I was looking into OBA for my rig ('13 JKU). I currently do not have any air lockers and may or may not in the future (another discussion). Anyways, I was looking at these units and was curious as to your thoughts on them.

Option 1.
ARB twin compressor either mounted below front passenger seat or under hood with the new bracket from MORE.

Option 2.
Viair constant duty ADA system mounted under the hood. This unit is the 450C contact duty compressor with a built in small air reservoir to enable use of air lockers. Link to unit at Air Werz

These would be wired to my sPod. I know that ARB makes a special harness/adapter for this and I think wires direct to the battery for power and then to sPod for switching. (correct me if I am wrong). I think the Viair unit would just wire direct to the sPod.

Also, I know that ARB makes a harness/adapter to wire everything in to the sPod if you add air lockers. I am not sure how it all would work in regards to wiring up air locker switch with the Viair unit.

Any pros or cons with these units? Can any one outline the hook up process if I were to go with air lockers later? Thanks.

 

I'm a big ARB fan. Really like mine. Run's my locker fine and air's my tires up pretty quick. Never had a issue with it at all.

 

I run an SPOD with ARB Twin on the M.O.R.E bracket. Currently run it like this and no issues since install. I might be a little more pricey than other OBA set ups out there but im happy with it. Now the compressor can get a bit noisy and if you wheel with people that might not like to hear it then the engine bay is the best option. After wheeling trips mine gets dusty but i just use my own hose to blow it off and clean it up.

I will be adding a tank and lockers down the road but it will all hook up to my current system which is nice.

 

Red= ARB Power
Blue= ARB Negative
Green= SPOD Positive
Blue= SPOD Negative




Then the $18 harness allows the SPOD to just turn the ARB on/off. As you can see my harness is only being used for the compressor but have the wires available for the F/R lockers ( Yellow/Green ) when added down the road. Just throw them into the slot you want.

 

I have been looking pretty hard at the ARB twin unit. What are ya'lls thoughts on mounting location? Either under the hood using the bracket by M.O.R.E. or under the passenger seat using the bracket by Carolina Metal Masters?

I know the under seat location would be less heat and cleaner air, but not sure I wouldn't want the under hood. I thought I read where the air intake filters could be relocated. Has anybody done this? If so, you could route them into the cab under the dash. Thoughts?

 

I'm thinking about getting one and mounting it just in front of the subwoofer, since I sold my back seat. I might have to make my own mounting plate. Does anyone have pictures of the bottom of the twin so I can get an idea in my head for a mount?

 

Recently installed the Viair unit under hood with in can air coupler. Clean install and serves my needs well. Price was good.

 

That looks like a Viait ADA unit that has a small air reservoir and built in pressure switch to enable hooking up lockers and such. Is that correct? Which unit or package did you buy?

 

I didn't take a pic of the bottom, but it's just a flat plate with threaded holes for various mounting options.
I just bent up some aluminum sheet and mounted the sheet with rubber well nuts to the jeep then used rubber washers between the compressor and sheet. No rattles at all. It's loud due to the high speed and being 2 compressors bolted together, but I knew it was going to be. I have the single under the hood just for my locker so I knew what the sound would be like.

I ran mine down to 2 old scuba tanks I had that I machined down to save weight, mounted where the factory muffler was and plumbed them to the front and rear bumper quick connects.

 

Hands down buy the ARB. It will air up much faster than the VIAIR. Just make sure you keep the Jeep running when you use it. I installed one in my old JKU in the rear cubby. Just had to remove the plastic bin. The exhaust was relocated so I just bolted it to the sheetmetal. My current Jeep has a MORE mount. I would recommend the MORE mount. I wasn't a fan of having it in the passenger compartment when airing up. My wife would go crazy!