Maybe a couple of you guys who have been around several bagged trucks can help me out. I got another train horn system to install on my f-250. My question is, does it matter which way the air compressor is mounted? I am wanting to mount it to the frame placing it sideways. In the past I mounted one upside down and it burnt up. I know there is oil in it so am wondering if it has to be placed with top facing up? If it does then I'll have to hold off on the install untill I can get a low mount tool box.

 

depends on the compressor, so are oil-less and some aren't.

i had a small viair 200c that went out on me, the piston shattered inside, and it was mounted up-right. now i have a viair 450c that's mounted sideways on my frame and it's been just fine for the past year or two.

 

It's a VIAR 325C. The last one that went out wasn't a VIAR. It came in a cheap eBay train horn kit. Could be the reason. But before I mount a $200 compressor wrong I thought I'd ask.

 

This is the recommendation from Viair's website:

"You can mount in any direction or position since VIAIR compressors are oil-less. The only position we do not recommend is an upside-down mount, since heat tends to travel upward, and does not dissipate well in the motor housing. A sideways mounting may reduce the life of the piston seal, since everything is governed by gravity and has a weight associated with it."

In my personal experience I have seen many Viair compressors mounted sideways. I had two 450's mounted sideways in my frame rails on my old Ranger. Never had any problems out of them. My suggestion would be to make sure you put it somewhere that the wheels are not going to directly spray water at it. Otherwise, they are great compressors and have always done well for me.

 

Thanks. My two choices will be either on the outside frame rail or where the spare tire is. I can not mount inside the frame rail due to fuel lines on driver side and exhaust on passenger side.

 

I removed the spare tire on my ranger and mounted my tanks and compressors in that location. It's a very nice place to tuck a lot of stuff out of the way.

 

I built a crossmember where my spare tire used to be, and installed my 2 Viair 480s with my Accuair manifold. Used to have them on the outside frame rail, so you'll be fine, just make sure you have clearance, and will be able to have easy access to it in case anything happens or need to swap the filter.

 

Thanks. If time permits I will start the install this weekend. I'll see how everything looks on the frame rail then if it shows to much I'll install in place of spare tire.