Ok, so a little project if your on a budget like me.

This will allow many airups and use of air tools.

I purchased a 15lbs bottle from Airgas for $95. This included the gas. I can simply exchange the empty bottle for a full one for $20. It is possible to get aluminium bottles or steel but my local store didn't have one at the time in alum. so I got a steel one. Note I painted mine to clean it up and intend of just having airgas fill it when I need to. You can purchase bottles in 5, 10, 15 and 20lbs. For me the 5 was way too small, 10 was good but might limit use of air tools and the 20 was wider than I wanted. I wanted to keep the whole bottle setup within the width of the wheel wells for the purpose of easy packing of camping gear. Note that if you have time you can also purchase bottles thru ebay for dirt cheap. You will have to watch out for the service life and be prepared to have it tested. I like the Airgas deal as they have already tested the bottles before they give them to you.

A regulator from Cramer-Decker offroad subsidary offroadair for $40. (this is the same reg forund on The Source and other well known CO2 systems)

25ft 300psi hose from Harbor Freight $10. I preferred this hose to the coil style because I find the coils always get tangled.

1 tire gauge from Harbor freight $14

2 Quick disconnects same as these $4

Steel strap from Home Depot plus some nuts and bolts $7

Like me, many of you will probably have some of this stuff as home already. I had the flat steel , nuts, bolts, paint and quick disconnects. You could also skip the air gauge thingy if you already have an pen style gauge.

For me the total cost was approx $150. The cheapest onboard systems with a 15lb bottle without a tire pressure gauge was approx $250. These are very nice.

 

Here's the final setup....




So I started by making a steel brace that extended from a hole where a tie down clip was located. (there is frame work here to place a bolt thru and by removing the access plate you can reach behind to place the bolt.)


The other end of the steel brace has a groove cut into the end that allows the brace to slide into the rear seat lock


I used some light weight strap that is easy to bend to clamp around the bottle to attach it to the steel brace


and I used the same strap to clamp around the bottle lower down and then using the same strap ran a piece down to floor. By undoing the tie down I was able to bolt the strap and the tie down making a nice supporting strap with a twist to make the starp align with the hole properly



So the bottle is now nicely in place and very secure


Connect the regulator


Add some quick disconnects to the hose and to the pressure gauge


and the system is ready to go

 

Mark
great set-up. I really like how it turned out for you. I see that you got a 15lb bottle. Do they have 10lb bottles available?

Will I get the chance to see it in action at big bear this weekend?

 

Nice setup, mark. Airgas here in SLO only had 5 or 20# tanks, so I have a 20#, a little bigger than I wanted, but I shouldn't have to fill it up that often. I like how you have it secured. I have mine strapped down all to hell, looks crazy but it works. I bounced the runner all over the dunes and it was fine. I will have to look into doing something like you have done. After seeing yours, I think I will have to paint mine too!

 

Yes they had 10lb bottles. I will be in Big Bear - that should be great - can't wait.

 

Similair to what I did when I had the TJ (Jeep).
I used a 5lb aluminum CO2 bottle (had two of them, but only carried one in the Jeep).
5lb of CO2 was enough to air my 35X12.50R15 MT/R's from 6 psi (trail pressure) to 28 psi (street pressure) 10 times. That's 8 tires, two air downs and back up and some to spare.

The 5lb CO2 bottles, especially the aluminum ones, are great as they are easy to transport (ie, carry by hand) to where they're needed when someone blows a bead, etc.

Also, I used a fire extinguisher bracket for the mount. Very easy to remove and replace the CO2 bottle.




Fred

 

I found a co in SD that sells co2 bottles in the 5, 10 and 20 lb sizes for keggerators. This should work the same correct? They are on ebay but it is local so I could just stop bye and get one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/10-lb-Co2-Tank-K...QQcmdZViewItem

Price seems very reasonable. I just wonder if the pressure would be safe in one of these.

Any opinions?

 

Those are the right ones. Just make sure you get the right kind of regulator. Alot of the adjustable ones for kegs will only go up to 60 psi outlet pressure. You will want one that goes to at least 150 psi.

