a Sanden A/C pump from Ebay for around £30 inc p+p. Its just mounting the jobbie in the usual location and away you go. Unless you get a proper pucker (expensive) electric compressor, you won't get near the performance of a A/C style install. You won't be able to run at full duty cycle (it'll overheat and die otherwise) and you just won't get the flow rate (ages to fill a tank or tyres). Even with the expensive ARB Twin pump, it takes a minute to air back up per corner, the thing draws 60-70 AMPs!!!!! Flat out (thats a fooking lot, trust me!), and you will be limited on what tools you can run.

With that set-up once filled you may get one 'hammer' with an air gun and thats it until the tanks refilled.

I had Tmax portable compressor hard wired into truck aswell, modified the ouput to run a standard PCL airline fitting and used a 30m airline for some extra length for little tasks if needed,

Don't worry guys, the HOW-TO is in progress. I've just had a bit of a busy weekend, and I'll get around to it as soon as I can.

come on Tonka pull ur finger out mate!

Annnnnnnnddddddddddd????? Where's the bloody write up lol lol

THATS AN OLD ONE