Semi air suspension ? (1 Viewer)

[BusyBuilder]

I want to fit air suspension to rear of my Hymer B544. It's on a Fiat Maxi chassis so rated at 4250kg.

I've asked a couple of suppliers on ebay if theirs will be okay, and they all look the same to me, but can't seem to get a straight answer, if any answer at all. Quite frustrating !

So has anyone fitted same to a Maxi chassis ?

 

[SandraL]

Is it a full fiat chassis with leaf springs at the rear or an alko chassis at the rear without leaf springs?

If fiat and leaf springs then the diy airbags are readily available, same as fiat ducato van.

If alko then you will find it difficult to get diy fitting. Gliderite are one company that will fit, costs are about £1500.

Our hymer is fiat maxi chassis front with alko rear, we had air assist fitted by gliderite.

 

[Neckender]

I fitted the VB semi system sold on eBay to my non alko maxi chassis van, straight forward fit.

John.

 

[tonka]

This is the one i fitted 2 + years ago, Autotrail 700 with 4250kg maxi chassis..
I know several other Funsters have fitted the same kit...
Inflation point is basic but does the job ok, I used a footpump pressed with my hand to inflate..

NOTE... If you do DIY give the bump stop bolts a good soak in releasing fluid.. I was rushing and ended up snapping a bolt instead of waiting for the fluid to soak in. Local garage helped but cost me some extra cash. Other than that easy fit. i did it on my drive..

 

[mfw]

This is the one i fitted 2 + years ago, Autotrail 700 with 4250kg maxi chassis..
I know several other Funsters have fitted the same kit...
Inflation point is basic but does the job ok, I used a footpump pressed with my hand to inflate..

NOTE... If you do DIY give the bump stop bolts a good soak in releasing fluid.. I was rushing and ended up snapping a bolt instead of waiting for the fluid to soak in. Local garage helped but cost me some extra cash. Other than that easy fit. i did it on my drive..

They are rated to 4000kg load capacity might be a grey area if you had accident and insurance company spotted it

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[BusyBuilder]

They are rated to 4000kg load capacity might be a grey area if you had accident and insurance company spotted it

But the rear axle is only 2700kg, max weight of vehicle is 4250kg, but we are running at about 3900kg when fully loaded for 2 of us + dog for 3 weeks.

 

[tonka]

They are rated to 4000kg load capacity might be a grey area if you had accident and insurance company spotted it

More than enough... As Busy builder states.. The max rear axle in my case is only 2400kg so they are almost double the capacity if that 4000kg is per bag then its x4
You are maybe getting confused with the Gross / MAM weight and not the axle weight..

 

[mfw]

I just based view on total vehicle weight not axle distribution and a lot of insurance companies ability to wriggle out of a genuine claim

 

[Two on Tour]

Two points that I'm not so keen on the the eBay kit that @tonka has linked to


Firstly I'm not to keen on the bottom mounting only gripping onto the spring leaf rather than being clamped under the two "U" bolts as mine are and secondly their is no provision for adjustment both forward and back and side to side to make sure the air bags are centred. Just my opinions and I'll sure not others.

 

[BusyBuilder]

Thanks all, I've ordered a kit.

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[DerryW]

We had VB comfort air assist fitted 3 weeks ago. the comfort variant includes the gauges and toggle switches (see below). I spoke with SV tech earlier this week, they informed me that with the air assist fitted along with the 16" wheels, would enable us to increase the rear axle to 2240kgs if required. However having weighed the MH yesterday we stall have 160kgs margin to play with before reaching the 3700kgs GVW.
Massive improvement in driving characteristics, doesn't wallow on bends and roundabouts anymore. Was it worth the £1150 only time will tell.

 

[TheBig1]

I have got a brand new set of dunlop airbags laying around in my store room if anyone wants to make a sensible offer. Thought I would offer here before listing on ebay

 

[TheBig1]

I have got a brand new set of dunlop airbags laying around in my store room if anyone wants to make a sensible offer. Thought I would offer here before listing on ebay

 

[DerryW]

Sorry I forgot to add images. Here they are. The other thing which surprised me, I was expecting a greater difference in ride height, however, its less than 3.5cm from completely empty air bags to maximum pressure (3.5bar). see below 2 images.

 

[fullfat]

I have got a brand new set of dunlop airbags laying around in my store room if anyone wants to make a sensible offer. Thought I would offer here before listing on ebay

PM Sent

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[49780]

I've just taken ownership of a Auto trail Dakota, first weekend out, noticed the tow bar grounds out easily, does any one know of some one local to Liverpool /Wirral that could fit a kit for a reasonable fee?

I've seen kits for£250 on eBay, any one have experience with these?

any help, appreciated.
Juri

 

[Landy Andy]

I've just taken ownership of a Auto trail Dakota, first weekend out, noticed the tow bar grounds out easily, does any one know of some one local to Liverpool /Wirral that could fit a kit for a reasonable fee?

I've seen kits for£250 on eBay, any one have experience with these?

any help, appreciated.
Juri

Glide-rite are based in the Wirral.

They have a very very nice kit, and a range of options, that also vary in price. There systems are approved and come with digital gauges with some kits. They offer supply only, or a fitting service.

https://glide-rite.com/

 

[Blue Knight]

I've just taken ownership of a Auto trail Dakota, first weekend out, noticed the tow bar grounds out easily, does any one know of some one local to Liverpool /Wirral that could fit a kit for a reasonable fee?

I've seen kits for£250 on eBay, any one have experience with these?

any help, appreciated.
Juri

You can get a VB Air kit for your van, via eBay for £279, but don't expect the rear end to be raised much.

