# Full air suspension owners advice please?



## RichardD

I'm seriously considering having the VB full air suspension system fitted.

Main reasons are: 

Reduced road noise. The journey down the M25/M20 to Dover on those concrete sections is horrendous and tedious.

Reduced ride harshness. Any rough surfaces makes the interior bang and crash.

Self levelling on site. Our Rapido is already nose down.

If we did go ahead our nearest VB fitter is Courtside in Tiverton. Have any owners used them and can give me some feedback.

Any advice from full air owners would be much appreciated.

Richard


----------



## Wizzo

RichardD said:


> Reduced road noise. The journey down the M25/M20 to Dover on those concrete sections is horrendous and tedious.
> Reduced ride harshness. Any rough surfaces makes the interior bang and crash.
> Richard


These two items can be addressed usually by a change of tyres from 'Motorhome' to standard commercial.

I cannot say that the fitting of air suspension has done anything to quieten road noise on my van, but the change of tyres made a huge difference.

Also running at correct pressures for tyre size/axle weight will make a difference.

JohnW


----------



## Zebedee

Wizzo said:


> but the change of tyres made a huge difference.


Any idea why John?

I'm also interested, and for exactly the same reasons as Richard has listed.

Dave


----------



## Wizzo

Zebedee said:


> Any idea why John?
> Dave


I assume it is because the 'motorhome' tyres have extra stiffness in the sidewalls to counteract the fact that many motorhomes are stood for long periods of time.

Commercial tyres are built to carry the same loads but not with the extra stiffness.

I ran Avon Avanza AV9's on my old van and compared to friend's vans that I had been in I always thought ours rather quiet over the bumps. This year we bought a second hand Auto-Trail fitted with Continental Vancos. I was not pleased at the amount of crashing and banging that took place during normal driving, even after adjusting the tyre pressures. However my hand was forced to change the tyres because I needed to uprate the MGW and rear axle limits. It required a slightly wider tyre with a higher load index and I opted for Toyo HO9's.
Well, what a difference. No crashes. No bangs.

I have regularly travelled a concrete section of dual carriageway on the A46 between Leicester and Nottingham. Even the joints between the sections used to induce a bang. Not any longer.

If I was Richard I would try some new tyres. I would think that any commercial tyres would be better than Motorhome specific ones.

JohnW


----------



## Zebedee

Thanks John

Very useful information there.

Dave


----------



## Techno100

Mine is nearly 2ton on the front when loaded. Michelins are 16" and at 65 psi. No noise no bumps. Previous owner Duncan got the pressure from Michelin, rears are at 60


----------



## javea

Agree with Wizzo. On teemyob's recommendation I changed to Vredesteins, upped the load rating from 109 to 112 to give a bit more load tolerance and inflated the tyres to the pressures recommended by the manufacturer which was a lot lower than the original Michelins. The ride is certainly better

Mike

PS. Also had the front springs replaced with Goldschmit, not cheap but big improvement on the front suspension.


----------



## aldra

We have had the full suspension fitted at the back

Mainly to upgrade weight

It is handy for levelling on site

Albert says it rides better too, less roll and bounce over bumps

If he forgets to put it on he can feel the difference

Aldra


----------



## RichardD

Hi JohnW, which full air system do you have?

I've just replaced my front tyres with the same Michelin Agilis Camping with about 65 psi on fronts and 70 psi on rears. Previously they were at 80psi from the Dealer as that's what Michelin specify. Can't say I noticed much different in the ride or road noise.

Any other full air owners like to comment please?

Richard


----------



## javea

You might find this thread interesting:

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopic-93470-60.html

Mike


----------



## rrusty

RichardD said:


> Self levelling on site.


Got it full front and back and whilst it keeps the vehicle level when in motion mine does not self level on site all I can do is raise it or lower it.


----------



## Wizzo

RichardD said:


> Hi JohnW, which full air system do you have?
> Richard


I have VB Semi-air on the rear, fitted to enable me to uprate the rear axle weight. It was fitted by RhinoInstalls.

