Airbag suspension upgrade (1 Viewer)

[deka]

My airbag valves were situated in a small side locker which runs along the side skirt of the motor, Which was a real pain getting up and down in the wet to check them with my compressor.
So I've had the air lines to my airbags replaced and redirected into the cab with twin gauges at a cost of £135.00 including VAT at Towtal in Stoke-on-Trent, Very pleased with them. Cheers Deka.

 

[Jaws]

Def worth doing .. I fitted my own with gauges and valves ( and relief buttons etc ) and just used a small pump I bought at a boot sale for three quidlets
I actually bought a pucka back plate to mount it all on from ( I think ) A S Suspension for a very reasonable sum
Think I had change of £35 in the end

 

[GWAYGWAY]

If you hit a big bump do the gauges self destruct???

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[Jaws]

No idea !! But after several years and an awful lot of bumps I certainly had no issues !

 

[jollyrodger]

In the van recently imported I have a practically new Goldsmitt ? Air ride system with compressor under the bonnet guages and switch on the dash works very well

 

[MitchandJenny]

Rough cost of an air ride kit for the rear end ((self fit)) is how much please ???

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[jollyrodger]

AirRide £250+ I believe for basic or maybe I'm totally wrong

 

[TheBig1]

bought a kit last year from Marcle leisure cost about £400 and although you can get cheaper on ebay, the kits from marcle leisure use dunlop air springs so better quality/lifespan

 

[Jaws]

A S was who I bought my basic kit from.. £225 ( but that was about 5 years ago )
Dunlop bags and all stainless fittings... and they bent over backwards to get it to me as we was off on a trip a few days later..Did the job with snow on the ground.. took me about half hour .. really easy job to do ( in fact I was surprised at HOW easy it was ! )

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[MitchandJenny]

Many thanks chaps. I will give it a serious look..
JAWS How has it changed/improved your vans ride please ??

 

[Jaws]

They were fitted on the Miller .. Pug chassis and 4 tonnes .. Damned thing wallowed all over the road at the slightest bend.
Fitting the kit made it drive more like a car,,
We also noticed we were no where near as badly affected by fast lorries when on German autobahns and of course when parked up we never got sea sick

All in all I rate the mod right up there with solar panels.. Not essential for everyone but for us they were a true and worthwhile improvement to the over all motor homing experience

 

[MitchandJenny]

Many thanks mate. Most informative. I take it you haven't fitted any to your Autotrail ??

PS. Just had a look and they are now £345 for the 2014 Ducato camper..

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[Jaws]

No need.. It is a tag and rides about the same as the Miller with air bags

No roll and no sway !

 

[Jaws]

Just a thought.. Someone at some time has spent a LOT of money on the Autotrail.. No idea what other Chieftains ride like so maybe our suspension has been changed in the past ?
Even FULLY loaded ( had to shift a load of tooling about 300 yards up the road ) the rear end has zero sag in it.. But I like a nice stiff one ( !!! ) so it suits me well

Would be nice to have it adjustable like the Miller with the bags but cannot have it all I spose !

 

[MitchandJenny]

We have the new 2014 Tracker, must say it rides quite well already. Was just interested in the improvements if any.. I suspect 16 inch wheels would be my prefered 1st spend if anything.. Less of a tendency to dig itself onto a hole on wet/soft ground..
Glad to hear silence from you Re the dreaded step issue.. Oh dear I said it out loud !!
Something I learnt recently from Dan Howlett at Sargent.. The van will charge the leasure batts when on hook up, but if it senses a drop in veh batt volts it will swap over and charge it for a 4 hour block, then switch back.. Minor point but interesting I thought.

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[Jaws]

We have the new 2014 Tracker, must say it rides quite well already. Was just interested in the improvements if any.. I suspect 16 inch wheels would be my prefered 1st spend if anything.. Less of a tendency to dig itself onto a hole on wet/soft ground..
Glad to hear silence from you Re the dreaded step issue.. Oh dear I said it out loud !!
Something I learnt recently from Dan Howlett at Sargent.. The van will charge the leasure batts when on hook up, but if it senses a drop in veh batt volts it will swap over and charge it for a 4 hour block, then switch back.. Minor point but interesting I thought.

16" wheels do make a big difference but be aware it alters the gearing quite a bit
Speedo would be out as would miles covered.. Also all gears would be 'taller'

Step..
Currently have the board out again :-(
What Charging unit do you have ? ( am sure you mentioned it before but canna remember ! )

 

[MitchandJenny]

We have the C500 unit which was fitted to all Autotrails made after 2011 ((according to"Dan the manHowlett at sargent )) Dan has answered all of my queries in the past, maybe try him re "the step". He also added that if you have a factory fitted solar (Max 100watt panel allowed to run through the C500 ECU ) Then when you couple the van up to EHU, the solar will then be switched over to charge the veh batt and leave the EHU mainly charging the hab batts...
I glean from your previous posts about the step, that you are very electricaly "savvy", so would not presume to give any tips, BUT, when we drove through water in La Manga with the last van (Autotrail) the step shot out !! As it was P***ing down, I gave the motor, which lived in a rubber boot under the step, A technical "Kick". It shot back in and never ever came out again !!! Despite "downpours biblical" several later days..
If this is total Bulls*** just ignore me !!
Mitch..

 

[Jaws]

Well given the whole thing works on a simple pulse that is very possible.. but mine just pops out when it has been parked up for days and there is nowt wet in the area at all !
Got something on the go at the moment after doing some research.. Will not get the result for about a week though as parts ordered

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[Speve]

We have a 2013 Tracker had dunlop air Susp to rear to uprate load it has made a lot of difference and doesn't get buffeted quite so much I think it cost around £500 fully fitted with adjuster and valve in the gas locker