Semi-Air Fitted by WattGuardz

[IanW18]

In another thread I described taking our Pilote P740FGJ to a weighbridge where the outcome was no surprise. The vehicle can be run at 3500Kg but only if you carry very little fresh water, next to nothing in the garage and you go on a course of weight loss injections before driving it.

SV Tech have told me fitting semi-air suspension to the rear axle will allow the GVW to be increased to 4,000Kg. Which is not a huge increase but enough for us to travel with a full water tank and the usual stuff like BBQs and beer in the garage.

With fortunate timing WattGuardz at Taunton have very recently added semi-air to their product range so yesterday saw my arriving at their workshop.

The job was completed very quickly and with the usual WattGuardz ingenuity for neat installations.

View attachment 1152694

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The controller was fitted to the side of the driver's seat. These are frequently fitted on the dashboard but for something I don't expect to use very often this is a better place for it. In the bottom right of the image below you can see the black plastic of the step, the compressor has been fitted behind this panel. The block of valves is under the driver's seat so apart from the rubber suspension units everything else is inside the vehicle and away from the weather.

View attachment 1152696

I haven't driven it far but it handles well on roundabouts with no noticeable rolling. I'll get in touch with SV Tech after the New Year and start the process of up-rating.

This is the system they fitted, the Air Master Premium, MAD are a Dutch company. As with the other work WattGuardz have done on the MH I'm very pleased with it and can't recommend WattGuardz enough.

Air Master Premium – semi air suspension with controller for campers and light commercial vehicles

The Air Master Premium offers precise control of your semi air suspension. Adjust the left/right ride height separately. Plug-and-play installation, intuitive operation, and universal application for campers and light commercial vehicles.

mad-suspensionsystems.com

Does installing semi-air suspension affect your Fiat warranty, or has it already expired?

 

[MichaelT]

Cheers. I’d just be interested to find out what the upsides and downsides would be if I uprated past 3.5t, so if anyone who’s done this has experience they could share, I’d be grateful!

Upside is VED is much lower.

Downside you need C1 licence that you have to renew at 70.

 

[DBK]

Does installing semi-air suspension affect your Fiat warranty, or has it already expired?

Good question and something I hadn't considered! I guess if I put in a claim about the rear suspension they might find a reason to quibble but from my point of view the warranty is to cover the expensive bits such as the engine and transmission.

But you make a good point. Hopefully, I won't need to find out.