OBA Viair 400C dual pack

[Nyseguy]

Well I decided I wanted on board air to air up when coming off the beach. After more research than I care to admit I decided on the Viair 400C dual pack. From what I've read I think they'll air up extremely fast and shouldn't cost much more than the single portable I was looking at. I know a lot of guys use the CO2, but I didn't want to worry about mounting the tank and remembering to fill it. Plus, there's a bit of a cool factor in being able to just flip a switch, plug an air hose into my bumper, and air up in a quarter the time as everyone waiting in line for one slow pump.

Anyway, a couple questions for guys who have done on board air:

1. I've noticed that some of you have used the Viair mounting bracket and some of you mount the compressor directly to the frame rail. Is there any advantage of doing it either way? The mounts aren't expensive and I was thinking they might give me a little more protection from below.

2. Does anyone know where I can get a fitting similar to this? @rap67 has them on this truck, but I believe they came with his compressor. I'm sure there is something similar available, but I just can't seem to find it.

 

[Nyseguy]

Well after some more searching I think I found that quick connect.

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

i run 2 of the 400c compressors on my truck. i got them specifically because of the cfm rate. they are the highest i could find. the only issue is that they are 33% duty cycle. meaning you can only use them 20 minutes of an hour. but, you can air up 4-5 trucks in that time. i do however have 7 gallons of air storage though.

 

[Nyseguy]

Yeah Noah, that's exactly what I was looking at was CFM rates. I'm not even planning to run tanks at this point. I don't really need to run air tools and I'm not into the air horn thing. I just wanted to fill tires quick when coming off the beach. I saw a few videos online of the 400c that make it seem pretty indestructible. In the torture test it ran for over 2 hours at 30 psi before overheating. Even most 100% duty compressor will turn off if you run them long enough.

Did you use the mounting brackets or mount the compressor right to the rail?

 

[Dane]

i run 2 of the 400c compressors on my truck. i got them specifically because of the cfm rate. they are the highest i could find. the only issue is that they are 33% duty cycle. meaning you can only use them 20 minutes of an hour. but, you can air up 4-5 trucks in that time. i do however have 7 gallons of air storage though.

I run two DC480s from airbagit.com
Dealer_E-Mail_Ad_120409

Same CFM as the Viair, but 100% duty cycle. They NEARLY keep up with the York compressor on my Jeep (unless you rev the Jeep, you can't match a York). Airing up is no issue these days! I have a five gallon tank.

 

[Nyseguy]

I looked at that DC480. It just seemed about the same as the Viair and I figured I'd go with the brand I know. I liked the ARB twin also, but it wasn't worth a couple hundred bucks more to me. I also like the fact of having 2 separate compressors in case one dies on me, I can still pump up with one.

 

[Dane]

I looked at that DC480. It just seemed about the same as the Viair and I figured I'd go with the brand I know. I liked the ARB twin also, but it wasn't worth a couple hundred bucks more to me. I also like the fact of having 2 separate compressors in case one dies on me, I can still pump up with one.

I was going with Viair until I talked to a buddy that knows a lot about air suspension, so I started looking at his suggestions. The DC480 just outperforms in the long run in my opinion. It's made for heavier use. 100% duty cycle vs. 33% is significant. I've abused mine since the end of 2012 with zero issues.

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

i actually mounted to my floorboard. i have one on each side. i did that because it was able to sit higher than mounting to the frame and much easier to mount

---------- Post added at 11:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:16 AM ----------

i dont think we can go wrong either way. but in reality, i have only come once to having the compressors on for 25 minutes conitnuous. and that was airing up 5 trucks. so duty cycle is not that important for me. its what i found at the time and it was from a reputable company so i went for it

 

[Nyseguy]

Since you forgot more about wiring than I'll ever know I might as well ask, Do I just wire the relays up under the hood and then run 2 separate wires down to the compressors? Do you recommend a certain gauge?

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

i used a 100 amp circuit breaker. i ran 4ga power cable to it and then from there an 8ga wire to each compressor. when both are on the current draw is about 50 amps, but heat plays a bigger part than anything else. i melted one of those glass fuse holders at first so i swapped it out