Project Fiery Redhead - Part 1
Project Fiery Redhead - Part 2
Project Fiery Redhead - Part 3
Project Fiery Redhead - Part 4
Project Fiery Redhead - Part 5
Project Fiery Redhead - Part 6
Project Fiery Redhead - Part 7
Project Fiery Redhead - Part 8
Project Fiery Redhead - Part 9
Project Fiery Redhead - Part 10
While reading a piece about the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, a thought kerplunked into our always wandering minds. The words "air" and "space" reminded us that it was time to get our project Fiery Redhead F-150 outfitted with both compressed air and more storage space. We decided to combine the two into an effective, functional package.
The first thing we did was contact the folks at Continental Manufacturing. They offer a number of boxes for pickup trucks including bed-mount crossover toolboxes, rail boxes, chest toolboxes, side boxes and saddle boxes. We opted for one of their Pro HD Series crossover toolboxes, mostly because of its large size. The extra-wide body of the Pro HD allows about 12 percent more storage space than most toolboxes, and it features side-mounted pushbutton locks and a strong 0.080-inch-thick lid. The lid features gas shocks that allow smooth self-opening, and inside the unit is a powdercoated aluminum sliding tray with four storage compartments, integrated tool holders and a pair of battery-operated lights for night visibility. We opted for the diamond-plate finish, but Continental also offers a number of other finishes, including custom colors.
Our second call was to Extreme Outback Products. The company offers a number of quality high-output air compressors as well as most every accessory needed to complete an install. After we outlined our wants and desires, the folks there recommended their Extreme Aire Severe Duty compressor. This powerful, continuous-duty unit features a 3/4-hp motor that is fan-cooled to eliminate any chance of overheating. The fan shaft has a sweeper filter to keep dirt and debris out of the motor and brushes, while at the same time allowing moisture and condensation to escape. The Severe Duty Compressor utilizes Loctited stainless-steel fasteners for a long and trouble-free life in the highest-vibration applications. The unit boasts an impressive working pressure of 150 psi and a 4-cfm free-flow rate, so it can run most air tools continuously. It draws 30 amps at 35 psi and 40 amps at 150 psi. It uses a high-flow Uni-Filter air cleaner that is washable and re-oilable. We also ordered Extreme Outback Products' 4 1/2-gallon air tank, 145-psi pressure switch, a one-way check valve, 100-amp relay, 100-amp circuit breaker, closed air chuck and 30-foot polyurethane coil hose with brass fittings.
The gents at our official buildup shop, Attitude Performance, installed the toolbox and the custom compressed air system in about six hours. The Pro HD Series toolbox not only offers dry, secure storage for all of our stuff, but it also serves as a natural mounting location for the Extreme Aire compressor and tank as well as a pair of external air chucks. Since our F-150 is a longbed model, we still have more than 6 feet of usable bed space available, even after adding the 20-inch-deep toolbox. The compressed-air system has proven to be fast and reliable and it provides more than enough airflow to power most air tools. We don't know how we ever got along without these two items.
 Here you can see the Continental...  Here you can see the Continental Pro HD Series toolbox and the components of the compressed-air system from Extreme Outback Products. Most everything needed to complete the install of these items was included or available from the manufacturers. The only additional items we had to obtain were electrical wire, a power switch, some air line, a "T" connector and air chucks. |  One of our goals was to have...  One of our goals was to have air chucks mounted on each side of the truck so we had easy access to air from either side of the vehicle. After setting the Pro HD Series toolbox in the truck's bed, we found that there was about 2 inches of space between the bedrail and the side of the toolbox. Jim Cryer at Attitude Performance fabbed up a pair of "L" brackets, which mount to each side of the toolbox and hold the air chucks. Here you can see the finished bracket. It simply has a hole for mounting and another for the air-chuck assembly. |  We mounted the chucks far...  We mounted the chucks far enough under the box so they are protected from damage, yet they extend out enough to still allow easy air-hose connection/disconnection. |
 We toyed with several mounting...  We toyed with several mounting locations for the compressor and air tank. The compressor features permanent lubrication and has sealed bearings so it can be mounted in any position. The DOT-approved air tank can be rotated 360 degrees, thanks to its mounting-strap design. Ultimately, we decided to mount them on the driver-side floor of the toolbox. On the upper left, you can see where the 145-psi pressure switch is installed into the Extreme Aire tank. The one-way check valve goes in line between the compressor and tank. The wires that you see at the top of the image are for the exterior perimeter lighting that we'll cover in a later story. |  We opted to wire the compressor...  We opted to wire the compressor "hot." In other words, the compressor can receive current by simply flipping the power switch even with the trucks ignition in the "off" position. Extreme Aire includes a detailed schematic wiring diagram for standard wiring of the system as well. We mounted the 100-amp circuit breaker (seen here) near the battery and connected it to the battery using four-gauge cable. |  We mounted the 100-amp relay...  We mounted the 100-amp relay on the firewall, once again utilizing four-gauge cable to carry current from the circuit breaker to the relay and from the relay to the compressor. |
 We designed the Extreme Aire...  We designed the Extreme Aire compressed-air system to be totally integrated into the Continental toolbox so we could simply unplug the electrical connections and lift the toolbox out of the truck, should we smash up the truck or whatever. We used some Warn heavy-duty connectors to carry main power and we used a four-pin trailer harness for the low-voltage 18-gauge wires that go from the switch to the pressure switch to the power switch. We installed the power switch inside the truck under and to the left of the steering column. |  The air output line from the...  The air output line from the Extreme Aire tank is connected to a "T" that routes the hose to the air chucks located on each side of the toolbox. |  Here's the finished product....  Here's the finished product. Our Extreme Aire compressed-air system and all of our gear is dry and secure in the Continental Pro HD Series toolbox. For this photo, we've removed the powdercoated aluminum sliding tray so you can see the inside of the box. Eventually we will mount a Pull-Pal and Hi-Lift Jack externally on the toolbox. |
Project Fiery Redhead - Part 1
Project Fiery Redhead - Part 2
Project Fiery Redhead - Part 3
Project Fiery Redhead - Part 4
Project Fiery Redhead - Part 5
Project Fiery Redhead - Part 6
Project Fiery Redhead - Part 7
Project Fiery Redhead - Part 8
Project Fiery Redhead - Part 9
Project Fiery Redhead - Part 10