JohnW


----------



## gobbi

Hi Richard. I had full VB air suspension fitted by Mick Golightly at Doncaster in November 2011 . He is a fitting agent forVB suspension.
He had my van for 4days. He is a great guy and his work is first class.
The ride is now very smooth. On site levelling chocks are virtually a thing of the past.I cannot praise it enough.I think it was well worth the money.
regards Alan.


----------



## Chausson

Wizzo said:


> Zebedee said:
> 
> 
> 
> Any idea why John?
> Dave
> 
> 
> 
> I assume it is because the 'motorhome' tyres have extra stiffness in the sidewalls to counteract the fact that many motorhomes are stood for long periods of time.
> 
> Commercial tyres are built to carry the same loads but not with the extra stiffness.
> 
> I ran Avon Avanza AV9's on my old van and compared to friend's vans that I had been in I always thought ours rather quiet over the bumps. This year we bought a second hand Auto-Trail fitted with Continental Vancos. I was not pleased at the amount of crashing and banging that took place during normal driving, even after adjusting the tyre pressures. However my hand was forced to change the tyres because I needed to uprate the MGW and rear axle limits. It required a slightly wider tyre with a higher load index and I opted for Toyo HO9's.
> Well, what a difference. No crashes. No bangs.
> 
> I have regularly travelled a concrete section of dual carriageway on the A46 between Leicester and Nottingham. Even the joints between the sections used to induce a bang. Not any longer.
> 
> If I was Richard I would try some new tyres. I would think that any commercial tyres would be better than Motorhome specific ones.
> 
> JohnW
Click to expand...

I would agree with John on this as I have a mini with runflats and the ride is awful BMW have said that the ride is down to the stiff walls of the tyres also some guys have changed to normal tyres and they have said the change is really good less noise and better road holding and no tramming.

Ron


----------



## teemyob

*Air*

Hello Richard,

When you say "Full Air", Do you mean getting rid of the existing rear setup?
Do you intend to do anything with the Front?.

As suggested, tyre changes can make a massive difference.

One of the first things I look to do when I buy a vehicle is change the tyres.

Worked very well with our motorhome.

Same on my Wife's Audi that was running on 205/45/17 elastic bands. Changed the tyres and wheels on that.

And on our Traveliner minibus, the change of tyres made a massive difference. It went from a thrashing, banging ride with a tendency to slide easily. To a soft comfortable ride (even in the rear on leaf springs). With tremendous grip and improved stability.

TM


----------



## alitone

*Air Ride is FANTASTIC*

I bought a Bentley Indigo which has Air Ride fitted and have to say its wonderful. Having also driven lots of motorhomes of all shapes and sizes for a dealer I now realise how much the A R is a bonus. The motorhome rides along without any rattles at all and handling dosnt seem to be affected.


----------



## SaddleTramp

I have VB Full air fitted, It makes an absolutely massive difference, Far more comfortable ride much smoother and no bangs when you go over speed bumps etc.

In mine it has totally levelled the unit up, before it was high on the back end and was bumpy on uneven roads and speed bumps etc even when going extremely slow, The unit now is perfectly level all the time, I can lift the back end for ferries etc and I consider it the best money spent apart from the Hydraulic self levelling system.


----------



## RichardD

Hi TM, no I intend to have the full 4 wheel VB package.

Hi Rusty, which system did you have fitted? 

When talking with Courtside the VB can have manual or auto self levelling. It can also have pre-set auto modes to drop right down when stopped, up to fully up for low speed and then mid-low for when cruising.

From what several of you have said I think it's a worthwhile investment for me.

When I need new tyres next I will investigate the softer commercial types. How long would you expect a commercial tyre to stand without moving before it started to deform. I was told that the stiffer MH tyres are designed for longer periods being stationary. 

Richard


----------



## rrusty

RichardD said:


> Hi Rusty, which system did you have fitted?


