# Air suspension



## Amy2010

Just got back from the NEC and am thinking of having air suspension fitted on our van, can anyone recommend a company or product and does it make a real difference? Feeling confused :? 
Thanks


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## philoaks

Do you mean air assistance (circa £400 on a single rear axle) or full air suspension (megabucks!).

If you can say why you are thinking of fitting it then hopefully someone will be able to tell you if it will meet those needs. People do fit it for differing reasons so would help to know yours,


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## valphil

got air assisted on my old van , great for levelling on uneven sites


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## rayc

I can recommend Autovan services in Wimborne. Very Knowledgeable and helpful.
http://www.autovan.co.uk/driverite.html


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## dalspa

Snunkie (Lucy) on here recently had it fitted - read her posts.

DavidL


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## stevegos

We had Air Ride air assisted bags fitted to the rear earlier this year.

Prior to fitting, our 1997 Burstner had slightly sagging leaf springs. The cornering even at low speed was bad. We would roll badly and the ride was rather rough and you could feel every dump or pot hole.

Cost about £500 fitted for firestone bags. The rear suspension is now much firmer. We can corner much faster. Motorway driving in high winds or when a lorry overtakes is much more stable.

Only disappointment is the ride seems just as rough as before.

Some people use them for leveling but in my case they only rise or drop the van by a small amount so we don't use it for that.

The air pressure seems to need checking and charging every few months.

Some people have compressors fitted but we don't and bought a £10 one off ebay and that tops the bags up quickly and easily.


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## bognormike

my Hymer has AS bags fitted to the rear, it was put on by the previous owner. It seems to help on stability when travelling - especially cornering, and when fully loaded. He (previous owner) said it made a tremendous difference.

http://www.as-airsuspension.co.uk/

It has a compressor built in, and I can pump up & let them down as required. Levelling on site is not really a consideration.


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## aldra

We have air suspension fitted on the rear of our van with built in compressor

We fitted them to upgrade to 3850 and changed the back tyres to increase the garage loading

We find them great, a better smoother ride, lifts the overhanging garage so no worries about bottoming out on ferries etc, and great for assisting levelling on site

Also lifts our gas underslung generator which was a bit low prior to fitting them

Aldra


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## acctutor

Amy,

We had full four channel air suspension fitted to our Frankia, it includes a control which autolevels in the pitch, Oh boy what a difference, have not found one pitch which it could not cope with.

The ride is soooo smooth as well.

We had ours fitted in Tiverton (not too far from you?), and would recommend Jaymie Milne, Courtside Conversions (+44 (0)1884 256048).

Immaculate workmanship.

Regards

Bill & Patsy


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## Citysafe

I fitted air assistance bags to my Burstner - mainly because I was concerned i may be over loaded - which I later found i was right about. 

Self fitted - i thought it a straight forward DIY job - no compressor as you can connect one from cigar lighter.

It helped reduce roll and firms the ride. I suspect like i was - many vans are over loaded at times - i ended up buying a van with a better pay load. 

The ability to level I didnt bother with as the ramps give more fatser and easier - although it does look cool doing it.

On balance a good cost benefit.


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## pneumatician

I have fitted both Firestone and Dunlop systems to our Vans. They improve ride and handling but will not increase load capacity.
As both were fitted to manufacturers chassis ( Peugeot and Mercedes) the job was completed DIY in approx 2 hours. (excluding preparation time, sorting axle stands tools etc). 
I use a common inflation point as IMHO in the event of one bag failing it would be much safer for the van to settle on an even keel.
I prefer the pneumatics used on the Dunlop system.

http://www.marcleleisure.co.uk/


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## philipmoore

have you an address in bridgend of firm who can install simple air suspension to my hymer

thanks

[email protected]


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## philoaks

philipmoore said:


> have you an address in bridgend of firm who can install simple air suspension to my hymer
> 
> thanks
> 
> [email protected]


Hi Philip,

Welcome to MHF. If you are talking Bridgend in South Wales then I'm not aware of any specialists in the local area.

Having said that, the fitting is not overly complex and I (like many on the forum) have DIY'd it. If you (or a friend) are reasonably competent with a spanner and a few basic tools then you could consider just buying the kit and fitting yourself.

The very first time I had it fitted on a van I used http://airide.co.uk/ They are based on the south coast but I met them in a service station on the M5 and they did the job there is about an hour or so. They also attend many of the big motorhome shows where fitting can be done.

If you want to speak to a caravan/motorhome specialist then I'm happy to recommend Automaster in Llanharan. I don't know if they've done air suspension work but they have done habitation work for me and I've been very happy with them.

P.S. All the above assumes your van is built on a standard Fiat/Peugeot chassis. If your van uses an Alko chassis then the process may be more complex.

Phil

P.P.S. You may want to edit out your email address in case the spambots pick it up. People can reply to you in the thread if they do have any recommendations.


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