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2000XJ
09-13-2009, 08:44 PM
Well today I started the day off by making a mount for my air compressor. I was originally going to make a mount similar to XJJeepThing's, but in the end I decided to go with a simpler, less space occupying design. When I wheel I carry spare shafts, spare steering, a 33" spare tire, toolbag, so I wanted something relatively compact. I do love his setup, and if I didn't carry so much crap I would've used it. Oh well.

I started off by removing the factory spare tire mount, sanding it down and repainting it because it was really scratched up, and I wanted this mount to look nice for at least a little while before stuff scratches it up.

Then I had a factory TJ battery mount that was donated by a friend of mine laying around. I used a cut off wheel to cut off the nuts that were welded to the back of it. Then I cut it down to basically the size of the air compressor itself. Used a flapper to take care of sharp edges, and get rid of the factory primer that was on it.

Once this was done, I placed the factory spare tire mount in its factory location, took some measurements and drilled two holes through the potential mounting plate and tire mount. Once that was done I bolt it down with two 5/16" bolts and measured out where the holes for the legs of the compressor would go. Once they were measured out, I drilled out the holes for another set of 5/16" bolts.

Once everything was drilled, I primered and painted the factory mount and the plate that would hold the air compressor.

Once the paint was dry, I bolted everything together - and this is the end result. It's nice and sturdy, and I used ny-locks nuts so that the vibration of the air compressor and wheeling wouldn't loosen them up. It's not going anywhere. It looks cheesy and kind of half-assed, but it works.

Location:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p215/dassc612/Jeep%20XJ%20Air%20Compressor%20Mount/Sept2009-AirCompMount007.jpg

Mount:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p215/dassc612/Jeep%20XJ%20Air%20Compressor%20Mount/Sept2009-AirCompMount008.jpg

End Result:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p215/dassc612/Jeep%20XJ%20Air%20Compressor%20Mount/Sept2009-AirCompMount009.jpg

xjjeepthing
09-14-2009, 06:02 AM
Nice I didn't have my stock mount I sold it. I made the box to cover the fuel fill hump in the floor

2000XJ
09-14-2009, 08:41 AM
Thanks. In the end I still like your mount better, but my main goal was functionality and simplicity. It sucks that I was pretty deep into a mount like yours when I changed my mind. Eventually I'll probably do a compressor in my DD as well because it's just really convenient to have OBA, and in that case I'll do something nicer.

Mudderoy
09-14-2009, 08:47 AM
Did you guys give any thought to mounting the compressor somewhere it wouldn't be so loud? Like outside the vehicle. I want to do the air horn thing, but I don't want to have the compressor inside. I was thinking of having the air tank mounted above the rear axle.

4.3LXJ
09-14-2009, 11:22 AM
Did you guys give any thought to mounting the compressor somewhere it wouldn't be so loud? Like outside the vehicle. I want to do the air horn thing, but I don't want to have the compressor inside. I was thinking of having the air tank mounted above the rear axle.

It looks like there would be enough room there to do that, but there really isn't unless it is a very small tank. Besides, the tank is not the noisy part. Mine resides in the back.

2000XJ
09-14-2009, 04:28 PM
The noise wasn't a factor for me because the only time I'm using that compressor is to air up my tires after wheeling, so I'm already outside of the vehicle anyway. I basically was tired of having to strap down another item, carried in its own case/bag just so I could air up - so I decided to hardwire it and mount it "permanently".

If I was going to do an OBA setup to run lockers or air tools I would convert my AC compressor to an OBA setup and mount the tank in the trunk. This is still a possibility for me as I may try to convert my rock sliders into air tanks in the future. The AC in the trail rig doesn't work great, and I barely use it, so it's not a big sacrifice to convert it.

This setup of converting the AC compressor is great because it works off of your engine, it works quickly, and all the hoses are pretty much contained to the engine bay and under your carpet on the interior.

Mudderoy
09-14-2009, 04:53 PM
The noise wasn't a factor for me because the only time I'm using that compressor is to air up my tires after wheeling, so I'm already outside of the vehicle anyway. I basically was tired of having to strap down another item, carried in its own case/bag just so I could air up - so I decided to hardwire it and mount it "permanently".

