been reading for a while but first thread starter. i think i saw somewhere that someone had made their rock sliders into air tanks for on-board air. my rockers are all rusted out, so my plan is to cut them out and put in some steel tubing. not sure on the size yet, but i was thinking 2"x4" and however long it needs to be... maybe pretty up the ends... just looking for suggestions/thoughts on tying the passenger and driver's side together and then thoughts on what to use as a compressor.

SEARCH bro.....there plenty of threads on cutting out your rockers and replacing them with 2x4 or 2x3...as far as the air tanks go...make sure your welds are good...and besides; having your bumpers and rocksliders, cage, etc as your air tank is kinda dumb...you're basically pressurissing steel that for protection against rocks; one bad weld and :nuke:...i say just carry a CO2 bottle and be done with it....

how does regular air pressurized turn into a bomb? if you puncture it's going to just make some noise and tear. make sure your welds hold pressure so it's not constantly leaking.
lots of people do it, and it works great

been reading for a while but first thread starter. i think i saw somewhere that someone had made their rock sliders into air tanks for on-board air. my rockers are all rusted out, so my plan is to cut them out and put in some steel tubing. not sure on the size yet, but i was thinking 2"x4" and however long it needs to be... maybe pretty up the ends... just looking for suggestions/thoughts on tying the passenger and driver's side together and then thoughts on what to use as a compressor.

Let's see, 2x4, 1/4 inch wall, 4 feet long, x2; that gives you a little over 2 gallons of air. It has been done, but not really worth it, at least not in sliders. 2x on the CO2 tank instead...



hick

just buy a air tank. what if your rock crawling and you hit a rick with ur slider and it cracks it then what?

been reading for a while but first thread starter. i think i saw somewhere that someone had made their rock sliders into air tanks for on-board air. my rockers are all rusted out, so my plan is to cut them out and put in some steel tubing. not sure on the size yet, but i was thinking 2"x4" and however long it needs to be... maybe pretty up the ends... just looking for suggestions/thoughts on tying the passenger and driver's side together and then thoughts on what to use as a compressor.

is this who you where thinking of? MADXJ (http://www.madxj.com/MADXJ/technical/technicalfiles/ARrockerPanels/RockerPanels.htm)

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=632317&highlight=rocker+surgery
This one is mine. Used 2x6 3/16"wall. Haven't sealed it for air yet.

MADXJ was the one i was thinking of. slowagon did a really awesome job too. i haven't trimmed my doors or fenders at all yet, so mine will end up coming out differently than his. i'll post pics after i do it. won't be for a while though. thanks for all the suggestions. maybe i won't use them as tanks. we'll see...

I've had bumpers and sliders as tanks on different vehicles for years with no problems. When you're only talking about 100-150 psi in them, the failure isn't very impressive, just a quick hiss of air is about all. That's assumeing that you can crack a properly built3/16"-1/4" tube slider by coming down hard on a rock. I've never come close to denting mine at 3/16".

A couple things worth noting is put a recessed drain plug in the end of the tubes (1/4" brass pipe plug with the recessed allen head), this way you can drain them if needed. Like others have said, weld em up good and I would pour some sort of sealant inside and slosh it around to seal up any pin holes and help prevent rust.

You won't gain a lot of volume by doing this but if you just need enough for air lockers or whatever, then it's plenty. Just don't expect to run high volume demanding tools. How well they stay filled will also depend on what type of compressor you plan on running and how big the supply lines are.

i had an OBA air compressor for a week before i threw it out and put in a 20# CO2 tank for primary air supply.

i have used bumpers to hold air before, and it worked, but it wasnt much volume to use. airing up tires still took about 4- 5 min/tire from 8 psi to 30. its not worth the hassle IMO.

your best bet for an air tank would be to build one that will fit under the rear seat and take up all the unusable space. my guess is it would net probably 2-3 gallons if not more.

i have used bumpers to hold air before, and it worked, but it wasnt much volume to use. airing up tires still took about 4- 5 min/tire from 8 psi to 30. its not worth the hassle IMO.

My cheap little harbor freight compressor airs up that fast, at least it did before it died. Plenty of options available, as said before, not worth the hassle.



hick

I used my stock A/C pump for a compressor and just bought the tank. I welded up my sliders but didnt like the idea of a faulty weld lossing all of my Air. But i know of people who weldedup there own tanks out of square or rectangle tubing and placed them in places that wouldnt be taking abuse. Good idea if you dont want to purchace a tank.
Or you could go this route. http://www.broncoii4x4.com/air/on-board_air-1.php
He goes by Nobody on this board and this is his website. He used an Old Fire extinguisher.

I used my stock A/C pump for a compressor and just bought the tank. I welded up my sliders but didnt like the idea of a faulty weld lossing all of my Air. But i know of people who weldedup there own tanks out of square or rectangle tubing and placed them in places that wouldnt be taking abuse. Good idea if you dont want to purchace a tank.
Or you could go this route. http://www.broncoii4x4.com/air/on-board_air-1.php
He goes by Nobody on this board and this is his website. He used an Old Fire extinguisher.

yeah i was thinking of using the stock a/c pump as the compressor. it's my daily, so i was thinking of putting in a forking valve of some sort that i could either run the a/c on or flip a switch or pop the hood and turn it or something and have it pump into a tank. the fire extinguisher is a sweet idea. under-hood is key.


A couple things worth noting is put a recessed drain plug in the end of the tubes (1/4" brass pipe plug with the recessed allen head), this way you can drain them if needed. Like others have said, weld em up good and I would pour some sort of sealant inside and slosh it around to seal up any pin holes and help prevent rust.

awesome advice on that. thanks. and yeah i was planning on using to air up tires, not for running tools. i'd want at least 5 gal to run tools on... and i can't see how i'd get that in bumpers or sliders.

I think OBA using your stock compressor is about the easiest and cheapest upgrade you can do that you will use everytime you go out. Heres a couple of pics of how i did it.

Compressor with shut off valve and the air filter with an inline oiler.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nobs48/4x4030.jpg

Here is another one of the air filter and inline oiler
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nobs48/4x4029.jpg

and here is the air tank.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nobs48/4x4032.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nobs48/4x4033.jpg

I also piped a line out front by the winch.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nobs48/4x4039.jpg