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Installing An Onboard Air Compressor For Jeep Wranglers

A dual compressor for your JLU or JKU is a no brainer.
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I'm not going to lie. as an individual (not a representative ofFour Wheeleror a representative of everyone atFour Wheeler's opinion) I absolutely hate with a burning passion 4x4-mounted pneumatic train horns or air horns. I'm not talking about the little horns that play campy tunes at a reasonable volume like the Duke boys in the General. I'm talking about poop-in-your-pants air horns at 8.5 million decibels. I've literally pulled rolls of film out of cameras (many years ago) and deleted perfectly good digital images (could have been cover shots) after someone in an otherwise cool rig honks their train horn on the trail near me. The startling sound that screams "Pay attention to me!!! I'm the most inadequate yet very important person in the world!" is pathetic in my opinion. Train horns suck unless used for its original, god-given purpose, namely letting me know I'm about to get hit by a train—in which case they still suck, but it's fine to scare the poop out of me.

Kleinn Air Horns has built a solid business selling air and train horns to those Mommy apparently ignored, and that, while annoying to me, puts them in a special place when it comes to producing onboard air systems that work and work well for many trucks and 4x4s. So, despite firmly held opinions, turning to ExtremeTerrain.com for a Kleinn Jeep Wrangler JLU and JKU High Performance Onboard Air System with dual compressors is a no brainer. And that's just what we (a friend and I) did (truth be told he did all the heavy lifting, but still), and here it is.

Why do you need OBA

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Our buddy Eric is a lifelong Jeep guy. He'd just bought this lightly used and well-upgraded 2018 JKU and planned a cross-country family trip in the new Jeep. Eric, like us, really liked the idea of having a good, reliable onboard air system on the Jeep for this and any trip. With that Eric reached out to ExtremeTerrain.com for a bolt-on high-performance onboard air system. Eric added in the second air compressor to maximize the system's performance. Here's what we got from Extreme Terrain. The system can easily inflate the tires after airing down to hit a trail or bumpy road. They are also great for topping off a tire if you get a leak somewhere along the way. Compressed air is also great for cleaning dust off exterior parts of the Jeep before setting up camp, inflating air mattresses, innertubes for the river, and more. You can even run some lower-volume pneumatic tools off a dual compressor system like this for trail or roadside repairs

The install

First step to the installation is to lay out everything that comes with the compressor. The kit comes with everything you'll need plus detailed instructions, also available here. The price of the basic kit is $824.95, and the dual compressor upgrade costs an additional $319.95. With the basic kit you get a nine-port 2.8-gallon air tank, several air fittings, a pressure switch, drain, a 175-psi safety valve, thread sealant, mounting brackets, and one compressor (you can add a second compressor for the ultimate performance). The kit also comes with a digital tire inflator, tire inflation kit, a dash panel and illuminated gauge, a quick connect air coupler kit, with relocation bracket (we added a second one for front and rear air), wiring (including relays, fuses, and connectors), and wire loom. It's comprehensive.

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Here are almost all of the parts all laid out for installation. There is some bench assembly you

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Each of the two compressors come with little air cleaners that you will probably want to mount remotely and high up. The compressors are waterproof, but the air intake needs to stay clean and dry. Also check out the nice digital gauge that comes with the kit.

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The kit also comes with this illuminated gauge and dash mount panel if you want to go that route. We added some extra fittings to the gauge and will keep it unmounted so we can easily pop it into one of the two remote quick connect fittings if we want to test the system

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Fittings, fittings, and more fittings. This kit has everything you need to install the product and if you want to add more you just need to add a few more fittings. Extra fittings should be available at a well-supplied hardware store or auto parts house.

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The Kleinn kit also comes with one of these tire inflation kits, so when the system is all mounted up, you can actually use it to air up tires and more. The second compressor comes with a second inflation kit. Each has air chuck fittings, a flexible hose, and a heavy-duty storage bag for the inflation kit.

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This OBA system comes with one high-output waterproof 150-psi air compressor. For an additional $319.95 you can make the system a dual compressor system for the ultimate performance. One or two compressors mount to one of the mounting brackets, which will later slip into place over the other bracket mounted to the Jeep.

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Ever heard of air horn juice? No? We hadn

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Another of the brackets gets prepped for the tank. You will mount the tank after the bracket is mounted to the Jeep, but it

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As said, each of the compressors have a little air cleaner. We used the supplied line to mount the air filters up high. You can mount them in the engine compartment or near the fuel filler inside the rear driver-side quarter panel behind the rear tire. That

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Next before getting under the Jeep for the install, we routed most of the wiring and some of the air lines to the front of the Jeep. That way that stuff can be installed when we get down and dirty under the Jeep

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Then up goes the Jeep on our 10k BenPak vehicle lift. You can do this install on the ground, but a lift just makes everything easier especially for photography.

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Now we can start mounting the brackets underneath the Jeep. Most of the system will fit in this space behind the transfer case and next to the rear driveshaft.

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Then mount the air tank and fittings in lieu of making the wiring connections and air line connections. Then the bracket with the compressor(s) mounted to it fits into place over the tank. This bracket also serves as a skidplate to protect the compressors and air tank.

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Things get a bit tight with everything installed, but with all of the supplied wire loom, we can protect wiring and air lines from any abrasion and or hot surfaces nearby. We used plenty of zip-ties. The kit comes with several zip-ties, but don

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With most of the major components in place, we can lower the Jeep back down and finalize all the electrical connections and air line connections. We tied our system into the Jeep

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With everything mounted up, wired, and plumbed, we can fire up the system for the first time. You

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One remote-mounted air chuck fitting got mounted to the rear bumper of the Jeep. This is great for filling rear tires or using the system to blow dust off the rear hatch before setting up camp, or inflating water toys, air mattresses, and more.

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Here is the front remote-mounted air chuck fitting on the front bumper and the system supplied tire inflation kit. This makes inflating the front tires a breeze (literally) and also allows you to blow dust off the engine or clean out the vehicle

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The tire inflation kit comes with a locking air chuck for your tires valve stems, but the OBA system also comes with this nice digital air gauge with a pressure release valve. That

Source:

Extreme Terrain Off-Road Outfitters

877.870.8556

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