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Old 02-18-2017, 04:26 PM   #1
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Help! Airbags won't air up!

We are on a trip traveling through Arkansas when suddenly the motorhome starts to vibrate and shake. The road was extremely bumpy just prior to this happening. I was able to limp it in to the RV park on Little Rock Air Force Base. After inspecting underneath I saw that the coach was not at ride height. The airbags were not inflated at all but the air tanks were inflated and my gauges show that the air is at over 100 psi. But again the airbags are not inflated. What is going on here? Any ideas what I can do myself to remedy the situation?
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Old 02-18-2017, 05:05 PM   #2
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Have you checked the ride height rod that is connected to the air leveling valve. I have had this very same thing happen to my Peterbilt the rod gets bent and or loose and will not maintain correct ride height
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Old 02-18-2017, 05:07 PM   #3
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I'd check the ride height valves. If the rod is disconnected or broken, the valve might be stuck in the shut off position. There are generally 3 valves, 2 at one axle, one at the other. By removing one end of the rod, you should be able to manually raise/lower the lever and get air to fill the air springs.

Driving with the chassis at the wrong height can damage U joints and even the transmission end bearing.
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Old 02-18-2017, 07:50 PM   #4
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I'd check the ride height valves. If the rod is disconnected or broken, the valve might be stuck in the shut off position. There are generally 3 valves, 2 at one axle, one at the other. By removing one end of the rod, you should be able to manually raise/lower the lever and get air to fill the air springs.

Driving with the chassis at the wrong height can damage U joints and even the transmission end bearing.
Here is a photo of the ride height control in the rear. There appears to be a loose hose and also something appears torn off the arm. I don't believe that flimsy hose attaches to that arm.... Does it?
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Old 02-18-2017, 07:54 PM   #5
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Trying photo upload again.
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Old 02-18-2017, 08:16 PM   #6
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You might Google ride height valve to get an idea what it's supposed to look like, or look at one of your other ride height valves. Typically a flat lever arm attached to the valve and the end of lever is a rod connecting the lever to the axle or suspension. At each end of the rod is a rubber isolator with a socket or hole to fasten on a pin. On mine, I had the rubber isolator dry rot and break. I got a replacement rod and ends at a truck parts shop.
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Old 02-18-2017, 08:44 PM   #7
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It is possible that the ride height arm got flipped over (went past center) and it dumped all the air out of the bag. It could also be that the rubber "T" broke in two. I had this happen on my last trip. I used electrical tape to put it back together until I could get home. It lasted 800 miles

Be sure to get this up on blocks before you get under neath the coach.

BTW, your photo is not coming through, if you want send me a PM and I'll call you.
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Old 02-19-2017, 06:53 PM   #8
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It is possible that the ride height arm got flipped over (went past center) and it dumped all the air out of the bag. It could also be that the rubber "T" broke in two. I had this happen on my last trip. I used electrical tape to put it back together until I could get home. It lasted 800 miles

Be sure to get this up on blocks before you get under neath the coach.

BTW, your photo is not coming through, if you want send me a PM and I'll call you.
Thanks John but I was able to jerry rig the adjuster arm for a temporary fix and the bags air up now. I just now need to find a replacement part.
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Old 02-19-2017, 09:19 PM   #9
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Most any truck stop with a repair shop carries them in stock. I had the rear rod replaced at a Petro truck stop. Took about a hour including wait-time, and cost <$70 total.
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Old 02-19-2017, 09:29 PM   #10
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Trying photo upload again.

Still don't see.
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Old 02-19-2017, 10:39 PM   #11
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Most parts can be bought at Napa or any truck parts house. Mine was a Haldex ride height valve and I got the replacement rubber "T" from Napa, it was 4.00
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Old 02-20-2017, 07:29 AM   #12
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Are all four corners flat? I doubt it's a ride height valve if all four corners are not inflating as you should have multiple ride height valves for the front and back and side to side.

Here's a picture of the valve on my Monaco.



A rod connects to the end of the lever on the left side and the frame of the RV. Here it is installed on the coach. There is a small black hose which is actually the exhaust which is used to let air out of the bag if the coach height is too high. The air supply should be a fairly rigid 1/4" plastic hose inside a corrugated conduit. You can see it at the top center of the picture.

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Old 02-20-2017, 11:46 AM   #13
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sounds more like the valve that inflates and dumps the air bags.. they are known to go bad as i just changed mine out.. I would look there they are controlled by 12v on my set up thru the HWH leveling system..

try a complete shut down and start up make sure all jacks are up e brake set and released a few times... etc etc
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Old 02-20-2017, 12:47 PM   #14
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Quote:
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Thanks John but I was able to jerry rig the adjuster arm for a temporary fix and the bags air up now. I just now need to find a replacement part.
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sounds more like the valve that inflates and dumps the air bags.. they are known to go bad as i just changed mine out.. I would look there they are controlled by 12v on my set up thru the HWH leveling system..

try a complete shut down and start up make sure all jacks are up e brake set and released a few times... etc etc
Slice, he found a bad ride height link and fixed it. OP replied in post #8
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