On-Board Air Compressor General Placement Guidelines

BugoutJeep

TJ Addict
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My issue is less of an issue for a TJ, but I was reading my ARB compressor manual, which wasn't all in one sitting because I won't be able to stay awake. I noticed it seemed to want you to run your compressor near the locker(s) and near the battery. Not a big issue for a TJ, but the installation I was going to do on my truck, this is a pretty big difference for a long bed quad cab 3/4 ton truck.

You all probably have more experience with on-board air and compressors, so I was wanting to see what the general preferences are for these installations. Would you rather run more air line from your compressor to locker or more and over-sized wiring from your compressor to battery?

Some additional info that sway my preferences are:
-line for the truck would have to cross the exhaust, though obviously this can be secured, but it's a much more complex routing job, whereas wire is pretty easy to work with.

-fitment is much easier in the bed area

-I will likely be running an aux battery in the rear, so in theory I could get power close to the compressor, but the controls would be in the cab, so this likely wouldn't be of much benefit.

-There may be other wires that need to be extended, which may sway me back to mounting the compressor in the engine bay

-I don't plan to add a front locker

Some areas I'm curious about is that, I don't see a way to dry the air, but are the small CFMs a non-factor for moisture in a differential? Would going with a larger gauge wire for the extension really be noticeable for an air locker situation with occasional air refills?
 
Simply increase the wire size if you mount it away from the battery. Your compressor will thank you for keeping it out of the high underhood heat too.
 
Well and it would need to be on my Turbo side as well. I need to really lay everything out though to make sure I'm not being too overly simplistic with my assessment, but there's a lot of space in the back.