Double-Duty Compressor: ARB Twin-Motor CKMTA12 Air Compressor

03. While the ARB compressors are designed to work under your hood or even under the body, you ideally want to keep your compressor out of harm’s way in a well-ventilated area, away from the reach of elements and extreme heat—just as you would any piece of electric hardware. With barely enough room under the rear seat of our crew cab, we squeezed our twin compressor into the cab after adjusting the manifold cap so the outlet port (to the solenoid manifold) sat at an angle. McComas Auto Body cut an aluminum plate out to mount the air compressor to our rear seat’s lower brackets instead of drilling through the floor.

04. We mounted all three ARB switches (one compressor, one front locker, and one rear locker) on an aluminum panel we picked up at T and J Performance. We routed the wiring along the carpet’s edge and from the compressor to the switches (the switch harness is connected to the main compressor harness).

05. Though the CKMTA12 twin-motor air compressor can run some air tools, you might want an auxiliary air tank if you’re going to use more demanding units like 150-psi air impact guns. ARB offers this new forged aluminum 1-gallon air tank that has the same JIC4 port fittings as the ARB air compressor and plumbs in between the twin-motor compressor and the solenoid manifold. Since every customer will have different length hose requirements, ARB does not include this line and we had to get our own air lines at a local hydraulic line store to plumb the air tank into the system.

06. ARB also has an optional Tire Inflation Kit you can add to your package. It comes with a T-fitting to mount on the air manifold, a high-heat pressure hose, and an ARB air chuck. It’s recommended over standard air hoses because it will handle the air temperatures associated with the high-output ARB compressors.

07. With both compressor motors triggered, we were able to fill up our 41.5-inch Pit Bull tire from trail pressure to street pressure in a little less than half the time it did with the single-motor compressor since the load of the tire’s air pressure is distributed over two compressor motors.

08. We could get the lugs off our wheels with a 150-psi impact gun and the ARB 1-gallon air tank in place, but the impact gun worked better if we let the tank charge up in between wheel removals.