Rago Air Compressor Mount doesn't fit 2020 or newer 4Runners!

Everybody and their brother makes these plates. I should have researched this more before buying it. On the 2020 and newer 4Runners there is a new secondary fuse/relay box behind the big one, right where this plate needs to go. After some searching I found a relocation bracket for this fuse box from Slee off-road. In the first picture below you can see the small fuse box. I have removed the original bracket but it mounts to the two bolts in the side wall. In the second picture you can see the Rago plate set in place being held by those two bolts. The Slee relocation bracket moves the fuse box back to the other two mounting holes you can see below the hood piston. The problem now with this Rago plate has an L-tab sticking back into the area were the fuse box will be relocated. No problem, I will cut that part of the plate off.

But wait! It gets worse!!! The install video says to ream out the three mounting nuts welded to the underside of the fender using a 6mm tap. OK, no problem, probably a good idea. After doing that the three provided bolts did not fit. Checking them with the tap/die set I found out they are not even metric bolts, they are 1/4" standard bolts. Not sure what Toyota ever made will accept these bolts. After a trip to the hardware store I fixed that problem.

Then I noticed the two bolts you are supposed to use to mount the plate to the side wall seemed really long. I threaded them in and they bottomed out before going all the way in. So you either have to cut them down, buy new bolts or in my case I reused the two bolts that mounted the original fuse box mount.

Rago should not advertise these as fitting 2010-2023 4Runners. It only works for 2010-2019 4Runners. I will think long and hard before buying another Rago product.

 

The reason I bought this is for the Wifey air up system where you can air up/down all four tires at once. This mechanism mounts on a secondary angle plate which was hitting the large fuse box. The first thing I noticed is the main plate was not level. I had to add four washers to each bolt to raise the end of the main plate support up 1/4" so it would sit level with the fuse box. When I bought the three new bolts to attach the bottom of the support to the fender I bought 30mm long bolts and now I'm glad I did. With the main plate level the angled secondary support bracket was just touching the top of the fuse box, no room for the bolt heads. So I put the angle plate into the vice and pounded on it to get it to angle up higher. I also had to re-drill the mounting holes in the main plate, making sure the compressor would still fit flat on the plate. I did this by first by mounting the compressor and then positioning the secondary plate as far back as it would go. The first picture shows the re-drilled holes. The second picture shows that modified setup that I think should work.

 

I relocated the secondary fuse/relay box so I can mount my accessory plate. I hade to bend the holder bracket for the fuse/relay so I can screw it in flat. Mine is a 2020 4runner.

 

I gave them a 1 star review on their web site and it never showed up. Another ref flag for this company.

 

Is there a photo of the finished compressor installation?

 

Direct from the Rago website:

"This 4Runner Air Compressor Bracket is CAD designed by Rago Fabrication, and laser cut out of aluminum. It can mount either an ARB Single or Twin Air compressor. There is also a mounting location for the Switch Pros SP9100. It has a very simple installation that is roughly 15 minutes start to finish. The installation will not require any trimming, drilling, or modification of your vehicle except for 2020-2023 model years."

 

I was able to simply turn the secondary relay box on it's side, screw it down to the same spot, and mount the compressor right on top. 2022 ORP

 

The only other issue I have had is with the rear air valve mounting brackets. The pictures below show the original holes to work with. The one that lines up is too large for the supplied bolt. You can't get behind this plate to put a nut on the backside. I had two left over self tapping bolts so I drilled a new hole and let the bolt tap the threads. Problem solved. Comparing the Wifey kit with the install video the only thing missing is washers to put on the air valves. Without the washers these valves would rattle around. After a quick trip to the hardware store I should have now solved all the issues. I will add pictures as I get further into this.

 

I feel your pain. I went and bought it and then i received the panel and tried to test fit first before mounting. I was going to return it and then went on the website and it did state that it does fit ut with some modifications. And they have an instruction guide below. Anyhow i was able to lay out everything and take it slowly. I just double sided taped the relay box on it side rather then cutting the mount and making a new hole in the plate. Also yes the 3 bolts were not a 6mm. However there was 4 other bolts that were in the sleeve of bolts were 6mm. The three other bolts i used to mount the arb single. There is no place to screw a 4th bolt to secure the arb because the other plates screw covers the hole. I agree with the frustrations. I think if i were to do it again i can do it in 15 min. I think The instructions should be written for someone who has never seen it before. Here is a pic of the completed on my 2020.

