Up weighting - air anyone ? what did you have and whats the best bang for buck ?

roadwarrior

roadwarrior

Joined
Aug 17, 2012
Posts
612
Likes collected
696
Location
Burton on Trent
Funster No
22,439
MH
Autosleeper Winchcom
Exp
tenting,caravans,autotrail cheyenne,bolero, apache. and now Mercedes Autosleeper winchcombe
im coming round to the fact my apache 634 is rubbish for payload, so now i have to sort it and make it useable, currently 3500 and need it 3850 at least what have you done and how much did it cost ? i have just looked at the bump stops on an almost empty van and they are close - not happy at all. advice please.

Only had it a few days so not had the log book back yet, so as im looking for ideas for air i find i need to know what chassis i have, im pretty sure its not an alko chassis.
 
I’ve just put stage 5 rear dunlop air on from Marcle Leisure. Not the cheapest but after advice from fellow Funsters it’s the way I decided to go.

I did mine purely for the comfort and not to uprate as I already have loads of payload at 4400kg.

Simple job to complete along with compressor and tank, and what a difference it has made. A much smoother ride, lots of rattles have disappeared and adjustable at the push of a button. Well worth doing IMO.
 
thank you - on your 711 ? what sort of money are we talking ? and what exactly is stage 5 ?
 
Yep on the 711. Stage 5 comes with Onboard compressor, tank, separate gauges and inflate / deflate controls.
its a lot of kit and i was unsure if I’d actually use it, but it’s very, very good. if you can live without the compressor etc, it’s still well worth having, but I’m too lazy to manually pump up using schrader valves With a foot pump or similar.
I’m currently running at 2.5 bar and it also lifted the back end up 3cm which was a surprise. I’m on the move again tomorrow, so will be experimenting with 2 and 3 bar to see the difference.
 
Forgot to add, the Dunlop air bags fit straight on Replacing the bump stops No messing.

Ive seen installation videos on some of the other Cheaper types where you have to move the ABS sensor or cut the metal holder etc which I didn’t fancy doing.
the actual bags where assembled and fitted in minutes. Running the pipes and cables safely was probably the hardest part. Real simple job.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
oh im with you on manual pumping - sod that :)
 
the Dunlop kits start at about 400 quid with lots of options. The top of the range jobby (stage 5) was about 800 quid, but worth every penny.
the airbags are apparently far superior to the eBay ones which is another reason I went for this kit.
 
Be aware that the 634 is built on the Fiat light chassis..
3650kg is a design weight by Fiat and you can have a paperwork excerise to go to that level.
3850kg.. Can be obtained but is the max, never seen anyone quote anything higher on that chassis, I was regular on Autotrail forums and it was a common issue.

DIY air suspension off ebay is under £300. Pretty easy to fit.
 
They are not bump stops but spring asisters they normally sit close to the springs.
Before doing anything you need to get it on a weigh bridge and weigh both axles.
For comfort and stability full air all round is best fairly expensive around 6½k.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Last edited:
This site contains affiliate links for which MHF may be compensated.
roadwarrior said:
im coming round to the fact my apache 634 is rubbish for payload, so now i have to sort it and make it useable, currently 3500 and need it 3850 at least what have you done and how much did it cost ? i have just looked at the bump stops on an almost empty van and they are close - not happy at all. advice please.

Only had it a few days so not had the log book back yet, so as im looking for ideas for air i find i need to know what chassis i have, im pretty sure its not an alko chassis.
Click to expand...
The 'cones' are meant to be like that, they are an integral part of the suspension system and not like bump stops of old. You remove the cones so the semi-air bags can be fitted in their place so in reality the bags do the job the cones did as well as giving you more suspension support too hence the ability to take more weight.
 
We had VB Comfort Air Assist which includes the separate gauges, and compressor about 18 months ago. Very pleased with results, not only extra few kgs on the rear axle but also much improved ride.
 
simple as that eh ... thank you john..
Minxy Girl said:
The 'cones' are meant to be like that, they are an integral part of the suspension system and not like bump stops of old. You remove the cones so the semi-air bags can be fitted in their place so in reality the bags do the job the cones did as well as giving you more suspension support too hence the ability to take more weight.
Click to expand...
gotcha..,

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Derry, can i ask what it cost ?
 
Sv tech did the paperwork with the dvla - not expensive and had some semi air suspension added - circa 1k - better ride and now have 3850 kg to play with .
 
tonka said:
Be aware that the 634 is built on the Fiat light chassis..
3650kg is a design weight by Fiat and you can have a paperwork excerise to go to that level.
3850kg.. Can be obtained but is the max, never seen anyone quote anything higher on that chassis, I was regular on Autotrail forums and it was a common issue.

