I want to get my air horns installed. I have a few questions on what all I still need to get. I have the horns and tank already. My brother in law has the air line so I'm good with all that. I know I need the compressor. I'm going with a Viair 480. I need a 150 psi pressure switch cause thats the rating on my tank. What else do I need?

The pressure switch I've been looking at is a switch with a built in relay so I shouldn't need another relay.

I need some type of valve that works off the button to make them work I believe. I have seen different size valves. Does the size of the valve really matter?

Now were I'm really lost is. I assume the horns can only handle so much air through them right? Is there something that controls this or is that through the push button valve?

Where did you guys mount your horns and compressor? Pics would be great! I was gonna mount them under the hood or in front of the rad but that idea got shot in the ***. My compressor is most likely going under the bed of the truck. I'm gonna build a steel box for it so its protected and use the remote mount filters.

I had the cheap plastic horns on it before but they are simple to hook up. Real air horns take some more involvement lol

 

Mine is similar to those cheap horns, but mine are metal. I plan on upgrading some time, will keep the same location for the horns. The pics are right by the bumper. The compressor is between the bumper protected by that rubber flap

 

That’s funny… because I’m working on exactly the same thing.

I’ve decided to go with a York-210 compressor. It required some work to get it all setup, but in the end I felt it was the best route. For one, it was CHEAP! Secondly, it will pump air like crazy… 4cfm at idle @ 100PSI.

I picked one up used from a junkyard for 30 bucks. I have built a bracket that will piggyback the compressor onto the alternator. Luckily I found the drawings of the brackets online (http://www.txwheelers.com/modules.ph...g2_itemId=9709), so it made it really easy to do. The steel was cheap (~$13), and I had the tools to do it… so off I went.

I had to buy a few parts from Kilby Enterprises to make it a little easier to hook up. The must have part was a new pulley for the alternator that had a v-belt slot in addition to the normal serpentine belt, so that I could drive the York. I also opted to get the adapter fittings that allowed me to hook up with ½” NPT fittings instead of trying to jerry-rig something together. It was a total of ~100 bucks for that stuff.

With electric compressors, you need to be a little careful. If you are going to mount it under your cab, you need to find a sealed unit, or build some sort of protection for it to keep dirt and moisture out of it. I have seen people adapt a small toobox as an enclosure when mounted on a frame rail. I have seen other mount the compressor/tanks in toolboxes in the bed. I have even seen one installation where the compressor was installed under the back seat inside the cab. Seems like it would be a little loud for my tastes, but it is a nicer environment for the compressor.

If I had to pick an electric compressor, I would probably go with a Viair 450H. There have been people over on Pirate that have had good results with a brand called “Puma” from a seller named “buzzard-gulch” on e-bay.

Regardless of which compressor you use, you’re going to want:

Pressure switch – shuts of the compressor
Power switch/relay – manual on/off
Safety Blow-off valve – to prevent dangerous overpressures in tank
Check Valve – to prevent stored air from back driving compressor
Tank Drain – to drain moisture

I would recommend you look at Kilby’s site. They have a lot of good info – even if you are not buying stuff from them.  This should answer a lot of your questions: http://www.kilbyenterprises.com/faq.htm

For controlling the horns, you need some sort of valve. You can use a manual valve (which would require routing air into the cab, through the valve, and to the horns. Alternatively, you can use an air valve that is controlled electrically via a solenoid. Basically you wire up a button in the cab, run the wires to the solenoid. When you push the button in the cab, the valve opens fully and the horns blow.

For valve size, it depends on how many horns you are running, and what the supply line size is. I chose to use 1/2" air valve & supply line. The larger supply line will allow more air to flow to the horns with less resistance = louder.

For mounting of the horns… I have seen them all over the place. I have seen one that was mounted on the fender inside the engine bay, where the original air intake was changed to an air hat. I have seen horns installed in place of the spare tire under the bed. I have seen them mounted on the frame rails of the truck, in front of the radiator… Basically, anywhere you can find room. If you are looking for generic install ideas, take a look here: http://www.hornblasters.com/installs...orns_on_trucks.

You might also find this forum useful: http://www.trainhornforums.com/

I’m still waiting on a few parts to finish up my build, so I don’t have a good set of pictures/write-up yet. But, my build up is similar to this one: http://www.pavementsucks.com/tech-article-12.html.

Sorry for the long winded answer… I’ll definitely be posting up a write up when it’s all done.

What horns did you decide to go with? I went with the ShockerXL’s from Hornblasters.

Cartman

 

Honestly I have no idea what brand they are. I got them off a friend from a nearby fire company. He said that they came stock on a Mack when the fire truck builder gets them they take them off and throw them away.

 

have you googled air horn installs? theres tons of writeups and threads out there on various forums that tell/ suggest what you need

 

nope never even thought of that

 

Searching is bad. I found a viair 495 but ts 400 bucks. F that noise.

Cartman thanks for all that. My plan was to mound everything under the hood on the fender but now that I have my spark box there I can't. I have looked around today and the 480 is a sealed unit and is moisture and dust resistant so It should be fine. Like I said i want to build something to go around it anyway so it don't get beat up. I have thought about putting it under the back seat but have read on here that they are pretty loud. Your belt driven one sounds cool but not mounting more stuff on my engine.

I guess I just need to buy stuff and see what happens. I am trying to wait but I keep reaching for the button and remembering I don't have horns anymore

 

I'm curious to know if it's possible to wire the horns to your stock horn wiring so that instead of pushing a button you can still press the center of your steering wheel?

 

Sure, if you want to rig it that way for your trigger you could.

 

It is definitely possible. That is what I plan on doing as well, but I will have an inline switch to disable it. I will also have a foot switch that will honk only the train horns.