Onboard Air with Innovative JK Products & ARB

I finally broke down and decided that it was time to install an onboard air system for my 2019 Jeep JL Rubicon. I normally air down (deflate) the tires to around 20psi when I’m on the local Virginia trails to improve traction, ride quality, and tire effectiveness; however, refilling the tires back to the 37psi recommended for my current setup was always a chore.

Normally I had to plan my trips around the location of a Sheetz gas station, where air is free. The key word there is “free”… it normally took 45 mins - 1 hour to refill all four tires. Not only is that time wasted that could have been spent on the trail, it’s also very taxing to kneel by the Jeep and press the little air chuck to the tires for that long. I was over it.

Filling all four tires has never been easier. Obviously I had to get orange tubing to match the orange Jeep!

ARB is well known for their onboard air compressors, and I took the recommendation of the guys at Bull Run 4x4 to install the kit sold by Innovative JK Products. This kit mounts the compressor under the passenger seat, runs some air tubing under the center console to the drivers seat, and terminates with two connection ports under each seat. Using the supplied air hoses, you can connect all four tires to the compressor at once, allowing a quick air up/ air down procedure. If you’re interested in more details on how the system installs, check out these instructions.

Install was a pretty quick procedure, though it does involve some drilling into the seat frame and a little electrical work. Nothing too challenging, and certainly achievable with basic tools. After install, I checked the system but didn’t get to put it to use until this weekend.

ARB dual compressor installed under the passenger seat

Such a clean install. Normally all you'd see to know the system is there are these little plugs on both the driver and passenger seat. When you run the system, you connect an air hose with a Y fitting to both sides, allowing you to fill all four tires at once.

With the air hoses connected to the port under the drivers seat. The passenger seat setup is identical.

Yesterday I took the Jeep out for the first trip after installing the new system. I was incredibly impressed. I was able to air down all four tires in less than 5 min (including setup time to connect the air hoses) and refilling the tires took about 10 minutes (including a quick pause in filling to accommodate a re-adjustment of the system’s set pressure). Total time savings was huge, and it was much nicer to sit in the seat and relax instead of agonizing over the location of the closest gas station.

Trail rated and trail approved! Was able to use the system to air up and down yesterday after a 23mile off-road trip to one of the local spots in Virginia.

I’d absolutely recommend this system to anyone who wants a clean install for an onboard air solution. The extra cost associated with their setup was well worth it for the quality of product received.