Adding an Air Suspension System

[bbarry]

Workhorse sells an after-market air suspension system called Stabil-Air, as described below:

"Stabil-AirTM is a fully integrated air suspension system with all components artfully combined to deliver the ride and handling you'd expect in more complex and more expensive air suspension systems."

Has anyone successfully added such a system (or something similar) to their W22? If so, was the ride significantly improved?

Regards...........Bill

[bbarry]

Workhorse sells an after-market air suspension system called Stabil-Air, as described below:

"Stabil-AirTM is a fully integrated air suspension system with all components artfully combined to deliver the ride and handling you'd expect in more complex and more expensive air suspension systems."

Has anyone successfully added such a system (or something similar) to their W22? If so, was the ride significantly improved?

Regards...........Bill

["007"]

bbarry,
I would save the $7000 bucks for gas money , the ride is good enough for me up front, never road in the back always driving. If your wife drives you may want it if you don't want to bounce out of bed. DriVer has post with pictures of this new suspension sys some where in irv2. If you click on his posts you may get it up, has been some trouble on irv2 lately---"007"

[bbarry]

007, boy you went off on a tangent with that reply. What does you having a "good enough ride" have to do with what my wife and I are seeking? It so happens that my wife has developed a serious medical problem that is aggrevated by too much bouncing, thus my search for a solution.

I will try and locate DriVer's post - thanks.

....after I broke my neck and back I was given an air pillow to ride on for 6 months....seemed to help....can't remember the manufactures name now but a goo medical supply house will have them-as they are used in wheel chairs now....geof kaye

["007"]

Wouldn't have gone off on a tangent if you mention the medical problems. If its for your wife to ride in back it may solve the bounce problem that will be present there. Its a expensive fix but when it comes to health that thought is left out of it. As of now no one that I know of has installed the sys. Maybe if you called the company that makes it they could give you more detailed information for you. Maybe you could get in installed on a promotional basis. There is a 800 number to call at the bottom of sys explaination on DriVers post. ---"007"

["007"]

bbarry, I noticed on another post that your coach is still riding hard even after you change your shocks to Bilsteins.
Have you had your coach weight an adjusted your load to correspond to your axle weights. Also adjust your tire pressure to the tire inflation pressure tables for the tires that you have.
If you are using the inflations that Newmars says to use they will be to hard on your tires an yourselves. Your tires will heat up an increase the tire pressure as your traveling down the road. You will find after weighting your coach that your tire pressures will be alot less than you may have right now. Thus giving you alot softer ride.---"007"

[edgray]

bbarry : in addition to trying a lower tire pressure to soften the ride (which is certainly a low cost alternative) , I think you will find that most folks agree the Bilstein shocks provide a stiffer ride than the Monroe RV gas magnums. I'm aware most folks also think the Bilsteins are superior, but I'm happy with the Monroes that WCC put on my W-22 as replacement for the black OE which were too soft. Hope you find a solution that works for your wife, ED

[bbarry]

OO7, I appreciate you staying with me on this problem. I have had my coached weighed for each axle. I'm a little light in front (6400# vs 8000# rating) and dead-on in back (14,300# vs 14,500# rating). I would like to move some stuff forward, but most of my storage bays and tanks are rearward. I'm thinking that being light in front may be contributing to some of the bounce.

I did recently lower my front tire pressure from 100# to 95#, and my wife said that helped a little. I'm hestitant to change the pressures any further until I get all four corners weighed, which my dealer is going to do when I take it in next week for minor fixes.

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geof kaye - several people have recommended air pillows, so I plan on getting my wife one before our next trip. Thanks...

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Ed, you may be right about Bilsteins vs Monroe Gas, but the 'steins were a vast improvement over the OE's. If I now decide to change to Monroe Gas, I'm sure it would have to be at my expense since I originally insisted on Bilsteins as a replacement (my Newmar dealer was a proponent of the Bilsteins, which is mainly why I went with them).

My wife and I have an anniversary coming up in a few months. She just may get 4 Monroe Gas Magnums as a gift (lol).

Thanks for your input............

["007"]

If its at all possible you can take more weight up front. After your dealer weights your coach check your tire inflation tables, you may or may not be able to decrease some more in front,you should move some of your load before getting weight,up front. You will help your rear because you have a tow. If you have Michlin, there web site has a pdl that can be down loaded, it will explain all that we have been talking about. COACH SHOULD BE WEIGHT WITH TOW. A CAT SCALE at a truck stop could help you, cost about $8. Stay with the Blistiens thats what WH is using now. Warrenty for life. Do you have same shocks in back?---"007"

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by bbarry:
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Ed, you may be right about Bilsteins vs Monroe Gas, but the 'steins were a vast improvement over the OE's........ </div></BLOCKQUOTE>I recommend you stick with the Bilsteins. If you absolutely need to go to a softer shock I would consider the adjustable Koni shock absorbers.

The shocks are adjustable however they have to be removed to adjust them. If you have a scale ticket that shows your axle weights the shocks can be dialed in for the front and rear axle weights.

Recently at the Louisville RVIA Show I was privileged to have seen a full technology demo regarding the Bilstein shocks. For the money there is no better shock absorber on the market than a Bilstein. There are more expensive ones but basically they all use the same technology as a Monroe RV Magnum. Both Gabriel and Koni have higher MSRPs than the Bilstein.

I think as you transfer more weight to the front axle the ride quality will improve. There is little you do do however if your motorhome was engineered to be light on the front axle.

On the 2001 W20 Winnie ADV 37G we had with the 7500 axle we ran about 7550 with both of us sitting in the cab. We ran pretty good but the porpoising was evident on occasion.

The 2003 W22 Winnie ADV 38G we run now has an 8500 front axle and weight isn't a problem anymore. We're still right around 7600 pounds the last time I looked.

About air pressure in your tires, favor the high side of the recommended pressure. Remember a round tire rolls better than a tire with a larger footprint. This cuts down on friction and improves wear and MPGs.

[bbarry]

OO7, I kwow you are right about having the toad connected when weighing the coach, but unfortunately that won't be the case when my dealer does the weighing next week. I guess that's something I will need to do later.

But if I'm towing a Malibu Maxx, which I think weighs around 3400#, what do you think the added weight would be to the rear axle? I use the heavier BlueOx tow bar (not the aluminum one), which I estimate weighs 60-70 lbs.

To my knowledge, I have the same Belsteins front and back - all installed by my Newmar dealer (who did this for me rather than arguing with the local Workhorse dealer).

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DriVer, I plan on further adjusting my tire pressures after I get all four corners weighed. Sure wish I could find someone who has installed a Stabil-Air unit.

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Regards..........

[jerry7up]

Hi Barry, It seems to me that you are getting the same excuses from Newmar and WCC that i got with my Scottsdale.Don't let them treat you like a mushroom!If you need any help you can reach me at jerry7up@yahoo.com

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by bbarry:
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DriVer, I plan on further adjusting my tire pressures after I get all four corners weighed. Sure wish I could find someone who has installed a Stabil-Air unit.
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</div></BLOCKQUOTE>The Stabil-Air option is very expensive and may not yield the results you are hoping for. It would be a shame to spend quite a few thousand dollars on a solution that you may not be satisfied with.

Don't worry about towing the Malibu. The weights are perfectly fine.