Air ride help.....

[TestPoster]

Hi all
I have been looking around at Air Ride type air bags for the rear end of Woody. The back end seems to sag a little (I know that the engine is way back there) and when looking at the leaf springs they seem to have an inverse deflection. I don't know if this is normal, some places I have looked suggest that the springs can do this normally, but anyway I am just wondering if airbags will sort this situation out. I am concerned that if I fitted air bags then the entire weight of the back end of the coach would be sat on the bags with little help from the springs, so if they have lost there spring is it better to have them replaced / retensioned?
Does any have any advice, or has anyone done this? Can anyone recommend somewhere to buy the rear air bag kit from and any price indicators, so far I have been quoted around £300 - 500, which sounds a bit high for the bags to me?
Thanks in advance

Keith

 

[Lindy-C]

Hi Keith

Drop me a line with your chassis details, weight etc.

Is it an "M" line or "XC21" type?

Cheers
Linda

 

[lugnutt]

hi Keith my bus came with added leaf springs would this help you? i read on a tread someone had airbags fitterd and ended up taking them out but carnt remember were maybe on arv site
dave

 

[TestPoster]

Hi Linda
I have asked Jim at TW to let me know the chassis details, all the info is in the coach, which is at TW, so as soon as I have an answer I will let you know.
I had a call from MAD suspension in Milton Keynes today, they only go up to 3.5 tons chassis, but the guy used to work with Travelworld and knew of the chassis so called to suggest that I got a helper spring installed or the originals retensioned. He was a very helpful chap and gave me the phone number of a company in Wakefield to try, which I will do soon.
Hi Dave, yes I am beggining to think that an extra leaf will be the answer.
Interesting this eh?

Keith

 

[Ash]

air ride

hi ive only got a small van had air ride fitted to my van to times i would say they do a good job

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[JayDee]

Hello Keith,
Not in your league but had Air-Rides fitted to my sub-3.5tonne A-Class (Dethleffs on a Fiat); the fitter noted that the vehicle had spent a lot of time on the bump stops, no wonder she felt a bit lumpy :Sad:.
I run the air-rides at just a tad under 40 psi and the ride improvement is amazing, as is the straight line stability when passing or being passed by big stuff. I used GB in Honiton, but there's probably people closer to you.

Hope you get sorted - Linda seems to have things in hand. Wish Lowdhams were as efficient (though their not bad compared to so some I've heard about).

John

 

[brianju]

Hi Keith

I had Duncan fit Firestone Ride-Rite air helper springs to my Trek on a P30 chassis and was amazed at the difference in handling. They transformed the affects of tramlining-sidewinds-passing trucks and cornering considerably as well as lifting the rear end thus alleviating grounding of the tow hitch on ferry ramps etc.
Although I have no experience of their effects on a Pusher - I can only assume they would achieve similar benefits. By the way I inflate all bags front & rear to 65psi - seems to suit - but a little experimentation may be required to suit your rig.
Hope this is of some help - Good Luck with whatever you decide.

cheers Brian

 

[lugnutt]

Keith mine has 2 extra leaf spring each side but still leaned a lot at roundabouts
this could be a expensive suck it an see jobie if you go one way and it is the othere
dave

 

[Lindy-C]

Kieth,
Re the extra leaf, this is typical when adding extra LPG tanks etc to carry the extra weight without the sagging, if the other leaves are down on tension then it will be a temporary fix.

The air bags will allow you to level the vehicle and adjust the ride as needed, the handling can be made much better as if the front end is too high it will allow more sway and put extra load on the rear suspension (softer rear promotes more under-steer)
Give me a ring, I have a contact for air bags if that is the way you want to go.
Regards
JC

 

[TestPoster]

Hi all and thanks for the comments. I don't know about being in or out of anyones league, but our coach is a tad over 7 tons so heavier than 3500Kgs On Rocky which had a Chevy P30 chassis, air bags were fitted to front and rear and coincidentally I used to run them at 65 psi which proved to be a reasonable pressure, although the P30 does have strange wandering tendencies anyway. I guess that travelinglilburys have found that out and the air bags certainly make a big difference. Haven't heard from Duncan, so don't know what he would suggest?
I have noticed that the front of the Flair appears to be a little light, not driven it far enough yet to get a good feel for it, and don't know what other pushers feel like, so it is difficult to know what is "normal". I am really in a quandary about bags or springs, not really thinking that helper springs or air bags will fully sort it out. My real gut feeling is to get the rear springs re tensioned back to manufacturer spec as I am sure that it didn't sag when it was new, or did it??? I would love to see a sales brochure from when Woody was new to see the attitude of the coach, maybe I am concerning myself over nothing as the general handling is very good on all road types that I have encountered so far. I think that a lot of the bigger pushers are on air suspension so that rules out asking those guys, I don't know how many rear pushers were shod with standard leaf and coil springs.
I will ask Travelworld to have a look at it and see what they might recommend, but in the meantime I will call JC tomorrow, thanks for the offer matey :thumb:
Night all

Keith

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[damondunc]

the first thing you should do is get your RV weighed (individual axles and overall weight) and compare the axle loadings with the maximum axle weights on the vin plate. Your sagging problem may be due to excess weight. Start with the basics first, if the weights are within spec then think about putting the problem right.
Dunc.

 

[Geo]

Good Idea that , Move your wallet to the front Keith and see if that does it
Geo

 

[Terry]

Hi keith have a look at this guys
http://www.soh.me.uk/
diy suspension,but if your springs are bowing up they are on the way out
terry