Rear air suspension

[Guffy60]

Dropped the van T68 at SAp, Doncaster Wednesday morning to have rear air suspension and tow bar fitted.

Done and dusted by Thursday lunch.

Tow bracket even with the extra racing looks very neat and professional.

35 mile trip back, even at 2 bar, van still loaded, you could feel the difference when passing vehicles

at 60+ or being passed, more stable less white knuckles. Been suggested I try 2.5, will try that but first will adjust tyre pressure as has bad under steer which could be caused by o ever inflated tyres.

 

[tonyidle]

bad under steer which could be caused by o ever inflated tyres

.................. or too much weight at the rear?

 

[Sapper520]

I’m thinking of putting SumoSprings on the rear of our van, but not finding many UK reviews about them.

Just looking for a fix and forget (and cheaper) solution, which is why I’m not going for any of the air systems.

 

[rosalan]

There are many reasons for having rear air suspension. My present van has original factory fitted units so i cannot compare any advantages of before and after. However my previous vans suspension was less comfortable with air suspension. It was however less likely to bottom on steep hairpins and was great when meeting oncoming camions where the wind pressure used to rock the van badly.

 

[Stacetop]

I’d be interested in what settings others have. We had it fitted in October and didn’t overly notice too much difference at 2.5 or 3.0 bar. It was briefly put at 4 when it went in for an issue and that did seem to make a difference on the motorway but does seem high!

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[HugoBNB]

For post #3....We put air suspension on our (Adria Coral 670sl) rear axle to get more payload (3500 to 4100). When I picked it up from having it done the load would have been about 3100 as it was pretty empty. The garage set the pressure at 3-bar and the difference in handling was remarkable. Loaded up, we are usually at about 3800-3900 depending on fluid levels and handling is still great keeping the same pressure.
If ever we get another MH I will put air suspension on the rear axle regardless of if we need the to increase payload. Cost £400.00 fitted.
Hope this helps. Safe travels

 

[Scotch mist]

I notice that some chassis are fiat with springs & some are alko which I think might be torsion
bars , I understand how it would work on springs but does anyone know if you can fit air to alko
chassis & if it’s worth the bother

 

[SandraL]

I notice that some chassis are fiat with springs & some are alko which I think might be torsion
bars , I understand how it would work on springs but does anyone know if you can fit air to alko
chassis & if it’s worth the bother

Yes alko do have torsion bar springs. Air assistance is available, brackets to take the air bags are bolted to the back of the rear hubs with another on the alko chassis.
Price for single axle about £1500 - £2000 ish.
Several threads if you use the search function.
Usually allows for an increase of 200kg on rear axle.

 

[Hettie's Crew]

The results of adding air assist will all depend on where you started. If your original springs were not adequate (undersprung) then adding air assist gives good results. You get a good mixture of spring and air working together. If your springs were right or over sprung then there’ll be little difference.
Our Alko rear axle was at its limit and adding air assist, running at 1.5 bar has made a huge difference.
Your tyres look rock hard, having no bulge at all, but if they are campers you probably have no choice. We lowered our pressures, choosing not to use campers and the combination of lower pressures and air assist has transformed our ride.

 

[Dave and Mand]

I fitted air suspension to the rear axel at the weekend, very easy to fit, not had chance to road test it yet though. Hopefully it improves the roll in corners, at 30psi it has levelled the van up and lifted it 2cm at the wheel arch.

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[ED O'DARAC]

I fitted air suspension to the rear axel at the weekend, very easy to fit, not had chance to road test it yet though. Hopefully it improves the roll in corners, at 30psi it has levelled the van up and lifted it 2cm at the wheel arch.

Hi, can I ask which system of airbags you used? I shall add a pair to my new van.

 

[dosser]

Hi, can I ask which system of airbags you used? I shall add a pair to my new van.

I fitted rear air assist yesterday a simple one gauge system and a few pumps with the track pump gets it to pressure. I bought the item below, as I am going to uprate through Van Weight Engineering and they had this supplier on the list that they recommend.

Air Suspension Kit For Peugeot Boxer 1994-2024 - 5000 KG | eBay

Fiat Ducato Citroen Relay Peugeot Boxer. Make/ModelFiat Ducato / Peugeot Boxer / Citroen Relay. Semi Air Suspension Kit Designed For The Kit Includes 2 x T joint. Will not fit models with Al-Ko type torsion bars chassis or models with electric handbrake!

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[IRHP]

I fitted rear air assist yesterday a simple one gauge system and a few pumps with the track pump gets it to pressure. I bought the item below, as I am going to uprate through Van Weight Engineering and they had this supplier on the list that they recommend.

Air Suspension Kit For Peugeot Boxer 1994-2024 - 5000 KG | eBay

Fiat Ducato Citroen Relay Peugeot Boxer. Make/ModelFiat Ducato / Peugeot Boxer / Citroen Relay. Semi Air Suspension Kit Designed For The Kit Includes 2 x T joint. Will not fit models with Al-Ko type torsion bars chassis or models with electric handbrake!

www.ebay.co.uk

One valve is fine but I hope you can isolate one side from the other.

 

[dosser]

One valve is fine but I hope you can isolate one side from the other.

No isolation both from same inlet.

 

[Peppadog]

An old post, but…..
This is a very low cost system compared to the VB kits. How are you getting on with it?

Also, IRHP, why do you need to be able to isolate one side from the other?

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[2GB Racing]

Not wishing to hijack this thread but I fitted the very same polish e-bay kit to our LWB Ducato PPVC basically as I tow a very light race car behind it but the trailer nose weight is correct and not the reason why I fitted it.
I was looking for extra stability on roundabouts etc, and less stress on the single leaf rear springs on our awful roads mainly where a new A road has sunk so at 60mph the whole lot has a go at bottoming out etc.
When I removed the standard bellows and spring mounting plates etc one could see just how far the springs actually do move under this compression which is quite worrying.
If you do fit this same kit it is very straight forward other than I did radius a 90deg edge which could well cause a fracture point easy to spot comparing kit to original plate etc.
The air hose is only just long enough to reach the cab so correct routing needs thought I mounted the single gauge in side of seat base plastic.
Fully inflated far to hard and raised the rear considerable, around 1.5bar has made a nice improvement but I need more miles for a full appraisal.

 

[dosser]

An old post, but…..
This is a very low cost system compared to the VB kits. How are you getting on with it?

Also, IRHP, why do you need to be able to isolate one side from the other?

All good so far makes the ride far more comfortable. I run it about 2.5bar van sits well toured 6 weeks in France last year fully loaded with bikes on the rear no issues.
Don't think you can compare to VB system we had the VB air and hydraulic rams for levelling on our last van a Rapido A Class. These would work in tandem with each other.
More than pleased with the bags I fitted to our 6.4m pvc, bumped up the pressure about .5bar after it had been sitting over Christmas in some pretty cold conditions here in Lanarkshire.
I imagine if you get a leak in one side both wouldn't completely deflate If you could isolate.
Cheers
Kenny.