Another "Where Do I Start" thread!

[Eric Haltom]

Hi guys,
So I am a new member and overlander. I have a Power Wagon that I am want to set up as an Overlanding rig and I'm not sure where I should start. I have a $20k list of things I'd like to do, but the budget doesn't agree with that plan, so I need to start slow. My overall plan is to have a camper shell with a drawer and galley setup and much more. The plan was to start with the camper shell since everything else kind of pivots around that. My first priority is safety, so First Aid and Fire has already been addressed. We took the PW on it's maiden voyage the a week or two ago and one thing I quickly noticed was dang... this ride is rough. I couldn't air down because I don't have a compressor and with Goodyear Duratracs that run with 65lbs of pressure makes a tank good for maybe 1 or 2 tires if I'm lucky. What do you guys think?

Should I get a temporary pump and continue saving for the shell, or get the arb compressor first? I would love to hear any alternative suggestions as well. Thanks in advance.

 

[brien]

Buying a compressor was one of the first things I did. Smoothing out the ride does wonders for convincing the wife to continue joining the adventures ;) I run my 32" tires at a max of 35PSI and have a SuperFlow MV50 ($75) that I love. Almost everybody I run with uses the same one, unless they have dedicated on-board air. In the Amazon Q&A for the MV50 there's a guy who says he uses it to easily pump up his truck to 55PSI, so it might work for you just fine as well. There is also a SuperFlow MV90 that is about $175 which has almost double the air flow.

As for what modifications to do in what order and budgeting and all that, our philosophy has been to only upgrade things as we come across an actual honest to goodness need. That isn't to say I don't get a "nice to have" from time to time, but for the most part, we only make a change when we are sufficiently annoyed with or limited by something we lack. I know with camping supplies, there was a strong urge from the get-go to want to build out a galley and have all the fancy items, fridge, fancy stove, nice drawers, because we were so annoyed with how inefficient and cumbersome our meal prep and post meal cleaning was. We forced ourselves to wait, and in the process, through trial and error and experimentation, we completely optimized our existing setup and gear so that we don't even consider it a bother anymore. In fact it's become one of the easier things to deal with on a trip.

Good luck with your build, and don't forget to start a build thread! I'd love to follow along!

 

[Eric Haltom]

Thanks Brien, I appreciate you taking the time to mention that. I think you got a point there with the wife. I think I rattled out her teeth that last trip. I do like the reviews and price of that SuperFlow, I think that will be a great addition and still keep me on track for the shell. I'm not sure how long you had yours at this point. So out of curiosity, if your SuperFlow pooped out on you, would you buy another SF in the future or would you go for a different compressor?

 

[anotheraznguy]

Another compressor option for you is Tuff Stuff Xtreme 150psi compressor. Its rated at 5.65 cfm. The MV90 is 6400 CIM which equated to 3.7 CFM. The cheaper MV-50 is only 2.0 CFM. and with big tires cfm really matters. With lower CFM you have to start worrying about duty cycle as well. The tuff stuff compressor is about 100 dollars give or take and i use this for airing up 37's. It takes me less than a minute to go from 20 psi to 50 psi with the tuff stuff. Reliability has been good so far but beware the unit gets hot. After airing up all 4 i have to leave it in the bed of the truck to cool down instead of putting it back in the bag.

And here is a picture for reference of size. Its actually got quite a bit of a footprint

 

[Eric Haltom]

Another compressor option for you is Tuff Stuff Xtreme 150psi compressor. Its rated at 5.65 cfm. The MV90 is 6400 CIM which equated to 3.7 CFM. The cheaper MV-50 is only 2.0 CFM. and with big tires cfm really matters. With lower CFM you have to start worrying about duty cycle as well. The tuff stuff compressor is about 100 dollars give or take and i use this for airing up 37's. It takes me less than a minute to go from 20 psi to 50 psi with the tuff stuff. Reliability has been good so far but beware the unit gets hot. After airing up all 4 i have to leave it in the bed of the truck to cool down instead of putting it back in the bag.

And here is a picture for reference of size. Its actually got quite a bit of a footprint

You know, looking at the construction of this compressor looks to be exactly the same as the SuperFlow MV90 with a few subtle differences. It looks like the crank cover over on the TuffStuff is metal, where the SuperFlow looks plastic. This is a great option as well and it's $50 cheaper than the MV90. Thanks for adding this option.

 

[anotheraznguy]

No worries, i was searching for a while for a good air compressor that would do 37's for quite some time. Ended up going with this option as some of the brand name ones are 5x the price and output about the same if not less cfm. Also with our trucks you might not be able to reach all 4 wheels. On my truck in order to reach the back tires i have to use the battery on that side. So when i go from passenger to driver i have to change batteries. However this might not be the case for you since you are on the shorter frame.

 

[Eric Haltom]

No worries, i was searching for a while for a good air compressor that would do 37's for quite some time. Ended up going with this option as some of the brand name ones are 5x the price and output about the same if not less cfm. Also with our trucks you might not be able to reach all 4 wheels. On my truck in order to reach the back tires i have to use the battery on that side. So when i go from passenger to driver i have to change batteries. However this might not be the case for you since you are on the shorter frame.

Haha, yes I have the shorter frame, but I only have one battery lol. So I might need to use my jumper cables like an extension cord lol.

 

[brien]

I connect my compressor and then set it in the passenger footwell. By stringing the hose across seats and out various doors i can reach all tires without moving the compressor. Of course I'm in a Jeep JKU, so my wheelbase is a couple feet shorter than a Power Wagon, but there's slack in the line. The MV90 (and I assume the Tough Stuff compressor) has a longer hose as well, probably for this reason. Placing it in the passenger footwell also allows me to blast the A/C on the compressor to keep it nice and cool, which helps extend the duty cycle considerably. Usually after i'm done airing up all tires, I can touch the compressor bare handed and it's only just warm to the touch.

 

[Eric Haltom]

I connect my compressor and then set it in the passenger footwell. By stringing the hose across seats and out various doors i can reach all tires without moving the compressor. Of course I'm in a Jeep JKU, so my wheelbase is a couple feet shorter than a Power Wagon, but there's slack in the line. The MV90 (and I assume the Tough Stuff compressor) has a longer hose as well, probably for this reason. Placing it in the passenger footwell also allows me to blast the A/C on the compressor to keep it nice and cool, which helps extend the duty cycle considerably. Usually after i'm done airing up all tires, I can touch the compressor bare handed and it's only just warm to the touch.

That's a great idea Brien. I was watching and liked what TrailRecon (I don't know his name lol) did I thought this would be a good route to go, since I have the room. Although, I'd probably start with a 100' roll.

 

[brien]

Interesting setup, but I'm looking at all that hose and thinking "how in the hell would I ever find space for that?". I love those quick connections though! I'm gonna pick one up and ditch the tedious screw on connector currently on my compressor hose

 

[Eric Haltom]

Yeah, they look great. I did a little shopping (not in depth) and found that they are pretty expensive. If you find some good quality ones for a decent price, let me know where you got them/it.

 

[brien]

I just ordered one of the $10 ones they used in that video from amazon. Since I'm ok with airing up one tire at a time for now, the $10 seems reasonable. I'm just going to replace the existing connector on my compressor hose. For the full four tire setup they made, I was surprised that almost half of their cost was these air chucks! wow.

EDIT: OB keeps breaking my amazon link, here it is, remove the space

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/ B01938M8MW/

 

[Eric Haltom]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking.

 

[jk journeys]

TrailRecon is Brad

Sent from my SM-T230NU using OB Talk mobile app

 

[d2 rover]

Don't forget recovery gear winch shovel a chainsaw is great you want to be able to make it home I go for capable before comfortable

Sent from my SM-G950U using OB Talk mobile app

 

[flex]

Another compressor option for you is Tuff Stuff Xtreme 150psi compressor. Its rated at 5.65 cfm. The MV90 is 6400 CIM which equated to 3.7 CFM. The cheaper MV-50 is only 2.0 CFM. and with big tires cfm really matters. With lower CFM you have to start worrying about duty cycle as well. The tuff stuff compressor is about 100 dollars give or take and i use this for airing up 37's. It takes me less than a minute to go from 20 psi to 50 psi with the tuff stuff. Reliability has been good so far but beware the unit gets hot. After airing up all 4 i have to leave it in the bed of the truck to cool down instead of putting it back in the bag.

And here is a picture for reference of size. Its actually got quite a bit of a footprint

Wow!! 20-50 psi in a minute is phenomenal! I just bought the VIAIR 2on2 Air compressor for my jeep Rubicon Unlimited. I can't wait to set it up and start using it. It's one of the first things I also bought for my jeep.

 

[Eric Haltom]

Don't forget recovery gear winch shovel a chainsaw is great you want to be able to make it home I go for capable before comfortable

Sent from my SM-G950U using OB Talk mobile app

Yeah, I agree 100% with that. I didn't mention winch or shovel, because I already have them. I read a lot on get as you see that you need it. Right now, I don't see me doing any serious off roading, but you're right. I do need to be able to get out of a situation if I do get in too deep.

 

[armymgdude]

In addition to a good compressor, you need a winch recovery kit. Learn how to use the winch safely, and learn the capabilities of the wagon. It will do amazing things if it fits the trail. I have had lots of different offroad rigs, and the power wagon is the best I have ever had.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[OffroadTreks]

I have two Viair compressors, I can do two tires at a time. And the wife and I each do a side of the Power Wagon when we need to air up. The added benefit of my mini-setup is I can share a line with a friend, which I've done a few occasions.

Get yourself a good set of tire deflators and a good digital air gauge.

Depending on what you are doing in AZ you'll find that most rough roads the PW will feel more comfortable between 32-42psi.

When you start doing actual crawling, then you'll be somewhere around 18psi - 24psi

Don't be in a rush to go crazy with mods and tires and lifts. Get to know your wagon. They are incredibly capable in stock trim. I've got videos in my build thread and youtube channel of just how capable one is on those 33's straight off the lot.

Recovery gear is good to have too. Set of MaxTrax, winch damper, some leather gloves, tree strap, tow strap an snatch block and good shackles like Crosby.

 

[Red Beard]

you can also build yourself a regulated air chuck. Then you don't have to stop and check the pressure several times and all tires wind up with the same pressure. I also have a regulated 4 way hose set up I built to do all 4 tires at once with lock on air chucks for each tire. You just set your pressure weather it is airing up or down and walk away.