ARB INFLATION3 Twin High Performance Air Compressor CKMTA12 and Extension Hardware for Easy Installation and Connection in a New Printed Box, Ideal for Lockers, Horns, Tire Inflation and Air Tools

I purchased this compressor to mount under the hood of my Chevy Colorado. I ordered the compressor and was surprised to have it the next day. I had used the free shipping that stated 5-8 days. I was very surprised. I opened the box to find the compressor and parts to be in excellent condition. The box contained everything needed for installation. It even had ring terminals and connectors to wire the harness to the battery. I was very happy with the wiring harness as well. The harness that is supplied with the compressor is designed for lockers, but I am using this compressor for tire fills. The harness was labeled very well and instructions were clear. I had no trouble with the wiring harness. The harness is plug and play. ARB even leaves one plug disconnected so only a small hole has to be drilled to get the switch to the cab area. I simply taped off the wires that I was not using. The wiring had a nice looking switch that is designed to be recessed in a small cut out. I found the switch to be good. The location I mounted the compressor was very tight, but the mount is made to pivot. I was unaware that the compressor body and manifold tube can also be rotated to facilitate various mounting locations. The compressor itself was heavier that I expected, but that was great. The compressor feels well made. I mounted the compressor and made the appropriate wiring connections under the hood. I actually mounted the switch under the hood as well. I used a small plastic gang box used in home wiring and used a Dremel Tool to route out a hole for the switch. I then used a metal plate to cover the box. I was then ready to use the compressor for the first time. I hit the switch and the compressor fired right up. The compressor only ran for about two seconds and shut down. The compressor comes with a pressure switch that shuts down the unit at around 90-100psi. The manifold tube is very small and it gets to that pressure very quick. The manifold tube also has a built in pressure safety relief valve just in case the pressure switch fails. I am not sure what pressure is required to permit the safety valve to operate. I had to source my own fittings to use the compressor as a tire fill unit. I did not purchase the kit offered by ARB because I can build it cheaper myself. I spent an additional $15.00 to make a manifold for my tire fill kit. I had to buy several pieces due to my mounting location under the hood. I also suggest to anyone that purchases the ARB tire fill kit to buy some Teflon tape. I completed the procedure and was ready to fill a tire. It should be noted that I already had 50 feet of 3/8 air hose and fitting to use the compressor. I wanted enough hose to reach from the engine bay to the tires on my travel trailer without uncoupling the trailer. I had been carrying a portable air tank in my truck that holds 120 psi. I decided to test the compressor by filling it up. I turned on the switch and watched the hose fill with air. The compressor then promptly shut off as designed. I filled my air tank from approx 40 psi to 90psi in approx 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. The compressor stopped filling at 90 psi. I was still impressed at the speed given the size of the compressor. I filled a car tire from 10 psi to 32 psi the next day and was equally impressed at the compressor. I think it was a wise investment and would buy it again if I had to go back. My installation took my friend and I two hours to complete. I had a small area to work with and had to build some tools to install some small screws in a tight place. I think my installation time was long, but I had a unique mounting location. Anyone with basic skills could install this compressor easily. I needed to drill three holes. The mounting plate has four holes, but I didnt use one due to mounting location restrictions. This is a good compressor and I hope to use it for many years. Good luck.

Added this air compressor to my Jeep to be used to inflate my tire after off roding. Works great! UPDATE: 9-18-2022 DISAPPOINTING!!!! Have been using it now for over year to air up the Jeep tires after offloading and it is overheating after airing up each tire from 18 to 34 psi. Been having to wait for the motor to cool and reset in between each tire. Going to look for other alternatives for air before it leaves us stranded with low tire pressure. Glad I dont have air lockers Im using this for.

The part was damaged but they were helpful in resolving the issue. We will be using them again.

To be honest, I was surprised with all the great reviews now that I have it. On some vehicles it’s easy to mount, but took innovation on my Dodge Ram 2500. With how popular this company is, it seems logical to argue they would have a solution for almost all Overlanding trucks. Additionally, the wiring directions were horrible, and I had to watch a million YouTube videos. I’m not great at wiring but I’m def not bad at all. The problem lies with wiring the toggle switch, because the wires that come with it are really short (about 2’) and it is difficult to wire. Most people wire the toggle switch into the fuse box (because of how difficult it is to wire it as the instructions call for) which required me to have to go to auto part store for special adaptors to do this operation as well as more wires to extend their length. In my opinion, they could have done a far far better job at creating more user friendly instructions for the DIYer person and included wiring components/solutions for all sorts of vehicles because that stuff is cheap. Be prepared because it won’t be a quick wire up and out project unless you do a lot of this type of work. Oh and to top it all of, it didn’t even come with an adaptor to hook up an female air coupling with the pressure switch. If you don’t know what I am talking about then look into it because you’ll need a special component that they sell in their additional tire inflator kit. This whole thing stinks because the compressor seems amazing and works well, but the experience of having to get a bunch of extra stuff to put it in the car was mediocre. Get it together ARB and serve your customers right.

Had a hiccup with it where it leaked in the second wheeling trip I took it on. But it somehow self healed miraculously and works great again, runs the lockers and airs up my 42s just fine. About to out another one in my tow rig to run its new air lockers and such as well. I did contact ARB and they got back to me asap and were willing to replace it as well. Seems a seal got hit after airing up 2 large tires back to back and leaked a bit.

Its the best and fastest compressor out there. It does get hot but only if Im airing up several vehicles. I installed mine under the passenger seat to keep it cooler and cleaner.

The ARB wiring is a little bit difficult to understand if your not using air lockers. ARB should think about also including a wiring harness for those that dont need air-lockers to get rid of the excess plugs and extra wire not needed.

Easy install to my Jeep Wrangler! ARB

It seems that this was only meant for lockers. Using this to inflate tires appears to be a poorly thought out after thought. There is an over priced tire inflation kit. But you can buy a 1/4 NPT tee and put it the pressure sensor port and then have the air sensor and hose fitting on the tee. Most likely, everyone that buys this is going to need to modify the wiring harness to make it work. Since there are no kits you have to figure out what you need and where to get it. I tested it by dropping one of my 35” tires 10 psi then filling it. It took about a minute to get it back to 36 psi.

Does what it’s suppose to do, I use it for airing back up my 35’s after a trail, in my opinion it’s pretty fast, a lot faster than the portable one I used before, soon I’ll be using it to provide air for a locker as well