Hello everyone,
I am in the market for an on board air system of some type. Last winter, I got stuck in a ditch on an icy road out in the middle of nowhere. I was trying to drive up, and wasn't going anywhere, so I tried to go back, and well it was either the ditch or over the cliff, so I dropped it in the ditch. I aired down, and long story short, well the Truck Air compressor was a pathetic waste of time. I am looking at a Power Tank PT-10 or one of the hard mount Quik Air Compressors along with a tank. I really want to be able to run air tools. Any suggestions? I am looking for the most bang for my buck as it were.

 

As far as air goes, talk to Corey and some others on here. I know that Corey carries an on-board air tank in his. Check out his site here and look under the mods area. I am not too familiar with the on-board air system, so I can't help you. I did notice that you have one heck of a signature and some goodies on your truck. Do you have any pictures that we can check out? Thanks! :fireman:

 

Ryan,
Well sure there are some pics of my truck, but well I don't have a place to post them. Can you suggest a place to post them?
Thanks,

 

seafarinman you can post pics for free at www.webshot.com

Ryan
My FD has some old steel air bottle from the early 80's in storage.We were talking about throwing them out.The bottle hold 2250 PSI. The only draw back they need hydro tested.Could you imagine one of those bottles blowing up in the back of a 4Runner

 

There are advantages and dis-advantages to both systems. If you must beable to run air tools, you are looking at rigging a York in your engine compartment and all the fabbing that is required, a $500+ electric compressor or a power tank.

The downside to the powertanks are thus, if you run out of juice, you are done until you get back to get it refilled. They don't like cold weather much so carrying them around in the bed of a truck in the winter around here is not a good thing.

With the quick air system, you have endless air, can run air-lockers, can fill a tank, etc. But, unless you shell out serious dollars, air tools are out of the question.

 

Hi Seafair, I also have a write-up here in the Tech section under Off Road Enhancements.

I love my Power Tank.
I have a video on the page of my using my airtools with it.

They run about $10 to $16 to refill them.
I would not trade the Power Tank for any other setup, I like it that much.

It is way faster than a service station for filling your tires too.

 

If you don't mind refilling the PowerTank, don't go on long expedition trips in the middle of nowhere, and like to use air tools - I'll agree that the Co2 is the way to go. You can probably build your own setup for much less than the PT if you don't mind the extra hassle (i.e. keeping a watch on Ebay for a nice aluminum tank with a handle/valve protector, finding a deal on a regulator, etc).

I have the QuickAir II which I am very happy with and suits my needs, but it's definitely not as powerful or as fast as the Co2. I never have to refill it or have it inspected though.

 

Here's what I'm doing. I actually installed 2 Truck Air compressors (OK, one's still sitting in the box, but it's plubmed and I hope to get it wired and installed before the weekend). In my 2nd Gen 4Runner, the Truck air fitsin the little cubby holes on the side, by the tailgate. I hardwired these with a toggle switch on my center console. I installed 3 medical oxygen air tanks to hold the pressure, this way I can hold the kind of pressure that the truck air puts out. I'd like to have more volume, but these skinny tanks tucked up very nicely between the frame rails. I also ran a presure guage up to my center console to keep an eye on where things are at. I tried using an auto shutoff but with the small air leaks I had, it was going on and off all the time, even when I wasn't wheeling, hence the need for a manual switch.

The Truck Air has the advantage of an 8 hour constant run time and will put out up to 275PSI. Even better, they're cheap! Heck for $50, get 4 of them and you'll have all four tires back up in a couple of minutes. Running air tools or any onboard air system is a bit of a pipe drear. Other than an inpact gun, any air tool uses too much volume for an onboard air system to reasonably handle. My air ratchet drains by 60 gallon tank in the shop pretty quick. It'd kill an onboard system in no time flat.

I put a regulator on my to run my ARBs and perhaps an air tool, but I don't think I'd try to design a system with that in mind. If you look at the specs of even the best onboard setups, nothing has the CFM flow to run an air tool for more than a very limited time.
Anyway, that's my $.02

 

Gibby ,
do you have any pics of this setup as i wou;d like to see how you set it all up
cheers

 

Soon... We just purchased a digital video camera this week, I'll be installing the second compressor tonight (if time allows) I also have to wire and plumb the front ARB and get packed for the Saturday run, so I'll see how time goes.

If I get at it, I'll take some shots.

 

Cool have a good trip

 

I beg to differ with you on this. The reason being is that liquid Co2 can be highly compressed to provide about 20 times the volume of air that a regular air tank can. The small 10 gallon PowerTank can provide enough volume and pressure to run an air tool continuously for about 20 minutes. This is more than you are ever likely to need on the trail.

Just my .02

 

I run air tools all the time with my Power Tank.
http://www.pnw4runners.com/tando/power_tank.htm

Here's a vid.
http://www.pnw4runners.com/pics&vids/impact.mpg

I even had the tank turned down to around 90 PSI in the vid.
I now crank it to about 110 when using air tools.
This is because when you pull the trigger at 110 PSI, it drops to about 90 PSI which is what you want to run an impact wrench at.

In the vid, it was probably dropping down to around 80 PSI.
With the newer setting I use, the impact wrench is mucho faster now.

Airing up a tire from 20 back to 35 PSI take a few seconds compared to a few minutes each with an electric pump.

Once Power Tank sized at 10 lb like mine will air up 34 tires or more.

Here is the airing up chart that shows how many tires it can fill, and how fast.
http://www.powertank.com/chart.htm

I am not saying this either because my rig is featured on his site, I just really dig the Power Tanks.

 

You don't have to beg, just feel free to differ

The power tank is a nice alternative, till ya run out of CO2. That's the only downside to the power tank.

On an Evan's creek run last year, one guy brought a fully pressured scuba tank, same idea... By the time we reinflated a few de-rimmed tires, he had nothing left to fill tires at the end of the run. By a few, I mean 3. That may be more than average but what are his options at the end??

This is a choice issue. I tried to build something in the middle. A higher pressure system than the typical 125psi, but still having the ability to get more air at any time.

 

Oh man, scuba tank, bad idea.

They can't hold as much air as a C02 tank can.
Plus they are a time bomb if it gets the regulator knocked off.
It can become a deadly missile, where as a C02 tank will not.

You would think with the scuba tank holding 2200 or so it would air up a lot, but it does not.
The reason a C02 tank can air up to 50 tires or so is the way the gas expands.

I am still on my first tank, and I have used it a few times for airing back up, and I also use it every few weeks to check my pressure here at home.

I should weigh it, as that will tell me exactly how much is left in it.
When you get a C02 tank, it's a good idea to write down the empty weight of it with the regulator on, then weigh it after it's been filled.
Corey

 

Check out this link to my post about my Power Tank, a lot of good info!!!!-
http://bb.wildyoats.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=289

 

We used my PT yesterday to air back up Jim's tires from 17 psi to whatever he put back in.
Did not take long at all.

http://www.pnw4runners.net/runs/11_9_02/37.mpg

 

Yeah, I can only imagine what that would do to the inside of the 4Runner. Bad stuff. We have some too, but only use two for tools. They are hydrotested and all, and work great. They are the old Scott packs, I think 2200? PSI, around there. They are handy. :fireman:

 

I've got a co2 setup and like it a lot. I took the cheap do it yourself route and it costs about 1/2 what the powertank costs (just as a reference).

Details here

 

To save some cash on your P.T. check this out-
www.4x4groupbuy.com