If I was going to do an OBA setup to run lockers or air tools I would convert my AC compressor to an OBA setup and mount the tank in the trunk. This is still a possibility for me as I may try to convert my rock sliders into air tanks in the future. The AC in the trail rig doesn't work great, and I barely use it, so it's not a big sacrifice to convert it.

This setup of converting the AC compressor is great because it works off of your engine, it works quickly, and all the hoses are pretty much contained to the engine bay and under your carpet on the interior.

Well I guess how often I would turn the compressor on would be directly related to how many idiots that were in the fast lane talking on the cell phone. Maybe I need to find out how much "honkage" I can get from a air tank with "x" gallons of storage. It may be that I wouldn't have to fill up the tank that often, and I could mount the air compressor in the same place you guys did.

Fat boy in the heat of the South must have A/C in the daily driver. Great for a off road only rig though.

2000XJ
09-14-2009, 05:50 PM
I don't think that an air horn would use too much air per shot. If you had a 5 gallon tank, you could probably honk away for a while before needing to refill it. That is a good question though, that I definately can't answer correctly though :D

jugbutt
09-14-2009, 05:50 PM
It can't be all that noisy or is it?

Mudderoy
09-14-2009, 11:08 PM
It can't be all that noisy or is it?

Noise is good, however the wife and two teenage daughters disagree. Usually with a perfectly time 3 person sigh. :smiley-laughing021:

2000XJ
09-14-2009, 11:13 PM
rofl I definately agree on that sign Mudd.. they'll never get over our toys!

Now that the compressor is mounted to a solid surface, when it's on all you hear is a hum instead of clattering and stuff like when it would just sit on pavement or rocks while I used it. Much easier to use and not so annoying now.

Mudderoy
09-14-2009, 11:21 PM
rofl I definately agree on that sign Mudd.. they'll never get over our toys!

Now that the compressor is mounted to a solid surface, when it's on all you hear is a hum instead of clattering and stuff like when it would just sit on pavement or rocks while I used it. Much easier to use and not so annoying now.

Yes, but when you get a flat, and the OBA gets you going much faster it will be "Why don't I have that in my Mustang?" "The Jeep gets all the attention."

That's good to know I didn't think about it having a different sound being attached to a large heavy object.

xjjeepthing
09-15-2009, 08:34 PM
I plan on redoing mine this winter, I have a small airtank I want to add.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/FIP-9126/

2000XJ
09-18-2009, 10:26 PM
I'd definately like to add a tank one day, I still have no idea as to where to put it. If I ever cage my XJ I could always weld a mount to the cage and bolt the tank to it with some Grade 8's and never have to worry about it.

Jeff, wouldn't a 5 gallon tank be better? The 2 gallon seems pretty small, and it may cause the compressor to run too often. I think they make the 5 gallon in the same diameter, just a bit longer.

I'm not trying to rain on your parade, just trying to spark some good discussion and learn a thing or two about a thing or two.

4.3LXJ
09-18-2009, 11:40 PM
Yes they do make a five gallon tank, but it takes up quite a bit of room. I run a 2 gallon on mine with no problems.

BlueXJ
09-19-2009, 12:36 AM
I was thinking of re-doing my rear bumper to be an airtank. I love dual or multipurpose things.

4.3LXJ
09-19-2009, 08:38 PM
Big tube bumpers are out of style now. What did you have in mind?

2000XJ
09-20-2009, 03:55 PM
You don't need to have a big tube bumper to use it as an airtank. As long as it's fully boxed/welded, and it doesn't leak, you can turn it into an air tank. I'd love to turn my sliders into air tanks, or build a rear bumper that's fully boxed and use that as a tank as well. Usually they can hold a considerable amount of air and all you have to do is run lines to it.

xjjeepthing
09-20-2009, 07:38 PM
5 gallon would be better but I want to keep room in the back for gear when camping of wheelin. I remove my sub box for wheelin.

2000XJ
09-20-2009, 08:52 PM
Gotcha, that makes sense.