 

Yes, I saw those and was nearly going to get one but I needed one quickly so I went to Airgas.

Those are fine for the purpose.

 

Any beer/wine making suplly company should sell them.
Heck, even 'lil 'ole Tucson has a local beer supply company that sells them for about those same prices.




Fred

 

My dad's buddy used to have a similar setup. Saved him many times in Baja

 

Nice setup Mark. I think I'm going to steal your mounting idea. I have the source system, so I have their bottle holder, but I couldn't find anywhere that was big enough to tap into the frame, without covering up some utility compartment. I didn't even think to do what you did. Very nice.

So you just used some solid steel strip for that main piece?

 

Yep. Just some scrap I had laying around. It flexes a little (maybe a 1/8") over big moguls but nothing I am concerned with. I was trail driving in the Sierra's last weekend and it held up perfectly over some pretty rough terrain.

I toyed with the idea of adding an additional brace from approx the middle of the steel brace to the tie- down area on top of the wheel well. By removing the plastic tie-down you have access to more steel, but I could not find a neat way to do it, and having now tested it out, I don't believe it would be necessary.

 

Looks like a great system--especially for the investment.
The only potential problem I see is with the fixed pressure regulator-- I think it is set at 150#'s? That is a little high for running air tools and way high for running ARB lockers but fine for most other things like airing up tires and such. You could add an adjustable regulator at least 6 feet away and it should not freeze easily.
But like I said, nice system and good pics and writeup too!

On a side note...
I had the safety relief valve rupture on one of my tanks last week. I knew I had at least 16 pounds in a 15 pound tank but I had forgotten to blow off the ice and release some of the pressure. I had complained to the guy filling the tanks that I had only gotten between 7 and 10 pounds normally when I had it filled and asked him to really fill the bottles up this time. Well he did.
So moral of the story is this. It is OK to have them filled completely but then immediately break open the valve slightly (before you install the regulator) to blow off ice. Make sure the bottle is vertical and then shake it a bit after it blows clear to make sure the level has gone done sufficiently to be safe.
My safety valves are rated at 3000 pounds and normally the tanks are well below 1000 even when full on a warm day. So failing to blow off the ice and relieve some of the overfilled CO2 and then mounting it in the bed of my 4Runner on a 100* day, even with the windows down, parked in the shade, it was enough to get the tank to 3000 pounds. At least I wasn't driving it at the time.
No damage done but I am out 11$ of CO2 and now have to replace the safety valve.

 

Yup, the only time the safety valve should blow is if the tank is overfilled.
I kept my in my vehicle all the time, even as a DD, when parked in the sun of 110 ~ 115 degree days (I live in Tucson, AZ) and only once have had one pop a safety valve and it was overfilled by a pound (a 5lb tank).





Fred

 

sweet looks like a sweet setup for someone with a budget and wants the same quality as the more expensive kits. Just goes to show thigns can be done on the cheap and still work just as effectivly. Haha i dont liek your mountign setup.. well just because i got 12 stiches in my hand yesterday from that dumb strap/stripping stuff. It gets kinda sharp on the end after you cut it with sheet metal snipers... Anyways nice setup

 

Sorry for your accident. I used a grinder and rounded all the edges and was working with gloves because I am tired of always being the doofus who gets hurt working on a project. Of course I wasn't using safety glasses while I was grinding until my nine-year-old told me off

I'm a little concerned about this blow off safety valve thing. Hmmmmm....

 

Did the valve come with your tank?
I can read the rating on mine--3000#'s
I would assume all CO2 tanks use the same valves and ratings.
I was just stupid to keep one of my tanks overfull by a pound.
It is a good idea to weigh your tank (w/o regulator)empty and then after you get it filled to get an idea for how much CO2 you are carrying and ALWAYS crack open the valve slightly, before you screw on the regulator, to check that it is blowing clear, as opposed to spitting ice--this could potentially damage the regulator the same as if you open the valve with the tank on its side or even at an angle if it is a full bottle.
So no worries and enjoy your new OBA!