It was factory fitted from new I think it is Goldshcmitt


----------



## Jodi1

We also have a Bentley Indigo with rear air rides.

We have been told not to drive with air rides on their lowest setting as there is not other suspension to compensate


----------



## RichardD

Have now spoken to a couple of owners who have had VB full air suspension fitted by Courtside in Tiverton and they have both been very impressed with the product and the quality of workmanship and customer service.

So I've taken the plunge and placed an order which hopefully will be fitted 3rd week in March.

Richard


----------



## rxjone99

*VB Full AIr*

We had VB full air with auto level fitted in December last year to our 2011 Pilote 'A' Class 4.2 tonne. It does what it says on the tin - all the factors you stated and more. We live in Kent so travel on this stretch of the M20 frequently. Prior to fitting every journey on any road was very wearing as road noise was excessive after our previous Burstner T60 - in an 'A' class the front suspension is much more intrusive than a coachbuilt as it's inside the habitation area. I can honestly say road noise has been reduced by two thirds and I can listen to the radio now at motorway speeds , whereas before on motorways it was just background noise. You will never eradicate entirely the noise from this stretch of the M20 but at least it is now bearable. 
We went rough camping skiing in France (La Plagne, / 3 valleys) last month and the journey down was so different. Much quieter, more stable around lorries, no roll on roundabouts. we travelled DFDS Dover Calais for the first time, coming back the tide was wrong (apparently) and the ramps were steep, having watched the motorhome in front ground badly at the rear, I had no problems as I had gone into off road mode. This was also useful when fitting snow chains as it gives a lot more clearance under the wheel arches. Self levelling on site is brilliant (within the constraints of the suspension movement) and once locked reduces the rock and roll significantly. It's difficult to describe how it feels when driving - it is very compliant, but very stiffly damped, so absorbs everything on the road, but resists leaning in crosswinds and when cornered hard. Using the empty waste setting is amusing and the van obligingly tilts to one side to aid emptying. If you are worried about getting your CAT cut off, then when in a dodgy area - put the van in parking mode and it will drop right down on the suspension leaving no room to get underneath. 
We ordered ours at the NEC show last year and had it fitted by Mick Leightley at SAP Doncaster and could not be more satisfied with the service and quality of work. We arrived late stayed on site, then after a lift to the station in the morning spent 2 days in York while it was fitted. Mick also fitted Alko corner steadies using his own bracket design (behind the rear wheels and across the axis of the van). At just over £300 this is considerably cheaper than the standard factory units. With air suspension in self level setting and corner steadies, an army of grandkids can rampage around the van and Grandma can stay comfortably in bed. No grandkids we don't need the steadies
VB Full air is expensive but it has elevated my van to the next level.
Richard


----------



## Littlebt

*Air Suspension*

Thanks for your comprehensive report on AS and very much on topic,very interesting, do you have a contact number for Mick Leightley,I'm not sure of the abbreviation of SAP.

Many Thanks


----------



## ambegayo

*Suspension and Chassis*

We have a Carthago I47 Fiat 160 Multijet on Alko Chassis. 
Graham at Courtside in Tiverton fitted full VB Suspension, I think it was the first one he did, took two days and can't recommend him and his team highly enough. We live in Corfe Mullen, nr Wimborne and anyone is quite welcome to have a look and possibly a test drive, because this is a magnifcent piece of kit. The handling and driving of the van is totally transformed. Nothing to do with air-ride, nothing to do with tyres. The guy who can't use self level should have this investigated.


----------



## javea

*Re: Air Suspension*



Littlebt said:


> Thanks for your comprehensive report on AS and very much on topic,very interesting, do you have a contact number for Mick Leightley,I'm not sure of the abbreviation of SAP.
> 
> Many Thanks


There you go - 01302 215296


----------



## SaddleTramp

Specialist Automotive Products 
Unit 13, Wellsyke Industrial Estate, Bentley Moor Lane
Adwick Le Street
DN6 7BD
United Kingdom

07920 065540
01302 215296


----------

