air suspension

[freko16]

air suspension the best kit?

 

[Speve]

air suspension the best kit?

It’s a good idea if you could give details of vehicle you want to install it on and whether you want full or semi air also different if on Al-Ko chassis.

 

[freko16]

It’s a good idea if you could give details of vehicle you want to install it on and whether you want full or semi air also different if on Al-Ko chassis.

Hi sorry new to this Its a elddis auto quest 185 standard chassis, semi air

 

[Speve]

Hi sorry new to this Its a elddis auto quest 185 standard chassis, semi air

Don’t apologise we all have to start somewhere personally I had. Dunlop rear installed on an Autotrail we had it made a big difference

 

[freko16]

Don’t apologise we all have to start somewhere personally I had. Dunlop rear installed on an Autotrail we had it made a big difference

Thanks for that , It is so confusing with so many kits on the market do not want to make a wrong purchase.

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[Landy Andy]

I don’t think there is that much difference between the kits personally. I’ve got Drive Rite fitted to mine as I like the more modern look of the controls.

But there is this kit currently for sale on this site.

Airbag suspension for Ducato

New, unused and still in box complete Duro airbag suspension kit for Ducato chassis. Complete with airlines, two ready piped gauges, all brackets, bolts and protective trunking. Bought for van before buying new van with alko chassis so cannot be...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[ontheroadagain]

I fitted EasyTop to our Elddis 155 last year.
Easy to fit as it clamps to the springs (some kits require you to remove the U bolts).
I purchased direct from Italy and it arrive in less than a week. That was pre Brexit though.
Delivery times/cost may be more now. From memory I paid approx. £350.
Fitting took approx. 6 hours but if I was doing it again I could probably fit it in half the time.

 

[steveh57]

Anyone purchased from Easytop post Brexit as I see we're not on the shipping list anymore, unless we're classed as " other countries worldwide"?

SHOP - Sospensioni Aria easyTOP

I.T.A. (Impianti Tecnologici ad Aria) ha progettato e realizzato, secondo tecniche, lavorazioni e standard qualitativi propri del “Made in Italy”, soluzioni di sospensioni ad aria easyTOP, adatte a veicoli commerciali, veicoli ricreativi (camper, caravan, autocaravan, motorhome), fuoristrada...

www.sospensionieasytop.it

 

[DDJC]

How many makes of SemiAir are there?
I've found six, but I bet there are more.

VB, Dunlop, Duro, Gliderite, Easytop, Driverite (Firestone)

Which ones are deemed by funsters as the best?

 

[Landy Andy]

Unless you’ve tried them all you can’t really say what is best, and to be honest what is the difference between them? Not much in my opinion.

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[DDJC]

Unless you’ve tried them all you can’t really say what is best, and to be honest what is the difference between them? Not much in my opinion.

Makes sense! I suppose it was a stupid question!

Has anyone any idea of how many have the integral compressor and dashboard gauges? I know the VB semi air comfort does, but what about any others? VB comfort is retailing at more then £750.

 

[Landy Andy]

Makes sense! I suppose it was a stupid question!

Has anyone any idea of how many have the integral compressor and dashboard gauges? I know the VB semi air comfort does, but what about any others? VB comfort is retailing at more then £750.

I’m sure some will have tried two different systems with swapping vans a but they are just a rubber bag in the place the bumpstop/spring assisters were.

I eventually went for the compressor, although that wasn’t the initial plan, but I’m now pleased I did as I alter the pressures/ride height quite a lot. I went for a system that I liked the look of the internal fixings, wanting something that fitted in with the interior, not something that looks like it’s been removed from a steam boat

 

[Guigsy]

I had an EasyTop setup on my old van. I just put the gauges on the side of the drivers seat and used a bike to pump it up. The pressures and volumes are pretty small, so it only takes a minute per side from empty. Personally I think a compressor is unnecessary weight, complexity and cost for the frequency it gets used.

 

[DDJC]

I’m sure some will have tried two different systems with swapping vans a but they are just a rubber bag in the place the bumpstop/spring assisters were.

I eventually went for the compressor, although that wasn’t the initial plan, but I’m now pleased I did as I alter the pressures/ride height quite a lot. I went for a system that I liked the look of the internal fixings, wanting something that fitted in with the interior, not something that looks like it’s been removed from a steam boat

View attachment 500355

Agree, that looks like it was part of the stock build. That's the fella for me. Where did you source it?

 

[acropolis22]

Do any of these provide a solution to the hard ride experienced on bad road surfaces; of which there seem to be more and more..........

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[DDJC]

I had an EasyTop setup on my old van. I just put the gauges on the side of the drivers seat and used a bike to pump it up. The pressures and volumes are pretty small, so it only takes a minute per side from empty. Personally I think a compressor is unnecessary weight, complexity and cost for the frequency it gets used.