DIY air suspension off ebay is under £300. Pretty easy to fit.
Click to expand...
I asked the trader to have it weighed before i picked it up - it had 2/3rds of a tank of fuel, no gas bottle, no water and came in @ 3300k
 
roadwarrior said:
Derry, can i ask what it cost ?
Click to expand...
£975 + vat. I been told by others on the forum it was rather expensive. However from my perspective I would rather pay that little bit extra to know the job was done by an approved VB installer and came with a 12 month warrantee. lots to be said for piece of mind.
 

Attachments

thank you Derry, exactly what i wanted !

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Derry Wilson said:
£975 + vat. I been told by others on the forum it was rather expensive. However from my perspective I would rather pay that little bit extra to know the job was done by an approved VB installer and came with a 12 month warrantee. lots to be said for piece of mind.
Click to expand...
Yup, that was quite expensive IMV ... shouldn't be more than half that really.
 
roadwarrior said:
I asked the trader to have it weighed before i picked it up - it had 2/3rds of a tank of fuel, no gas bottle, no water and came in @ 3300k
Click to expand...
You need the axle weights as well. But with only 200kg left it's not usable in that state. By the time you filled the water tank fitted gas bottles, tables, chairs and every thing else you need, you will have to leave the misses behind.
 
Lenny HB said:
You need the axle weights as well. But with only 200kg left it's not usable in that state. By the time you filled the water tank fitted gas bottles, tables, chairs and every thing else you need, you will have to leave the misses behind.
Click to expand...
... maybe that's his plan ... :giggle:
 
Minxy Girl said:
... maybe that's his plan ... :giggle:
Click to expand...
I did ! she followed the van home in the car :) and your right Lenny, 200k is as much use as a chocolate teapot, we love the van, but my god thats pitiful.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Blimey... £1170 all in.... In West Sussex I was quoted £1485 all in for the same system. I can happily drive to Norfolk for less than £315.00 and still feel like I've got a bargain!
Anyone know of a place nearer to Gatwick airport charging less than £1485 for VB rear air with compressor system on a 2019 Burstner Fiat chassis?
 
If you are contemplating uprating, which looks to me to be absolutely necessary to stay legal, you've got a couple of other things to think about, apart friom the cost of the air-assist.

Air Assist is usually only fitted to the rear springs. Full air suspension is a different animal, and lots more expensive.
Does your licence cover you, and anyone else who will drive, for vehicles over 3500kg MAUW
You may need to uprate your tyres, at a minimum the rears but all round is preferable.
Even uprated it is still easy to exceed the rear axle load.

Although it is possible to do all the paperwork yourself, in reality you cannot beat the professionals who have done all the research and provide the necessary documentation for the DVLA, who will usually accept it without further ado. SV-Tech are the acknowledged experts in this area, are very helpful and can advise you what you will need, often just from a simple form on their website. They can sometimes be a little difficult to get hold of on the phone (they're not a big outfit) and of course these things come at a cost. You will need actual axle weights as well as the

I cannot give you the actual numbers of what it cost us to upgrade as it was all part of a much bigger exercise, but for peace of mind it was worth it.

Fitted some 9 years ago we've had absolutely no problem and it transformed the handling, but don't expect it to improve the ride too much - it's the standard Fiat light chassis and you can only do so much with cart springs!
 
i spoke on another thread how i was struggling to understand how an air bag would or could increase the load capacity and i was told it could by supporting the load of the spring, so why when cruising ebay i come across similar air setups to VB ect and they say in big letters.. CANNOT INCREASE THE LOADING WEIGHT CAPACITY OF THE VEHICLE. - so what is the truth - how or why does one air bag setup be deemed capable and other not ? to be clear - i will probably go the VB way - but the confusion remains
 
roadwarrior said:
i spoke on another thread how i was struggling to understand how an air bag would or could increase the load capacity and i was told it could by supporting the load of the spring, so why when cruising ebay i come across similar air setups to VB ect and they say in big letters.. CANNOT INCREASE THE LOADING WEIGHT CAPACITY OF THE VEHICLE. - so what is the truth - how or why does one air bag setup be deemed capable and other not ? to be clear - i will probably go the VB way - but the confusion remains
Click to expand...
The main difference between a 3500 chassis and a 3850 is the spring rating. The air bags take the load off the springs.
Ones that say they don't increase the load are probably lighter duty bellows just to aid stability & comfort.
 
Lenny HB said:
The main difference between a 3500 chassis and a 3850 is the spring rating. The air bags take the load off the springs.
Ones that say they don't increase the load are probably lighter duty bellows just to aid stability & comfort.
Click to expand...
i would agree with that but how can you tell ? is there a specification to look for ?

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Join us

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top