That's not a bad thing of course, most offroaders are always willing to lend a helping hand. Here's a new solution to those who are looking at getting on-board air - The ExtremeAire compressor. This little beast can fill 35" tires in nothing flat (actually it will a 35 tire from 10 psi to 35 psi in about 3 minutes).

You can also use it to power your ARB lockers (something I plan to add in the near future). How does the Extreme Aire stack up to other compressors? It boasts a 3/4 horsepower fan-cooled motor that pumps out 150 psi and a flow rate of 4cfm - more than enough to run your air tools. The ExtremeAire is a continuous duty compressor.

That means you can use it without having to shut it down and letting it cool off. If you want to fill your tires, your buddies tires and his buddies tires you can do it non-stop. Most others only have a 15% duty cycle which means 9 minutes of use and 51 minutes to cool down. The ExtremeAire is 100% duty cycle. Run it to your hearts content.

Installing the compressor was easy once I chose the location. A little modification to the fender and it fit right in.

Not bad for a 17-pound compressor that will fit under your hood (with some modification, of course). The ExtremeAire is 14 inches long, 6 inches wide and only 10 inches tall. I will be using it to fill an air tank mounted under the Jeep. It can be used without an auxillary tank, but I opted for the tank set up.

The compressor is set up with a washable and reuseable air filter. Maintenance? Just remove and clean the filter as needed - the motor and pump are permanently sealed and lubricated and the compressor can be mounted in any angle or direction. Mounting the compressor was easy. As stated earlier, there was some modification necessary.

Since, I no longer used my standard Jeep jack, I had the perfect place to mount the compressor - on the passenger side fender well where the jack used to be.

After flatening the fender a couple of inches, I used 2 spare brackets from a past install for the inside mounts (nearest the engine)

After removing the jack mount, the compressor looked like a pretty good fit. The only issue was the height of the compressor. I had to flatten the fender well about 2 inches to make room. Nothing major really, a few minutes with a large hammer and the fender well was ready for the compressor.

I made sure that the tire clearance was not affected by my modification of the fender well. The changes to the fender well were so far towards the inside and above the shock mount that there is no difference in my tire clearance whatsoever.

I used some existing brackets that I had laying around (spare parts from some long-ago install!) Once mounted, I made sure to check the clearance between the top of the compressor and the hood.

No problem - I have about a half-inch of clearance. The Tank The tank is 6" in diameter and holds about 2 gallons of air - more than enough for my needs. The tank measures about 17" in length and comes with a 145 psi pressure switch.

Firmly mounted, the next step is to connect the wiring.

After much measuring and deliberating, I decided to mount the tank under the tub. I looked everywhere on the Jeep for a suitable location and that seemed to be about the only place it would fit.

I had to drill four holes in the tub and suspended the tank using the mounting brackets. The only modification under the Jeep was to slightly bend the E-Brake line. (This had to be done only because I was a little bit off on my measuring and hole-drilling. If done properly, there should be no need to modify anything under the Jeep.

With the location of the air tank, I need about 9 feet of air hose to reach the compressor. I also plan on installing a quick-disconnect on the rear bumper so I won't need to crawl under the Jeep for air. With a price tag of $379.95 for the compressor, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better deal anywhere.

A few things that Extreme Outback recommends:

• Always use a circuit breaker or at least a fuse of 60 amps. An On/Off toggle switch is recommended in line with the pressure switch. The compressor can be manually turned off if the system ever develops a leak or if the vehicle is left unattended
• If not using a pressure switch, install a toggle switch to turn the relay on and off. The ignition "on" wire is a good choice for power so that the compressor will only run if the vehicle is running.
• When hooking up to the vehicle's battery, if distance is less than 2 feet, 10-gauge wire is sufficient. For longer runs, use a heavier gauge wire to avoid current loss and possible damage to the compressor's motor. For more information on these and many other Extreme Products, contact George Carousos at:
  (707) 447-7711, or visit Extreme Outback online at: Extreme Outback Products