The Dakota has a big rear so even at 3-bar pressure on the bellows you may only see a raise of 15mm.

Have you weighed your van (when in full touring mode) to see how many kilograms are on the rear axle. It's good to know what you are dealing with before you start making expensive air suspension decisions.

 

[pandas]

I had VB air fitted to my Hymer B544 2012 model Maxi chassis with leaf springs rated to 4250. Haven’t got access to the details but Rossana or something like that fitted it based in Bolney West Sussex. Very professional and in total including the pumps, gauges etc it was just over a grand. However a word of caution- they had an issue with the location of the rear seat belts so had to do some slight alteration to the chassis. They didn’t charge for that but it took more time. Bet pleased with the subsequent ride and particular not grounding the back when going on/of Italian ferries.

 

[Blue Knight]

I've just taken ownership of a Auto trail Dakota, first weekend out, noticed the tow bar grounds out easily......

any help, appreciated.
Juri

It may be a daft suggestion but do you need the towbar or did it just come with the van.

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[49780]

it came with the van, but, it seems to keep the idiots at bay, I will look into removing it later.

 

[Blue Knight]

it came with the van, but, it seems to keep the idiots at bay, I will look into removing it later.

Not sure about your idiot reference but if it's to keep people from driving up your hoop then it's probably a good idea to keep it.

I'm not familiar with the Dakota but I've checked some details on the net and it looks as if the MIRO figure for a MY17 van is circa 3,550kg and the MTPLM is 4.5T; lots of available payload available which is good news.

That said, the Dakota is about the same dimensions as my last van and, although it was mounted on a light chassis, I seem to be able to get the same lift on my new van @ 4.5T as I did with the previous light chassis.

Still, all things considered I've bluffed a few figures and I reckon that at 3-bar pressure you'll be able to achieve a 22mm lift with VB Semi-Air when your van is in MIRO state. If you then push it upwards to its full capacity then the extra mass with the cantilever effect, over the rear axle, will probably lose you about half of the height, give or take, so 10-14mm is probably all that you'll achieve when the van is level.

Not an exact science but I'll only be a millimetre or two off.

I hope this is of some use.

Andrew

 

[TheBig1]

fit a pair of heavy duty castor wheels under the towbar

 

[Landy Andy]

Left my towbar on as I would prefer to drag/hit/be hit on that, not fragile plastic.

Fitting semi air and a pump gives me the option of raising the rear of mine a good few inches.

 

[49780]

Thank you Andrew for the information, I've had a look underneath, it looks like a piece of the rear sub frame has been cut out to accommodate the tow bar frame, I don't really want to disturb the frame as such , so I think I will simply cut off the tow braket, I'll leave the electrics and tuck the electric pin plug into the small mezzamine that's there underneath, for 15-20mm, air suspension isn't worth it on mine, thanks Andrew once again.

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[Blue Knight]

Thank you Andrew for the information, I've had a look underneath, it looks like a piece of the rear sub frame has been cut out to accommodate the tow bar frame, I don't really want to disturb the frame as such , so I think I will simply cut off the tow braket, I'll leave the electrics and tuck the electric pin plug into the small mezzamine that's there underneath, for 15-20mm, air suspension isn't worth it on mine, thanks Andrew once again.

One thing that I didn't mention above is that the 3-bar pressure setting is the maximum travel setting but you can raise the pressure to 6-bar for when you're stationary (and possibly for very slow moving procedures such as ferry boarding etc).

If I get the chance then I'll do some tests to see how the height variation relates to the various bar pressures and then post them up for you.

One thing is for sure is that you won't get inches and inches of extra height from such a basic kit.

All the best,

Andrew

 

[Bessy765]

Towbar construction and use come under the mot umbrella, when my 2012 Aspire was due its mot in Dec 2019, the warning light for the trailer indicators stopped working, I had to order a new relay. As the mot was due I thought I will just remove the tow ball and tuck the electric socket up behind the spare wheel out of sight. Failed mot as towbar was fitted but did not conform. This was the same mot station I have used since 2007.

 

[DDJC]

Also looking at VB semi-air. Firstly to allow the raising of the rear when boarding ramps or odd cambers. Secondly to improve the ride a bit.

Noticed that if we have an ALKO chassis, it is more than two grand, but if we have the standard Ducato 3800 wb chassis, it is a quarter of that. However, to quote Oddball from Kelly's Heroes "I only ride them. I don't know what makes them work", so am attaching a couple of pictures of my rear axle. Have I got Alko or Ducato?

Thanks very much.

 

[Hettie's Crew]

Also looking at VB semi-air. Firstly to allow the raising of the rear when boarding ramps or odd cambers. Secondly to improve the ride a bit.

Noticed that if we have an ALKO chassis, it is more than two grand, but if we have the standard Ducato 3800 wb chassis, it is a quarter of that. However, to quote Oddball from Kelly's Heroes "I only ride them. I don't know what makes them work", so am attaching a couple of pictures of my rear axle. Have I got Alko or Ducato?

Thanks very much. View attachment 495737View attachment 495738

That is standard leaf spring, not ALKO.

 

[Guigsy]

I fitted semi-air to my previous van:

Fitted Semi Air Suspension

I've got a 2007 Ducato panel van camper. I'm planning on doing some serious trips later in the year, so she's currently being upgraded and fettled. Whilst she was up on ramps to work out whether I could squeeze in an LPG tank and underslung grey water tank, it was pointed out that the 'bump...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

It looks like standard Fiat suspension compared to my 2007... except you appear to have an anti-roll-bar, which I didn't. And I can't see your dampers?

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[DDJC]

What is a damper?!