Semi air ride suspension for up plating (1 Viewer)

[GMLS]

Hi.
I'm looking into up plating my A Class Rapido on a Fiat chassis from the current 3650T to 4000T and having spoken to SV Tech and Van Weight Engineering, this is straightforward to achieve with a semi air kits. They have suggested Drive Rite, VB Air or Marcle for the parts. I'm probably going down the DIY route. Anyone got any experience of these kits (or others) and any hints or tips?

 

[Oldrat]

Following this

 

[knickam]

When I did ours 2 years ago we went for the Marcle.
The VB air required new leaf springs to be fitted but the marble was just replace the bump stop with the airbag

VB air may have changed in the last 2 years so worth checking if they still new springs.

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[Howard B]

I recently fitted the twin gauge Martech suspension semi air to mine.
Kit seems decent quality though one of my airbags had a leak and needed replacing. I ended up fitting the gauges in the garage as the usual places in the cab had been utilised for other puroposes.
Didnt bother with a compressor as on my previous van I only altered the pressure a handfull of times in the 18 months I had it fitted. Takes seconds to fill with a bike pump.

Instructions are pretty poor, but you should be able to work out what goes where. Also had problems contacting them, but eventually managed to get through on the phone.
Cost about £340

 

[Gaston aires]

I recently fitted the twin gauge Martech suspension semi air to mine.
Kit seems decent quality though one of my airbags had a leak and needed replacing. I ended up fitting the gauges in the garage as the usual places in the cab had been utilised for other puroposes.
Didnt bother with a compressor as on my previous van I only altered the pressure a handfull of times in the 18 months I had it fitted. Takes seconds to fill with a bike pump.

Instructions are pretty poor, but you should be able to work out what goes where. Also had problems contacting them, but eventually managed to get through on the phone.
Cost about £340

Hi Howard. Did the semi air make an appreciable difference afterwards? I like the bit about the compressor.
Phil

 

[ontheroadagain]

EasyTop.
Easy to fit as it clamps to the leaf spring so no need to remove the U bolts etc.

ammortizzatori pneumatici - soffioni - molle - airspring - 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”, solu

www.sospensionieasytop.it

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[Howard B]

Hi Howard. Did the semi air make an appreciable difference afterwards? I like the bit about the compressor.
Phil

Hi Phil, t did on the Twin, a lot less crashing over potholes and more stable in corners/ roundabouts and overtking HGV. Not really had chance to try it on the Burstner yet.

 

[tonka]

Do you have the original Fiat chassis ??
If so there are kits that you can DIY fit, did it on my previous Autotrail 700 and I am aware of several other Funsters who have done it as well.

The Alko chassis are harder and more expensive.. You need to check what you have first.

fiat ducato air suspension kit for sale | eBay

Find great deals on eBay for fiat ducato air suspension kit. Shop with confidence.

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[Howard B]

EasyTop.
Easy to fit as it clamps to the leaf spring so no need to remove the U bolts etc.

ammortizzatori pneumatici - soffioni - molle - airspring - 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”, solu

www.sospensionieasytop.it

I looked at that, but couldnt work out what the import taxes would be on top of the purchase price.

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[The Coops]

I looked at that, but couldnt work out what the import taxes would be on top of the purchase price.

20% import/vat duty payable

 

[Mikeco]

I fitted the Dunlop one from Marcle a few years ago which was not too difficult to fit and is still working well. I did not bother with a compressor as no need to adjust it once you decide on the ride height.

 

[GMLS]

I fitted the Dunlop one from Marcle a few years ago which was not too difficult to fit and is still working well. I did not bother with a compressor as no need to adjust it once you decide on the ride height.

Yup that's what I'm thinking.Not worried about tinkering

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[GMLS]

Do you have the original Fiat chassis ??
If so there are kits that you can DIY fit, did it on my previous Autotrail 700 and I am aware of several other Funsters who have done it as well.

The Alko chassis are harder and more expensive.. You need to check what you have first.

fiat ducato air suspension kit for sale | eBay

Find great deals on eBay for fiat ducato air suspension kit. Shop with confidence.

www.ebay.co.uk

Yup 2023 Fiat and looking to DIY fit.Seems very straightforward.

 

[DerryW]

VB comfort pack, which includes the dual gauges, switches and compressor.

Improves ride quality and stability especially when passing HGV’s. Marginal increase in height (8cm) on rear end of MH.

Biggest benefits are; much improved stability when passing HGV’s, plus the extra 350kgs payload.

 

[ontheroadagain]

Yup 2023 Fiat and looking to DIY fit.Seems very straightforward.

Perhaps not so straightforward.
I can't remember the exact details but I remember someone having problems fitting semi air as the new Ducatos have an anti roll bar fitted.
Something to do with the anti roll bar and the brackets for the electronic handbrake fouling with the airbag (I think).
It would be worth checking this out prior to parting with your money.

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[GMLS]

Perhaps not so straightforward.
I can't remember the exact details but I remember someone having problems fitting semi air as the new Ducatos have an anti roll bar fitted.
Something to do with the anti roll bar and the brackets for the electronic handbrake fouling with the airbag (I think).
It would be worth checking this out prior to parting with your money.

Cheers.Although mine was new in Sept 2023 it's a 2022 chassis (we had to wait a long time as 9sp auto and one of the last 160bhp motors) but has the manual handbrake.Will look into whether it has a roll bar as I think there are a few mongrel vehicles about not confirming to standard specs in every way.Unl

ess it's obvious from this snapshot I happen to have.

 

[VXman]

Hi Howard. Did the semi air make an appreciable difference afterwards? I like the bit about the compressor.
Phil

I didn't bother with the compressor. In practice I have never changed the pressure. Fit, pump and forget.

 

[Orion]

Perhaps not so straightforward.
I can't remember the exact details but I remember someone having problems fitting semi air as the new Ducatos have an anti roll bar fitted.
Something to do with the anti roll bar and the brackets for the electronic handbrake fouling with the airbag (I think).
It would be worth checking this out prior to parting with your money.

Maybe me?

I was the guinea pig for the first DIY installation of the Dunlop rear air on our 2022 Adria Compact auto with the anti roll bar and electric handbrake. No major problems but a bit of minor fettling required. See post #46 on this thread for details:

Can’t Fit Semi-Air Suspension on 2022 Ducato

Yes its the harsh ride a crashing when going over potholes or anything thicker than a match Yes its the harsh ride a crashing when going over potholes or anything thicker than a match I had semi Air fitted on my 2018 fiat lwb and to be honest it did help with straight line stability on the...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

Although the rear air was required to allow up plating to 4250kg (from 3650kg) and 2400kg on the rear axle (previously 2000kg), after 8000 miles very varied driving I’d have fitted anyway.

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