 

The valves at the wheels are on and the air tube run up into the engine compartment. Instead of running the tubing on the inside of the frame up against the exhaust I ran them on the outside of the frame using existing holes in the frame to loop the zip ties or existing tubes and hoses as anchor points. I expect things to go smoothly from now on.

 

I have a 2021 and had the same fitment issue with the Wifey mounting flange as you discovered.



Eventually I went a totally different route on my build.


FYI Relocating the secondary fuse/relay box is easy, you locate the bracket to the threaded hole just under the hood gas strut as seen in my build thread - post #21. But if you want to utilize the Rago mounting plate you would need to cut off that 'wing' that extends back towards the firewall in order to make room for the relocated secondary fuse/relay box location.

The instructions to 'ream out' the support strut factory threaded locations is just that, you are just 'chasing' out the threads, on my truck they are 6mm and not 1/4-20 so I'm really puzzled why yours is this way.

For the rear air mount locations I used 8mm Rivnuts in those thru-hole locations, no need to drill anything.

 

Photon_Chaser: I am getting it to fit on the drivers side so I can save the other large void for something like a second battery.

Here is the small box relocated with the Slee bracket. It works great and I can open this fuse box with the plate in place. Unfortunately I can't open the main fuse box with plate in place. Oh well, hopefully this beast won't blow many fuses. Toyota is supposed to be the most reliable...

 

Here is the power cable shortened up quite a bit. I was able to push back the original cover and slide it back over the splices. I always solder connections and use shrink wrap. For those large battery lugs I held them in a vice and heated them with a propane torch I use to sweat copper pipes. For the splices to shorten the wire I first took crimp connectors, removed the plastic around the metal and then crimped them using just the metal sleeve. I then used a heavy duty stained glass soldering iron to heat the sleeve and wire so I could get a good solder joint followed by the shrink wrap. I double shrink wrapped the positive wires.

 

My approach was... unconventional. Had to move a few things when I tubbed. Plenty of room now!

 

dgtuslaguy: I like the way you turned the fuse box. It looks like you welded new mounts for the fuse box?

 

I just couldn't sleep at night knowing that I would have to remove the compressor to get to the fuse box. The Wifey install that shows the manifold bolted to the top of the fuse box was a no-go for me. Here is my final parts location. I chose to mount the manifold on the side of the fender well. Some of the plastic skirt had to be cut away. The fuse box cover can be taken off without removing anything. It's all a tight fit and it took a while to get to this point but it should be worth the effort in the long run.

 

The installation is complete, all except the on/off switch. I ordered one to fit in the dash with a compressor symbol on it. It has been over a week and no switch yet. I think it's somewhere in the Pacific on a slow boat from China. If it doesn't come in the next day or two I will make a mounting plate and use the ARB switch somewhere in the engine compartment for now.

 

A couple of questions from the completely uninformed about installing one of these - are the lines below marked in yellow all for the ARB compressor setup?


And, what is the purpose of the manifold?

Thanks.

Great job, by the way.

 

No, the wire with the smaller red fuse holder is for another accessory. You can see that wire by itself in post #16 before I added the ARB power harness. The ARB power harness is the one with two huge black fuse holders. You can see the entire power harness in posting #13.

The little blue manifold block is a convenient way to add all the required parts without cobbling together a bunch of T fittings. At the far end is the braided metal hose from the compressor that goes through a ball valve before going into the manifold. That is what you use to air up the tires. Next is a blue slide valve used to air down the tires. After that is a pressure relief valve that prevents overpressure if for some reason the compressor fails and overpressures the system. I will have to adjust that once complete. Then there is the pressure gauge followed by the output hose that goes to the four tires. The manifold makes for a really compact clean setup.

 

Thank you.