Misc. New onboard air setup (OBA)
TSB8C
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- Cut-n-Shoot, TX
- Vehicle(s)
- 1984 CJ7, 420 HP "ZZ6 EFI" Crate engine, 700R4, D300, Dana30 front, Dana489 rear, 4.56 gears, 4" lift
I've had an OBA setup in my truck since the first year I bought it (2015) and always wanted the same in my CJ. I finally got around to it this weekend. I've been pleased with the system I got for the truck, so I bought the same setup again. Now my use for this is airing up tires, small and short term air tool use, and airing up mattresses on camping trips and the tube when boating. I do not have air lockers in the Jeep or an air horn either. The truck has a 3-gallon tank with the air compressor and that seems to meet my needs quite fine. The system I got is a Vixen VXO8330. This includes the compressor rated for a max pressure of 200 lbs, an air inlet filter, a 3-gallon tank, air gauge, 20" hose, drain valve, over pressure relief valve, check valve, and a few brass plugs. There's also an included pressure switch that cuts the compressor off at 200 lbs and cycles back on at 170 lbs. The tank itself has 7 ports on it, plus two mounting brackets already welded on. It also included a 30 amp fuse and holder and some teflon thread tape. Now in the truck I had lots of room under the floorboard on the passenger side front and back to mount the compressor and the tank near each other. Just had to fab up some brackets to attach to the frame rail. For the CJ7 , I decided to mount the tank similarly to the frame rail on the passenger side, outside the frame away from the exhaust on the inside. I know what some may say about concern for hitting the tank on rocks and such, but take a look at the pics. The bottom of the tank is still higher than my xfer case skid plate and well out of the way for what my Jeep sees. I don't rock crawl and so forth. I hit the deer woods or quail fields and go camping and boating.
For mounting the tank, I simply used one of the existing brackets that came on the tank. Just drilled two holes in the frame rail that lined up and run some bolts. That's the back end of the tank. For the front end, the tank's other bracket lined up perfectly with one of the body mount flanges. So I welded a small scrap of 1.5" angle to the other bracket on the tank. I then lined that up with the side of the body mount flange, drilled a hole, and ran a 1/4-20 bolt through. Once all snugged up, this think is rock solid. When viewed from underneath, you can see the drain and one of the plugs. When viewed from the side, you can barely see it at all through my step rail.
Now the compressor was another story. I decided to mount it up in the space between the inner fender well and the firewall where the heater motor sticks out beneath the battery tray. It is mounted with rubber isolators to the inner fender. So no water or mud thrown from the tire and away from any heat source. I did have to get a longer air line to connect the compressor to the tank however. For the electrical, it is wired to a 30 amp relay from my secondary battery and then to a switch on the dash next to the other switches for fog lights, dual battery isolator, and spots. To use the air, I attached a standard push-lock air fitting to one of the ports on the end of the tank so that an air hose can be just inserted and used like normal. Here's some pics:

For mounting the tank, I simply used one of the existing brackets that came on the tank. Just drilled two holes in the frame rail that lined up and run some bolts. That's the back end of the tank. For the front end, the tank's other bracket lined up perfectly with one of the body mount flanges. So I welded a small scrap of 1.5" angle to the other bracket on the tank. I then lined that up with the side of the body mount flange, drilled a hole, and ran a 1/4-20 bolt through. Once all snugged up, this think is rock solid. When viewed from underneath, you can see the drain and one of the plugs. When viewed from the side, you can barely see it at all through my step rail.
Now the compressor was another story. I decided to mount it up in the space between the inner fender well and the firewall where the heater motor sticks out beneath the battery tray. It is mounted with rubber isolators to the inner fender. So no water or mud thrown from the tire and away from any heat source. I did have to get a longer air line to connect the compressor to the tank however. For the electrical, it is wired to a 30 amp relay from my secondary battery and then to a switch on the dash next to the other switches for fog lights, dual battery isolator, and spots. To use the air, I attached a standard push-lock air fitting to one of the ports on the end of the tank so that an air hose can be just inserted and used like normal. Here's some pics:








