QA III or ??

[DC]

mrblaine (and anyone else),

I am on the verge of buying a QA III unit for my OBA needs.

Here's the deal ... I need something to efficiently air my tires back up and I do not have any burning need or desire for air tools (so I don't need something with higher pressure or with a tank). And since I have a 2000 TJ with AC, a York is problematic (especially since Brad Kilby is still testing & perfecting the necessary mounts to make that application work). Also, I am located in a very remote area that is a 300 mile round trip to the nearest compressed gas source, so CO2 and compressed air tanks will not be practical. I additionally have room under the hood to mount the QA III where the stock air filter box was located (although I understand that the QA III is fairly large ... but it's supposed to be able to fit there).

Before I take the plunge and get the QA III, should I be considering anything else for OBA (based on all of the above)?

TIA,
Don

2000 green Sahara, auto, TeraFlex S3T lift, TeraFlex UCA's & LCA's, TeraFlex front/rear track bars, Edelbrock IAS shocks with TeraFlex rear shock relocators, 4.56 gears, Detroit TrueTrac in D30/Dana TracLok in D44, Advance Adapters SYE, TeraFlex HD rear driveshaft, 1" Daystar body lift, 1" Metcalf MM's, TeraFlex Belly-Up crossmember, Kilby gas tank skid, Durango 4x4 rockerguards, ARB Bull Bar bumper with WARN HS9500i winch, Good Year 33x12.50 MT/R's mounted on Mickey Thompson 15x8 Challenger whe

[mrblaine]

In last months issue of one of the 4x4 rags, they did a very comprehensive write-up and comparison of all of the more popular compressors. Very comprehensive.

I don't have it in front of me, so I don't even know the exact name of the mag. I would check it out before I made a decision on a compressor.

As an aside, the biggest baddest compressor in the write-up is due to my collaboration with Oasis Offroad.

It is not who you know, It is who knows you

Jeeps do not make jeepers, jeepers make Jeeps.

[Ace!]

I've got a QAII portable and it's very reliable and works pretty quickly (ok, not compared to CO2), and is rebuildable/serviceable (there really isn't much to it). I know the QAIII is $$$$, but if it's similar to my QAII in quality/functionality it's probably a good one.

The QAII will take a while to air up 33s, but it isn't unliveable, so you may want to save a few buck and go with the lower priced/longer to air up one.

Also, I've read at least two articles on OBA, and don't have them in front of me, but before the QAIII came out the QAII was one of the top performers (I think the mags do a "shootout" every year, so this was probably last years mag)

Áron O'Proinntigh is ainm dom

[DC]

Thanks mrblaine and Ace!

Blaine, if you come across the name of that 4x4 magazine, I would sure appreciate getting that info from you (as I would like to read the OBA write-up you mentioned). Also, does Oasis Offroad have a website? I tried "www.oasisoffroad.com" and got nothing.

Thanks again,
Don o

[Ace!]

http://www.oasis-off-road.com/

Áron O'Proinntigh is ainm dom

[Wumpy]

I have a QA2 that someone sold me for a good price used. But after dealing with other QA2's and then CO2, I think that CO2 would have been a better choice. If you have a tow rig, you could put a big tank in the tow rig for tires and save the small tank for the Jeep. Had I known and seen the difference, I would have chosen much differently than now.

I am doing this from home.

[mrblaine]

William- Co2 only works well if you have access to a good refiller. If I lived in Las Cruces and had to pay 18.00 for every refill, I would not run Co2. I was astounded at the prices when we were there for the last ARCA event.

It is not who you know, It is who knows you

Jeeps do not make jeepers, jeepers make Jeeps.

[DC]

Wumpy,

I have no doubt that a CO2 tank would be the most efficient route to take for OBA. However, I don't tow my Jeep, and the source for refills is far, far away (and as Blaine pointed-out, would also probably be mucho expensive).

On the other hand, the QA3 has a lower overall max pressure than a QA2 ... but the flow-rate is superior (which for airing-up tires and not running air tools should be a good combination).

Thanks for the input though.

Don

[DC]

Blaine,

I know you are probably up to your eyeballs on finishing-up the mods on Kat's TJ ... but when you get a chance, please let me know if you come across the name and edition of that 4x4 magazine that had the write-up on the various OBA systems/approaches you previously mentioned.

Thanks,

Don

2000 green Sahara, auto, TeraFlex S3T lift, TeraFlex UCA's & LCA's, TeraFlex front/rear track bars, Edelbrock IAS shocks with TeraFlex rear shock relocators, 4.56 gears, Detroit TrueTrac in D30/Dana TracLok in D44, Advance Adapters SYE, TeraFlex HD rear driveshaft, 1" Daystar body lift, 1" Metcalf MM's, TeraFlex Belly-Up crossmember, Kilby gas tank skid, Durango 4x4 rockerguards, ARB Bull Bar bumper with WARN HS9500i winch, Good Year 33x12.50 MT/R's mounted on Mickey Thompson 15x8 Challenger whe

[Ace!]

Don, I get about every 4wheelin mag out there and decided to take a look at what I had laying around the house (what hadn't been tossed yet. I remembered seeing a fairly recent article, and I have it (June '01 Four Wheeler).

Here are a couple of attachments. Also the article says, "With a fill time of 2 minutes, 50 seconds for our test tire, the QA3 was the second fastest at airing up. Sure, it only has a max pressure of 70 psi (not enough to run air tools or an ARB Air Locker), but if all you want to do is fill tires, this is your baby."

<A HREF="http://www.sprunty.com/jeep/OBA.jpg"><IMG SRC="http://www.sprunty.com/jeep/OBA.jpg" WIDTH=800 HEIGHT=496</IMG></A>


HT

Áron O'Proinntigh is ainm dom

EDIT BY ADMINISTRATOR:
I am fixing the image size. If you want to view the image in full size, save it to your computer first or just click on the image in this post to open the full size version.

[This message was edited by JeepBBS on July 09, 2001 at 12:18 PM.]

[DC]

Hey Ace!

I really appreciate your taking the time to dig up the Four Wheeler article on OBA units. This info really nails it down for me ... and it's going to be the QA3. Clearly the Trail Head OBA unit that Blaine collaborated with Oasis on has the best all around specs ... but it also weighs almost 4 times as much as the QA3, costs $200 more, and provides a max pressure and duty cycle that I personally don't need for my more simple application ... and that is to get my tires aired back up in a reasonably short period of time.

Thanks again,
Don

P.S. And Blaine ... if in the future I have any needs to fill a portable blimp on the trail, I'll consider the Trail Head OBA unit. `

2000 green Sahara, auto, TeraFlex S3T lift, TeraFlex UCA's & LCA's, TeraFlex front/rear track bars, Edelbrock IAS shocks with TeraFlex rear shock relocators, 4.56 gears, Detroit TrueTrac in D30/Dana TracLok in D44, Advance Adapters SYE, TeraFlex HD rear driveshaft, 1" Daystar body lift, 1" Metcalf MM's, TeraFlex Belly-Up crossmember, Kilby gas tank skid, Durango 4x4 rockerguards, ARB Bull Bar bumper with WARN HS9500i winch, Good Year 33x12.50 MT/R's mounted on Mickey Thompson 15x8 Challenger whe

[mrblaine]

Neat compressor, huh? You can plug in an impact with no tank and take off your tires.

Even in this so called shootout, they still can't get there specs to be apples to apples. They should all be rated at the same pressure and then post the cfm. The extreme air looks pretty good until you notice that the flow is at 0 psi and the big one is rated at 100 psi. This puts the performances at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Thanks Ace for the info. Now if you can just resize it for us normal sized monitor owners.

It is not who you know, It is who knows you

Jeeps do not make jeepers, jeepers make Jeeps.

[DC]

Blaine,

Yeah ... that Trail Head unit is definitely the top performer of the batch, and if I was thinking of air tools, that would be the one. Your point is well taken on the specs not being consistent between units, however, it still helped to confirm that the QA3 i s the best unit (at least on paper) for my application.

Don


P.S. Hey Ace ... no need to reconfigure the Four Wheeler info for me ... I had no problem viewing it (I guess size does matter!)

2000 green Sahara, auto, TeraFlex S3T lift, TeraFlex UCA's & LCA's, TeraFlex front/rear track bars, Edelbrock IAS shocks with TeraFlex rear shock relocators, 4.56 gears, Detroit TrueTrac in D30/Dana TracLok in D44, Advance Adapters SYE, TeraFlex HD rear driveshaft, 1" Daystar body lift, 1" Metcalf MM's, TeraFlex Belly-Up crossmember, Kilby gas tank skid, Durango 4x4 rockerguards, ARB Bull Bar bumper with WARN HS9500i winch, Good Year 33x12.50 MT/R's mounted on Mickey Thompson 15x8 Challenger whe

[Ace!]

Sorry Blaine,

I’ve got a pretty nice setup at home, and figured if I made the stuff twice the size as the actual magazine size it’d be easier to read (the italics were HARD to read at actual size). Now that I see it from work, well, sorry

Blaine, if Oasis needs any test mules, I’ll volunteer. I can’t pay anything, but I’ll use the hell out of it and give them daily/weekly feedback

Áron O'Proinntigh is ainm dom

[William]

Schooled, once again haven't I been?

I just wish I would have listened to "someone" who told me that CO2 was a better way to go, and that "someone" had offered me a pretty good deal too. Well, I'll make due with my QA2.. perhaps Santa will show up with a CO2 tank. LOL.. perhaps I'll even find one laying around work..

R/
William Karstens

[mrblaine]

Ace- No test mules are needed. The units are in production and he is selling all of them he can build. There is a limited market for the biggest and best of anything and I figured Harry would have been first in line.

I may post one for sale on here to the highest bidder one of these days. I am owed one for my consultations.

William- you were just overwhelmed helping me air up five jeeps worth of tires in 20 minutes.

It is not who you know, It is who knows you

Jeeps do not make jeepers, jeepers make Jeeps.