On-board air in a bag
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
The flexzilla looks really nice, but I honestly haven't had an issue with the coiled hose included with the Viair. I like that it stays up off the ground (mostly) due to the spring action and that it's fast to stow away when done.
OP
Yes. I researched the compressors on the market when I was designing the bag and made sure that it could fit all compressors of this style that I found.
Part of the reason I bought the Flexzilla was to test the fit in the bag - if it didn't fit I would suggest that the production version of the bag be a bit larger. I figure people are going to use their favorite hoses so it makes sense for me to test a few of the popular ones.
OP
Overland Outfitters sent me some preproduction photos of the Compressor bag:
It's heavy black canvas and the brown accents are leather.
Also in the email - photos of a preproduction Kitchen Keeper:
And a preproduction Camp Campinet (vanity bag). I can't tell if the black rectangle is a mirror reflecting something black or if there's no mirror in it yet and it's been blacked out with Photoshop.
Hopefully they'll send me examples of all of the above soon for testing.
It's heavy black canvas and the brown accents are leather.
Also in the email - photos of a preproduction Kitchen Keeper:
And a preproduction Camp Campinet (vanity bag). I can't tell if the black rectangle is a mirror reflecting something black or if there's no mirror in it yet and it's been blacked out with Photoshop.
Hopefully they'll send me examples of all of the above soon for testing.
Jeff, you must get great satisfaction when a design of yours hits the market. Great works as always.
OP
My satisfaction varies
. Overland Outfitters almost always improves on my work so that's very satisfying. But they're a small company so with them I always worry for them whether the design will be commercial success or not. So far OO has been doing very well with my designs - OO recently forwarded me an email they got from Quadratec saying that sales of OO's products are up 249% over last year so far. QT is running a 10% off promo on all of OO's products right now BTW.With some other companies my satisfaction is often tempered by how they reengineer my design for production. Sometimes I keep using my prototypes in my Jeeps rather than install the production versions because a company has changed the design in ways I don't like.
And sometimes companies leave out features because they either don't agree that the feature is important or they want to cost-reduce the product. There are many features of the Safari Cab hardtop that never made it into production (roll-up soft sides, plug-and-play wiring harness for Jeeps without hardtop wiring, roll-bar roof rack supports, etc.) that were eliminated in the production version
. I never licensed my JK/JKU Safari Cab hardtop to any company for that reason - I didn't want to see features left out of it.So it's a mixed bag. Overall I'm happiest when I finish my design and build my prototype, when something gets into production I may not be as happy
.
OP
Yesterday I received (finally) 3 preproduction Compressor Bags from the company. Today I checked them out to verify the details and construction. They're very close to production ready, I only had a few comments to send back to the company.
The production bag may have the leather handle pictured or it may be webbing, they haven't decided yet. The other two samples they sent me have webbing handles and they're very nice.
It's also not clear at this point if the production bag will include the 'Keep Calm and Air Down" patch.
The bag designed to fit all of the popular portable compressors, plus the power cord and an air hose (a 25' Flexzilla hose fits in just fine) and it's got pockets for assorted tools and tire repair supplies.
A draft flyer, this was done before they had their own samples so it's got photos of my prototype. It's all a draft subject to change but I don't think they'll mind if I share.
Unrelated topic, but they also sent me preproduction TJ/LJ Seat Back Molle/Zip & Go/Grab & Go bands. These slip over the seat and provide mounting for all of the types of bags and gear I just mentioned. They're made mostly of nice leather with some brown webbing accents. It's pictured with a military surplus Molle ammo pouch...
I designed a similar seat attachment for the Corbeau seats in the Quadratec 30th Anniversary "YJL" and those bags work great in the TJ too...
The production bag may have the leather handle pictured or it may be webbing, they haven't decided yet. The other two samples they sent me have webbing handles and they're very nice.
It's also not clear at this point if the production bag will include the 'Keep Calm and Air Down" patch.
The bag designed to fit all of the popular portable compressors, plus the power cord and an air hose (a 25' Flexzilla hose fits in just fine) and it's got pockets for assorted tools and tire repair supplies.
A draft flyer, this was done before they had their own samples so it's got photos of my prototype. It's all a draft subject to change but I don't think they'll mind if I share.
Unrelated topic, but they also sent me preproduction TJ/LJ Seat Back Molle/Zip & Go/Grab & Go bands. These slip over the seat and provide mounting for all of the types of bags and gear I just mentioned. They're made mostly of nice leather with some brown webbing accents. It's pictured with a military surplus Molle ammo pouch...
I designed a similar seat attachment for the Corbeau seats in the Quadratec 30th Anniversary "YJL" and those bags work great in the TJ too...
OP
I've sent my feedback on the sample compressor bag to the company; I expect they'll implement the minor tweaks I suggested.
Sometimes companies ask me to take photos of products installed in one of my Jeeps, but that's not necessary with a product like this so they'll do their own studio photography of the final product, but they did ask me to take a few photos and write a draft of the instructions for mounting the compressor permanently in the bag. Like other bags, the compressor can just be thrown in this bag and removed for use, but this bag is designed so the compressor can stay in the bag during use. Since I already did that in the prototype bag it was easier for me to take the photos and draft instructions than it would be for them, so I did this:
They'll edit and format it to their liking but the basics are there.
Sometimes companies ask me to take photos of products installed in one of my Jeeps, but that's not necessary with a product like this so they'll do their own studio photography of the final product, but they did ask me to take a few photos and write a draft of the instructions for mounting the compressor permanently in the bag. Like other bags, the compressor can just be thrown in this bag and removed for use, but this bag is designed so the compressor can stay in the bag during use. Since I already did that in the prototype bag it was easier for me to take the photos and draft instructions than it would be for them, so I did this:
They'll edit and format it to their liking but the basics are there.
Sir, I make a living with my hands and like to think of myself as being adept at what I do.... Then I see what you're able to do and what looks like your own garage... And how you take every idea all the way home..... I don't know where it comes from.... I can't imagine how you make a living... And I can't imagine you having any problem making a living... But you obviously have a gift.
I'm not sucking up.... I don't want anything ....I'm just telling it like it is....every now and then you see someone that is just exceptional at bringing their ideas to life. . You are one of those people. Thank you for being on here and showing us what you're working on.
I'm not sucking up.... I don't want anything ....I'm just telling it like it is....every now and then you see someone that is just exceptional at bringing their ideas to life. . You are one of those people. Thank you for being on here and showing us what you're working on.
OP
Thank you for the very kind words.
About making a living, I'm done with that. My career in high-tech enabled me to leave and pursue my hobbies while I was still young enough to enjoy them
. I was involved in a bunch of tech and media companies, many of which you would know, some you wouldn't.As for where it comes from, my father was an engineer and DIYer and so was my grandfather, so I guess I was born with it and it was further developed in me by my father as we worked on projects together (and sometimes I helped him with tech engineering projects he brought home from work).
Anyway, for the past 15 years or so I've channeled my creative energy into several hobbies, one of which is Jeeps and improving them for the way I use them. I always try to think differently when solving a problem, and everything I build I do in my home workshop, or garage (fiberglass is too smelly to do in a basement workshop), or my sewing room. And I'm always looking for new problems to design solutions for
.BTW I only post a fraction of my Jeep projects here - I've done lots of JK projects; some JL and Gladiator projects, a bunch of off-road/camp trailer projects and lots of things for overlanding/camping that probably wouldn't interest most people on this forum.