GEN 1 ARB Twin Compressor install (with pics)

I've been meaning to install onboard air on my 2012 SCREW and finally got around to it. What held me back was finding a mounting option that did not require welding or taking apart the entire truck. My original plan was to mount directly to the frame rail, however, I didn't want to drill 4 holes all the way through the frame (8 holes total) like SurfNSocial's did in his post. Also, my drill would not fit in the space next to the frame anyways.

So instead I fabricated a mounting bracket using 1" steel channel and it turned out better than expected. Here's what you will need:

(x4) 1" x 11" Steel Channel
(x4) 4" x 1/4" Stainless Hex Bolts
(x8) 1/4" Stainless Washers
(x4) 1/4" Stainless Lock Washers



All parts can be found at your local Home Depot and cost a total of about $30. The steel channel is only available in 3' lengths so I bought two and cut them down to 4x 11" lengths with an angle grinder.

For the steel channel, two of them will need 4 holes drilled and two will need two holes. Drill one 5/16" hole in each channel 1/2" in from the ends. These are for mounting the channel to the frame. Also, drill two 5/16" holes centered in the middle of two of the channels using the mounting template for the air compressor.

At this point, you can do a dry fit to make sure everything lines up before permanent installation. The 11" channels could probably be cut a little shorter (10"). There is about 1" of clearance between the frame and the bolts.







After a successful dry fit, I hit the steel channels with some etching primer and top coat for some rust protection.



When the paint is dry, time for final assembly. Pretty straightforward and simple. I had also used Loctite Red on all threads just for peace of mind.
Due to the extra clearance between the frame and bolts, I pushed the compressor as high as possible so that the bottom bolts would touch the frame before tightening. This increases ground clearance and also will allow me to see if the mounts start to loosen and the compressor shifts after some off-road driving. Here are pics of the finished installation.







I've only driven about 50 miles off road since the installation but so far the compressor has not budged or shifted. I've marked the bolts so I can see if they start to walk themselves loose.

Thanks for viewing!

Pics aren’t working

Devilsfan72 said:

Pics aren’t working

Click to expand...

That's strange. Images were shared publicly from Google Drive. It was working for me when I tested from a different location and not logged into Google.

I've moved the external image references to a different host. Let me know if you still cannot see the images.

Thanks,
Eric

Good now

Thank you for posting. Was getting power to the compressor straight forward? Also, how / where are you accessing the air when needed? Did you run a line to the rear? These were both outlined in the installation instructions but I was curious...

Lastly, what onboard air system did you use? Thank you

IU89 said:

Thank you for posting. Was getting power to the compressor straight forward? Also, how / where are you accessing the air when needed? Did you run a line to the rear? These were both outlined in the installation instructions but I was curious...

Lastly, what onboard air system did you use? Thank you

Click to expand...

Power was pretty simple. This is specific to the ARB Twin so any other model do your homework.
All black wires went to ground. The two heavy red wires went straight to the positive terminal of the battery. I did not use the switch that it came with. Instead I wired the thin green wire to my upfitter switch. It requires an 8A fuse so any upfitter will do. I recommend using either of the right two since they are both 10A. Save the 30A and 15A switches for something bigger. The location of the compressor allowed me to use the included harness all the way up to the engine but came about 1' short of the battery so I used some 12 ga wire to patch to the battery.

I have not extended the hose connection. I purchased the ARB pump up kit along with the compressor so that includes the chuck. If you don't get this kit, make sure you get a hose that is heat resistant as it gets pretty hot after running for a while. I don't plan to extend the connector since its located centrally on the truck and I can reach all four tires with plenty of slack.

The model I installed is the ARB 12V Twin Compressor CKMTA12 that runs about $515. No tank at this time since I don't plan on running any air tools, but might add a small tank for some air horns.

I have timed myself airing up from 24 psi to 44 psi at almost exactly 2.5 minutes per tire, 10 minutes total.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,
Eric

d4nguy said:

Power was pretty simple. This is specific to the ARB Twin so any other model do your homework.
All black wires went to ground. The two heavy red wires went straight to the positive terminal of the battery. I did not use the switch that it came with. Instead I wired the thin green wire to my upfitter switch. It requires an 8A fuse so any upfitter will do. I recommend using either of the right two since they are both 10A. Save the 30A and 15A switches for something bigger. The location of the compressor allowed me to use the included harness all the way up to the engine but came about 1' short of the battery so I used some 12 ga wire to patch to the battery.

I have not extended the hose connection. I purchased the ARB pump up kit along with the compressor so that includes the chuck. If you don't get this kit, make sure you get a hose that is heat resistant as it gets pretty hot after running for a while. I don't plan to extend the connector since its located centrally on the truck and I can reach all four tires with plenty of slack.

The model I installed is the ARB 12V Twin Compressor CKMTA12 that runs about $515. No tank at this time since I don't plan on running any air tools, but might add a small tank for some air horns.

I have timed myself airing up from 24 psi to 44 psi at almost exactly 2.5 minutes per tire, 10 minutes total.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,
Eric

Click to expand...

How’s your set up holding up? I’m planning of doing this soon but will have it in the cab till I make some brackets to permanently have it in the engine bay. For the upfitter switch, did you just splice into the harness arb provided (green wire from their harness) and just hid the excess of the harness?

It’s holding up well. After dragging the frame over many obstacles it has shifted a little, and one of the steel bars has a crack in it from the stress. It’s been this way for a few years now and I’ve been meaning to fix it. It it’s still very secure and I haven’t been crawling much so no rush.

There’s a green wire that goes to the switch. No splicing needed. Instead of using the provided ARB switch I wired that to the upfitter switch.

d4nguy said:

It’s holding up well. After dragging the frame over many obstacles it has shifted a little, and one of the steel bars has a crack in it from the stress. It’s been this way for a few years now and I’ve been meaning to fix it. It it’s still very secure and I haven’t been crawling much so no rush.

There’s a green wire that goes to the switch. No splicing needed. Instead of using the provided ARB switch I wired that to the upfitter switch.

Click to expand...

Got yah, did you connect the green wire behind the glove box to a single wire? I've read for light bars you have to connect the upfitters to the lines behind the glove box that go to the engine bay (passthrough) but I assume that's only for stuff being wired through the engine bay and not the inside of the truck.

LPSVT said:

Got yah, did you connect the green wire behind the glove box to a single wire? I've read for light bars you have to connect the upfitters to the lines behind the glove box that go to the engine bay but I assume that's only for stuff being wired through the engine bay and not the inside of the truck.

Click to expand...

Correct. By default the upfitter switched are not connect to the engine bay but wired there. You could connect the switch to the engine bay then to the compressor, or pull the wire into the cab behind the glove box for a single connection.