I get that, but the thought of having more buttons to push is thrilling for me

 

[Guigsy]

Do any of these provide a solution to the hard ride experienced on bad road surfaces; of which there seem to be more and more..........

If your van rides really low on the rear and you're smashing off the bump stops all the time, it does help a bit. I did find that it was merely as bad as the front axle when I clobbered a pothole. It's not suddenly a magic carpet ride.

 

[DDJC]

If your van rides really low on the rear and you're smashing off the bump stops all the time, it does help a bit. I did find that it was merely as bad as the front axle when I clobbered a pothole. It's not suddenly a magic carpet ride.

There are three stretches of the south side M25 where it is just slabs of concrete separated by canyons, it seems. Our back axle hits the bumpstops every sodding ten feet. Murderous and can't be good for the chassis or leaf suspension.

We drop speed to <40mph which helps, but we get dirty looks from the lorries...

So it is semi-air for us. We don't wallow much, but any ride improvement would be great as well.

 

[Guigsy]

There are three stretches of the south side M25 where it is just slabs of concrete separated by canyons, it seems. Our back axle hits the bumpstops every sodding ten feet. Murderous and can't be good for the chassis or leaf suspension.

We drop speed to <40mph which helps, but we get dirty looks from the lorries...

So it is semi-air for us. We don't wallow much, but any ride improvement would be great as well.

As you hit a joint, more "crash, crash" instead of "crash, aaarrggh! what just fell off!?!".

 

[Speve]

We have full air on ours and I find if I set it to sport mode on M25 concrete it certainly a smoother ride but still hate that bit of road

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[IRHP]

Unless you’ve tried them all you can’t really say what is best, and to be honest what is the difference between them? Not much in my opinion.

The way some are fitted is the biggest difference. Some require removing the existing u bolts. Others like the easy top clamp onto the existing springs. I bought a kit from ebay that have Rubena air bags. So far so good and I'm impressed with the quality. Only downside is the air goes in the top of the bags rather than the bottom. Means you have to leave some flexibility in the routing of the airlines.

 

[Guigsy]

We have full air on ours and I find if I set it to sport mode on M25 concrete it certainly a smoother ride but still hate that bit of road

That's bad. But the worst road we've ever experienced is the N8 in Belgium from the coast down to Ypres. It's a fairly major road. It's all concrete slabs that have massive gaps and ridges. It just feels like they laid the slabs like tiles directly on the farmers fields like crazy paving. I could not do more than 40mph the whole way. 25km of bone jarring crashes.

 

[Speve]

That's bad. But the worst road we've ever experienced is the N8 in Belgium from the coast down to Ypres. It's a fairly major road. It's all concrete slabs that have massive gaps and ridges. It just feels like they laid the slabs like tiles directly on the farmers fields like crazy paving. I could not do more than 40mph the whole way. 25km of bone jarring crashes.

There’s a really bad bit coming out of Portugal into Spain from Algarve south coast A49 if I remember correctly

 

[Tricuspid]

On our old ambulances the air suspension was used to lower the back for easy access. The bags were horribly unreliable, although in fairness it's a hard life being an ambulance. Do these motorhome kits help with levelling, or is it purely about ride comfort?

 

[Guigsy]

On our old ambulances the air suspension was used to lower the back for easy access. The bags were horribly unreliable, although in fairness it's a hard life being an ambulance. Do these motorhome kits help with levelling, or is it purely about ride comfort?

These are just "semi-air" kits. I suspect ambulances had full air suspension? A semi-air setup just replaces the bump-stops with bellows. The leaf springs and dampers remain in place and still take do the majority of the work.

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[Tricuspid]

These are just "semi-air" kits. I suspect ambulances had full air suspension? A semi-air setup just replaces the bump-stops with bellows. The leaf springs and dampers remain in place and still take do the majority of the work.

On the Peugeot / Fiat van-conversion ambulances I think they replaced the whole back suspension with airbags. It's because of them that I opted for a Ford chassis on my motorhome! On the Mercedes ambulances (chassis plus box) I think they still have springs at the back. I'm not 100% sure, I just drove them (and occasionally broke them ).

 

[jezport]

Do any of these provide a solution to the hard ride experienced on bad road surfaces; of which there seem to be more and more..........

Full air does. As it replaces the steel springs completely. It improves handling and breaking also.

 

[jezport]

On the Peugeot / Fiat van-conversion ambulances I think they replaced the whole back suspension with airbags. It's because of them that I opted for a Ford chassis on my motorhome! On the Mercedes ambulances (chassis plus box) I think they still have springs at the back. I'm not 100% sure, I just drove them (and occasionally broke them ).

I have the full air as on Ambulances and it turns the suspension from an archaic cart suspension into a 21st century ride. handling and breaking is transformed.