Tiny01

Really just spitballing this concept and have done some searching but not even sure how to search that might bring this up. I have a pair of Nates 4x4 bumpers coming in the next week or so. I'm concidering adding some onboard air mostly to air my tires back up after wheeling.

My buddy who's helping me with my jeep recalled someone capping off and sealing air tight their bumper and adding 2 ports. They could fill the bumper(s) with like 150psi at the shop, air down the tires wheel all day then hook an air line to the bumper to air up the tires and off they go. I'd see this as huge space savings not having to have a tank in the cab anywhere, just air them up at the shop or maybe just a small compressor mounted in the cab.

My question is what kind of issues could I run into attempting to seal and plumb these in? Is there a concern about a fender bender or should it be more or less safe.

BNJeepsta

It's been done plenty of times. Just Google search and you shall receive. As for sealing them up, if you're not a professional welder, have someone do it for you. All it takes is a little porosity and you'll be chasing air leaks all over. It won't cause any issues in an accident either, the air pressure isn't high enough to explode or anything.

91 XJ guy

I have both front and rear air tanks in my bumper custom made by the owner before me but it holds 180 psi with a gauge and connectors if anything happens let me know. I have put air in it multiple times and no leaks no problems at All.

nates4x4

I don't recommend this for a couple reasons. Rectangular tubing is rated for structural use, not as a pressure vessel. In tests in our shop, the rectangular tubing would actually bulge under pressure, stressing the welds on the mounting brackets. Think about it, anything that holds pressure including pipe, tanks, and lines, are always round.

Also it is almost a sure thing that the bumpers are not air tight. Some of our bumpers use alignment holes for the mounting brackets and their positioning make it impossible to seal completely with weld. Even the bumpers that are fully welded are done so without use as a pressure vessel in mind. Pressure vessels often have more than one weld pass: root, filler, and cap. Our bumpers are all single-pass welds and anywhere we stop and restart a weld is not prepped the way a pipe weld would be by feathering the weld ends for 100% penetration at the stop/start points. And there are at least a dozen of these points per bumper.

Rcrivolio

I dunno, if i'd want to use bumpers pressurized to 150 or more PSI. One of those end caps comes off, it may not kill you but it would definitely leave a mark.

xjmarc

I can't see a bumper being large enough to hold enough air to fill up more than one small tire. I have a 100 gallon compressor at my house and just going from 3psi to 20 in one of my 38s I have to leave it running. Keep in mind the 150psi won't stay constant once you start using it. This is why I carry a CO2 tank. It stays at full pressure till it's pretty much empty, 4000psi, unlike air and nitrogen tanks which lower as you use them.

macgyver35

It just seems to me that for the trouble and expense of this project, you could more cheaply by a pretty good portable compressor. And at least the compressor could continue delivering air indefinitely if need be.

Tiny01

Yeah after reading all the comments on here and seeing what Nate 4X4 said about his bumpers (which are being delivered tomorrow) I'm not going forward with the bumper tanks. I picked up a small 12v air compressor. I will be hunting JY for a York compressor and an extended idle switch.

Crazy 8s

A better idea is to hold water in the bumper. Line the innerside of the bumper with plastic and you could store clean water in there and with an air pump, the water could come out of a spigot under pressure...

Crazy 8s

McCaffrey

I think it's a good idea if done right so I just wanted to mention another thing to overcome. Condensation inside causing excessive rust + high pressure might end poorly. Tanks built for air are designed with this in mind.