Camper suspension

[Tom W]

Hi, I'm new to the site and have a questions ref van suspension.
I've recently converted a Vauxhall vivaro LWB panel van into a camper and we as a family love it, however the ride in the back for the kids is very bumpy. I'm looking at upgrading the suspension but have no idea where to start.
Will a normal garage be able to help, what should I be looking for, is air suspention an overkill on a camper?
Anybody experienced similar issues / help gratefully received.
Kind regards Tom W

 

[TheBig1]

normal van suspension is pretty harsh, designed to carry a load rather than comfort. adding airbags will certainly help, with kits available from around £400

 

[TerryL]

Check your tyres aren't over-inflated - as a commercial van the recommended pressures may be higher than you need, which will make the ride very harsh.

The Tyresafe website can help with correct pressures - you'll need the vehicle weights, should be on a plate attached somewhere.

In this instance not sure I agree with TheBig1 as, unless you go for full air suspension which is definitely overkill in your case, the air-assist kits are there to assist the suspension and don't, in our van anyway, make a lot of difference to the comfort aspect of the ride.

 

[tacr2man]

You have two choices , go full air or fit a lower rated spring and air assist , just adding air assist doesn't help make the ride any softer , in fact it would make it worse . You need to weigh the axles to start to see how close you are to the max anyway .

 

[Scotch mist]

What psi are you using in the back ? , i run a small fleet (4) vans at any one time in my plumbing days
3.5 ton , fully loaded the tyres were usually set to 50psi

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Tom W]

Thanks all, I will check my PSI as a start