pto air compressor for on board air

[wazzabie]

thinking about using a pto to run on board air. any thoughts on how this could be done?

 

[Fordum]

Most PTO setups are shaft drives. So you are limited to where you could mount the compressor.
My old truck had a shaft driven PTO winch, and running the shaft to the front bumper was not that bad. So, you might put the compressor in or on the front bumper.

And I know of a setup where a PTO unit has a sprocket on it, and a chain drive straight up through the floorboard to inside the bed, so you could mount the compressor there instead of the front bumper.

However, for maximum flexibility, consider my present winch setup.
I could not get a shaft to the front due to the exhaust manifold and pipes, so I mounted the PTO facing backwards with a hydraulic pump on it.

Tank under the tool box, open center control valve, with the winch mounted up front driven by a hydraulic motor.

My point is, once you get the hydraulic system setup, pump, tank, lines, valve, then you can run PTO power wherever and to whatever you want.
Mount a small hydraulic motor onto an air compressor, and you have PTO air.
Add a valve, couple of lines, and a winch, and you also have a PTO winch.

After that, you could get fancy. Dump bed, lift type tailgate, hydraulic bushhog mower, snowplow.......

 

[mudbuggy]

There are 3 basic pto setup.
Shaft- great for a big rig or straight truck. Large capacity. Most common
Hydraulic- fits smaller vehicles (1tons, mobile work platform) large initial cost. Cheap to maintain. Messy if line break, can be costly if drive, pump or motor needs replacement. Like Fordum. Very versatile.
Direct Drive- complex and heavy. Expensive. Loose largest amount of ground clearance. Lowest initial cost.

Fordum got the system that hands down, eventually I will (but on a chevy!). If your only going for air I would suggest that you get hold of an old dodge ac compressor and go that route. If your even thinking of installing a hydraulic winch then your road (if it were me in your shoes) would to follow Mr. Fordum's advise.

It all depends in the end product that you see in your mind.