05+ Tacoma On Board Air On The Cheap

[KingCrabberCurry]

I've been using the MV-50 air compressor (above) from Costco (Less than $60) for a while now to air up after hitting the trails. It works great, I can fill up 4 33" tires from ~20 psi to 35 psi in about 10 minutes.

Today I mounted the MV-50 as an underhood on-board air source, and just thought I'd post a few pictures in case anyone was wondering if it could be done. The MV-50 comes with a standard 30A in-line fuse and you can easily remove the alligator clips in favor of some ring terminals.

I mounted the MV-50 on top of the cover for the fuse box. This was really the only option for underhood mounting.

I ended up taking the cage off the air gauge and removing the brackets for the feet and reattching them after rotating them 90 degrees to allow the hood to close.

Mounted with 1/4" bolts and locknuts, using rubber washers to insulate against vibration. Mounting is rock solid, very little vibration is transferred to the fuse box cover and I am confident this setup will never crack the plastic.

It's important to mount the unit as close as possible to the middle of the truck, as it is a very tight fit for the air filter. The feet are just a bit narrower than the fuse box cover, so no worries there.

Since you have to have the hood open to use the compressor, I'm not too concerned about operating temperatures. I ran the truck around town for about 30 minutes today, then ran the compressor for about 20 and didn't run into any problems.

The supplied hose will reach all tires of the 05+ Tacomas. The fittings are non-standard, however, so keep that in mind if you are planning to replace the supplied hose with a longer version.

NOTE: I am using the standard 10 GA wire provided with the MV-50 to run my setup. As I am only intending to use this as an intermittent source of air, I figured it would be easier to keep everything standard. If you are thinking about using this to charge an on-board air tank, I would strongly suggest you replace the 10 Ga wire with a more heavily insulated 6 or 8 GA wire. This is very easy to do, as the standard wires are only joined to the switch and relays by crimp-on wire nuts.

Anyhow, this is my setup for on-board air, keeping in tradition of my budget build-up style. Total cost for the MV-50 and all materials was less than $70.

 

[dsrtdcab]

Sweet setup! I was planning on going with the same compressor and was looking for a place to mount it. If you havent already, pick up some 3-4" PVC to store the air hose in. I saw it here or somewhere else, but it works great to protect it. Nice work!

 

[adrenaline503]

Nice work! This is the route I will be taking, I dont need a super expensive system since I wont be using mine that often.

 

[Redline]

Nice job finding/making a spot to hard mount the compressor under the hood.

Bang for the buck, a great compressor.

 

[Carlyle]

That is pretty cool, I don't know if it will fit under my hood though. It's pretty tight on the 6.0 Ford, but I will go look again.

 

[HMR]

Nice work and great looking truck!

One question: What's the benefit of mounting it?
I have the same truck and same compressor. Takes less than 60 seconds to connect to the battery and begin airing up the first tire. Seems like the compressor and hose will last longer stored inside the truck rather than exposed to the heat/cold/vibration under the hood.

 

[jim65wagon]

I put mine under the hood for the convenience. Before it was in a truck box and tended to be buried under everything else. Under the hood it was accessible all the time, instantly. It was always there, whether I was at work and one of my coworkers had a flat, at a pool and needed to inflate a floatie for a kid, or out in the woods living up to its real use. For me it was worth putting there. It lasted two years of heat, dirt, sand and salt. It needs a better air filter on it than the foamy thing it comes with but it's still a nice cheap start to an OBA system.

 

[pray4surf]

It needs a better air filter on it than the foamy thing it comes with but it's still a nice cheap start to an OBA system.

Is it possible to draw in filtered air from 'behind' your trucks air filter (like I've done here with my Viair compressor?

Haven't noticed any ill effects with my setup - YMMV

Rick

 

[Martinjmpr]

I went 'wheeling last year with a guy who had an MV 50 mounted in the passenger compartment of his TJ. He even wired it with a hose fitting that came out of the grille under the headlights so all he had to do was switch it on and attach the hose to the fitting to fill his tires.

I've got one but it's not hard mounted. Works great, though!

I have heard some people have burned out the MV50s after a couple of years of use. But when you compare the $60 MV50 to a $300+ ARB system, it's probably a good tradeoff.

 

[Redline]

And the size/weight of it is nice too

I went 'wheeling last year with a guy who had an MV 50 mounted in the passenger compartment of his TJ. He even wired it with a hose fitting that came out of the grille under the headlights so all he had to do was switch it on and attach the hose to the fitting to fill his tires.

I've got one but it's not hard mounted. Works great, though!

I have heard some people have burned out the MV50s after a couple of years of use. But when you compare the $60 MV50 to a $300+ ARB system, it's probably a good tradeoff.

 

[dustboy]

Sorry to dredge this thread up, but has anyone seen the MV-50 lately? Couldn't find it on the Costco website.

Also: will it shut itself off when it reaches its max pressure??

 

[soonenough]

Sorry to dredge this thread up, but has anyone seen the MV-50 lately? Couldn't find it on the Costco website.

Last time I was at Pep Boys (prob 2 months ago) they had them in stock for $59.99.

Also: will it shut itself off when it reaches its max pressure??

There is no 'max pressure' for this unit; it's just an air pump that provides pressurized air though the hose when it's turned on. I think you're thinking of a compressor setup that has an air storage tank and a pressure window switch, like what a compressor for your garage would do.

It will, however, shut off when it reaches its max temperature, as I found out this past summer. After airing up my four 265/70/16 Rugged Trails and four 35" BFG MTs all from 18 psi back to 32+ psi (which only took 20 - 25 minutes), the little MV-50 just couldn't eek out anymore. At an ambient temp of around 95*, it took probably an hour for it to air up another 2 33" BFG ATs after repeatedly shutting off from overheating. The metal parts (as well as the wiring) were all very very hot to the touch. Upgrading the wiring is on my to-do list. I also think it'd be pretty cool to build a little ventilated box to keep it out of the sun and as cool as possible.

 

[dsrtdcab]

just picked mine up from amazon. $73 including shipping. will be trying it out this weekend hopefully. looks to be a very stout unit though, especially for the $$

 

[toku58]

I just saw it at our local costco for $49

 

[Cackalak Han]

Sorry for another bump, but those of you with 96-04 Tacoma's, could you post a picture of where you mounted it under the hood? Thanks.