ARB compressor mounting

[Wanderer]

So I picked up a brand new CKMA12 compressor for a steal and now I'm faced with trying to work out where to mount it.
I've been using a portable one for years so it's never been an issue, but the idea of onboard air was too good to pass up considering what I paid for the ARB Jobby.
I have an NW with dual batteries and there doesn't appear to be much room under the bonnet after fitting the second battery.

I've seen someone mount it behind the spare wheel with a switch and an air fitting mounted in the carrier itself which I really like the idea of, I dont really want it in the rear seat well, or under the seat, just a personal preference really, I don't really have any objections with it, I just don't wanna

Can anybody see any problems with mounting behind the spare and/or does anybody remember the thread that shows it mounted behind the spare, or who mounted it there?

Cheers

[KiwiNTPajero]

just been reading this thread/post

[Aussie_Dan]

There are 2 downsides that I can see, with regard to mounting the compressor behind the spare wheel:
1. You will need to run a pretty hefty sized cable from the front to the rear of the vehicle. These compressors draw a fairly reasonable amount of current, so you need to use a pretty large cable to avoid voltage drop (which would stunt the performance of the compressor). And you need to work out how you are going to get that big fat cable from the body of the car, into / onto the back door. Doing this neatly could be a challenge.
2. The compressor will be constantly exposed to the elements. Dust, rain, salt spray if you do any beach work. Obviously this will have an effect on its life span.
Cheers, Dan.

[Hatto]

Hey wanderer, I mounted my compressor behind the spare wheel about a year ago. Its a Blue tongue from O/Lock not an ARB one. I already had 100A cable run from my auxiliary battery under the bonnet to the compartment next to the 3rd row cup holders. So I just ran a 30 or 40A cable from there to the compressor. As for dust and rain etc, I made a "roof" over it with a sheet of 1mm aluminum which stops all ingress from above. Obviously dust can get to it from underneath but it just means cleaning the air filter out a little more often. Which is a bit of a pain but I can have the compressor filter off now in about 10-15 mins. I love it there because of the lack of noise in the cab. Usually when I'm airing up the kids are asleep in the back after the driving and when I had it in the boot of my disco it always woke them up for the usual long drive home. In just roll up the hose and keep it under my seat.
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[rmonson]

i've got mine mounted in the rear seat well .... great spot to reach the camper as well as the car.

[Jimbo2]

Hi,
Mine is between the air filter and RHS headlight, there is just enough space in this position. Someone put up a post on how to make the bracket and I copied this.

[Wanderer]

Couple of good ideas so far, I'll have a better look tomorrow and try to nut out where to mount it.
Although I still really like the idea of having it behind the spare wheel

[Georgie]

Hi Wanderer
I am like you looking to fit the compressor under the bonnet and also have two batterys so not much room I did not like the idea of running high voltage cable all the way from the bonnet to the spare wheel however I do have an Anderson plug at the rear of the car which is dedcated to run the c/van fridge while driving this has fairly hefty cable so I may be able to use this or I can just wire in an Andeson plug to the compressor and plug in when required I am just down the road fron you in S/ Harbour maybe we should meet and see what we can come up with
Cheers
George

[Stonka610c]

Hi Wanderer. I installed mine in behind the LHR interior trim. There is plenty of room in there and a reasonably flat section of floor panel to mount it to. I'll get around to tidying up the hose one day, for now it just exits where the old 3rd row seat hinges were. Made sense in my case as I already had heavy cable from the Aux battery running down this side to the rear. It's been working trouble free in this spot for a year now.

[Wanderer]

I never got the chance to look at it today, maybe tomorrow...maybe not.
I've got 6mm twin core running from the second battery to an Anderson plug at the towbar, would that be heavy enough to run the compressor?

I was thinking more about it last night and was thinking that it may be able to fit behind the drivers headlight if I make up some brackets to hold it, do Bunnings have DIY bracket kits or similar?

[Pajaru]

I put mine behind the RHS headlight, I will take a photo tomorrow and and post it here.

[1533rl]

mounting arb compressor

Hi wanderer, with reference to your bracket question, I posted a thread on mounting the compressor under the bonnet:
Electrical section - Mounting ARB compressor in NP pajero - in Dec2014
There are pics of a bracket I made with the "make-a-bracket" stuff bought at Bunnings. It may be suitable for you to make your own bracket if you still want to mount the compressor behind the headlight. It is not sold as a kit, just pieces of different sizes.
Cheers
Peter

[WilsonFamily]

Location

Hi, I purchased a spare battery holder and mounted to it in the engine bay, works a treat.

[newtopaj]

Hi Wanderer. I installed mine in behind the LHR interior trim. There is plenty of room in there and a reasonably flat section of floor panel to mount it to. I'll get around to tidying up the hose one day, for now it just exits where the old 3rd row seat hinges were. Made sense in my case as I already had heavy cable from the Aux battery running down this side to the rear. It's been working trouble free in this spot for a year now.

This what I did as well....plenty of rooms and a couple of HD threaded studs already in that area for the rear seat bracket.

Ran the hose out of the trim and into the spare seat well.
Then mounted a rocker switch near the rear cup holders on top of the trim.

Works a treat

[Troy711]

+1 for the rear left hand trim panel. I wonder if I was the first or if you other blokes also had an awesome idea too and didn't share haha.