Airide Air Suspension for Motorhomes
Are your motorhome wheel arches way down on the axles ? Airide Air Suspension will raise them
Once loaded up and going on trips away does the handling need improvement when driving ? Air suspension on motorhomes cures this
Mercedes Air Suspension Kit
Would you like a quick and easy way of levelling your motorhome when on site ? Air suspension can do this
Before Airide suspension is fitted to this Pilote R850, see how the suspension at the rear 'sags' down.
And now after the Airide suspension has been fitted. A Vast improvement.
All of these scenarious can be resolved by fitting an Airide Suspension kit to your motorhome.
Note: The Airide Air suspension kit for motorhomes is not compatible with the following vehicles (VW T4 / T5 / Older Type 2) nor is it compatible with any motorhome with an Alko Chassis or motorhomes with a Tag Axle. The kit for a Ford Transit Twin rear Wheel is also more costly at £640 inc fitting due to it having a few extra brackets which obviously incur more costs and take longer to fit.
Tag axle chassis's are those with twin rear axles (so it appears as if the motorhome/van features 3 wheels on either side), tag axles are generally defined as a trailing axle that is normally mounted behind the drive wheels (and is un-driven).
We can supply air suspensions for Twin Rear wheel transits and Mercedes 416 Chassis but not twin wheel Iveco.
Some Mercedes Motorhomes may also need the purchase and fitting of an additional Spacer pack which costs £165 price depending on whether your Mercedes based Motorhome has the spacers fitted already.
The airide Air Suspension system can be purchased either as a DIY fitting kit or we can arrange fitting for £45.00 at Poole main dealers or at the majority of the motorhome shows
The Airride Pneumatic suspension kit fits Fiat Ducato / Peugeot Boxer /Ford / Talbot / Iveco and Mercedes based motorhomes as long as the motorhome has leaf springs and is a single wheel (Not twin wheel) configuration on the rear axle.
This system consists of two 8" (20cm) diameter firestone air springs fitted between the chassis and axle and inflated/deflated from inside the cab through a schraeder valve and gauge.
Advantages of fitting an Air Suspension Kit to your motorhome
Greatly increased straight-line stability on motorways, in strong cross winds and when being overtaken by heavy vehicles.
It enables you to, stiffen the rear suspension by increasing the air pressure alleviating any sagging of the rear suspension due to incorrect or over loading, and allowing the vehicles ride height to be kept level.
Body roll at roundabouts and when cornering is decreased and the general ride is much improved.
Fitting air ride air suspension to your motorhome is easily achieved.
See photo below showing Bump Stops, this is removed and then the air bag is fitted in its place, plastic pipework is then run to the gauge (Normally fitted by our fitters in the footwell) The system is then pressure tested.
Bump stop shown before Airide is fitted
Air Bag is now in its place
Side View of Air bag
Reviews:-
When we drove to our show at Peter- borough, the Ford Legend was fully laden and, although roadholding remained acceptable, there was rather more sway than I liked on bends.
We had heard about Airide and had spoken to a user, who seemed well pleased. At the exhibition we tracked down John Symons at the Symonspeed stand, where brisk business was being done.
So we quizzed him: "We have had good reports of your Airide on coach- builts which tend to sit down at the rear but that's not our problem. We need a slightly firmer ride and better directional stability when the motor- home is loaded. What could Airide do for a Ford Transit coachbuilt?"
John had fitted his system to several Fords and offered to do ours there and then! "What, on the grass?"
"Certainly. It only takes an hour; we have fitted several already this weekend!"
So John turned up at our pitch and got to work. He jacked up one side of the vehicle, slid beneath and replaced the rubber bump stop with bellows or ,air springs' which were also clamped to the rear axle. The operation was repeated on the other side. A small diameter flexible pipe was connected to each bellows and run beneath the vehicle to a gauge on the inside of the front step. A few strokes of a foot pump raised the pressure to 40psi.
That's all there was to it. It was done in less than an hour and no special tools were required, except perhaps for a cold chisel to remove a flange on the Ford's bump stop. (We have kept the bump stops; if the vehicle is ever sold,
Airide can be removed and installed on its replacement.)
We left Peterborough with the pressure at 40psi, reducing it later (simply by letting a little air out of the conveniently placed Schrader valve) to 35. For ambling on the twisting, bumpy roads of Wiltshire we have settled on a standard of 30. For a journey, the pressure can-without crawling beneath the vehicle -be increased. In short, we now select the ride quality that suits our own preference.
Our Ford has power steering which is marvellous when parking but rather light at speed. Immediately noticeable was the improved directional stability. On motorways, passing heavies caused no deviation from course. We have had a month's trial now under all sorts of conditions. We like the fact that the suspension characteristics can be altered so easily and reckon this is one of the best `extras' we have come across.
There is also a model for the Fiat/ Talbot range; many of those coach- builts could do with a little help for a level ride. An incidental advantage is that height at the rear is easily adjusted by about two inches at the axle (which would measure more at the end of the body) -useful when you find yourself parked on a slight slope.
In conversation, it turned out that owners of panel van conversions who have installed the system (I have not spoken to any yet) have also been well pleased. And finally, no alterations are made to the original vehicle; in effect, only the bump stops are replaced
FAQ for Air Suspension
Ivecos with twin wheels at rear cannot have our Airide kit installed as insufficient room to install
Airide Air Suspension for motorhomes Reviews
Below are a selection of reviews of Airide Air Suspension for motorhomes's from our past customers with the most recent review of the Airide Air Suspension for motorhomes at the top, we hope you find them useful
Carol Weaver: Sunday 24 June, 2007
We had this fitted at Symonspeed in Torquay by John and his team.
They took a couple of hours and we were able to go for a walk around the town. It was installed well, complete with a compressor, we were given a demonstration as to how it worked and advised the pressures that were suitable, but also told to try it out and see how we liked the ride and to adjust it accordingly.
The beauty of this system as well, was, that if on a slope and you just couldn't get level, you could slightly adjust one of the sides to compensate. We only needed to use it once like this.
It improved the ride considerably, ours was fitted to a 2001 Mercedes 3.16cdi chassis, which meant adding something extra, over and above that which was currently done the on Fiat etc., chassis, costing about £180 more....but I gather on later models this wasn't necessary (trust us to have one on which it was)
Another bit of kid, that if we found we had a vehicle that rolled on roundabouts, we would definitely add.
Service great and helpful team.
Carol
