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Old 01-29-2010, 05:39 AM   #1
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Extreme Air - In or Out?

With the new E range BFG-ATs on my Sporty last fall, it's come time to retire the old Viar air compressor. Unless that is I want to spend four hours airing the tires up to near highway pressures.

An Extreme Air model is the obvious way to go, but should I get a portable or get it attached to the driver's side rail like Sportsmobile West does for most of their installs?

Here's the pros and cons I have considered so far:

OUTSIDE ATTACHED:
PRO - Ease of airing up and takes no addtitional space inside.

CON - Exposed to the elements, especially in Montana snowy winters with lots of snow and road grime.

INSIDE PORTABLE:
PROS - don't have to carry it around all the time, since I primarily would use it in our spring and fall desert trips.

CONS- have to dig it out of the underfloor storage every time you want to use it.

Another question: Can a portable model be attached outside at a later date?


So what do you guys think that have these beasts?

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Old 01-29-2010, 05:55 AM   #2
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Re: Extreme Air - In or Out?

One question to ask yourself is how often you'll use the compressor. It you expect to use it fairly frequently (airing up, cleaning dirt out of the van,...) I think the permanent mount makes more sense.

Also, are you absolutely, positively 100% sure that if you get the portable version, that the compressor will always be in the van? That you didn't take it out "just this once" to make some room or to lend it to someone else, and then forgot to put it back? You just know it would be that one time you really needed it and it's not there.


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Old 01-29-2010, 07:36 AM   #3
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Re: Extreme Air - In or Out?

We absolutely love our on-board permanent-mount Extreme air. It gets used for the van and the rest of the fleet as well.

...and it is really handy for "sweeping" out the van !!
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Old 01-29-2010, 11:09 AM   #4
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Re: Extreme Air - In or Out?

I'm a fan of anything onboard. Space inside my van is precious -- or at least it's a pain to get at anything buried in nooks under all my other stuff.

My only issue with my onboard ExtremeAire compressor these days is that it doesn't always like to come on first try. I sometimes have to toggle it on/off a few times for it to kick in. Oh, and it used to often blow the big fuse Sportsmobile put inline -- until I finally bypassed it. (There is a circuit breaker in that circuit too.)

Basically, I love having it. Airing up & down is a necessity for off-pavement travel.

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Old 01-29-2010, 11:41 AM   #5
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Re: Extreme Air - In or Out?

We had the same issue.... SMB swapped out the CB and all was fine after that...
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Old 01-29-2010, 12:58 PM   #6
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Re: Extreme Air - In or Out?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ed in Montana
CONS- have to dig it out of the underfloor storage every time you want to use it.
If you have the space in your underfloor storage that you are not using, what about permanently mounting it in there? With careful mounting the box would stay waterproof and your compressor would stay protected. Best of both worlds?

Quote:
Another question: Can a portable model be attached outside at a later date?
Yep. I don't have one myself but from my research you just remove it from the pseudo ammo can and mount it wherever you want.

Mark Alston
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Old 01-29-2010, 01:02 PM   #7
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Re: Extreme Air - In or Out?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg In Austin
We had the same issue.... SMB swapped out the CB and all was fine after that...
The CB!?
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Old 01-29-2010, 01:50 PM   #8
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Re: Extreme Air - In or Out?

Quote:
Originally Posted by geoffff
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg In Austin
We had the same issue.... SMB swapped out the CB and all was fine after that...
The CB!?
Circuit Breaker?
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Old 01-29-2010, 03:29 PM   #9
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Re: Extreme Air - In or Out?

yes circuit breaker....little tiny thing.... but fixed everything
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Old 01-29-2010, 04:14 PM   #10
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Re: Extreme Air - In or Out?

Thanks for clarifying that neither my 2-way radio nor its antenna are the problem

Now that I've bypassed my fuse with a thick wire, my circuit breaker does occasionally still blow too, but that's not too much of a bother.

Usually what happens is that when I go to start up my ExtremeAire compressor (or the tank pressure drops to the point where the compressor should automatically kick in), I hear a relay *click*, but the compressor won't start. Flipping the on/off switch a few times (*click* *click* *click* ... ) seems to eventually get it started. Would you think replacing the circuit breaker would fix this? I had suspected it's just a problem of a flat spot (corroded) on the motor's internal contacts (commutator) or something.

-- Geoff
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