Community Forums

castrol · 06-16-2015, 10:13 PM

So I'm always envious of the people that can dump the air from their coach to get it close to the ground.

I noticed on my fuse Bay Area that I have a fuse for the air dump. I went inside to search for it.

I found a momentary switch on the leveling jack system labeled air dump. I pushed it. Nothing happened.

Having been down this road before, am I missing a step somewhere to make this function? Maybe engine off and key on? Engine running? Bad switch?

I figured I would ask before I messed something up...

JohnBoyToo · 06-16-2015, 11:19 PM

Not sure which coach you have,
but I JUST read this on my downloaded 2011 diplomat's manual:

AIR DUMP:
Dumps air from the air bags which may aid in leveling the motorhome. Releasing the air from air bags will lower the suspension providing the hydraulic jacks more range of travel.
The ignition must be in accessory or on position.

The way I'm being told to do it is with engine off, push brakes multiple times to deplete the air supply, then leave the door open so you can watch the steps drop as you hold the button....

good luck !

castrol · 06-17-2015, 05:10 AM

I will try that today!! Thanks!

nodine · 06-17-2015, 05:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by castrol

I will try that today!! Thanks!

On our 2006 Monaco Diplomat you must have the ignition on in either the normal or aux position before the air dump switch will work. You will find that the air will dump very slow. What most of us do to speed up the process is to hold down the air dump switch and at the same time partially press down on the parking brake switch until you hear air rush out. Don't push the parking brake down to the disengage position but just far enough to hear the air rush. That will deplete the air considerably faster than just pressing the air dump switch. We hold the parking brake partially depressed until the air is down to about 15 lbs and then let up on the parking brake. We keep the air dump depressed and turn on the auto level and wait for the coach to level.

Some folks pump the brakes as a method to deplete the air faster but that is annoying to your fellow campers and puts unnecessary wear on the bake cams.

Bob

Nana25K · 06-17-2015, 06:00 AM

We are never in a hurry. Ron cut a small donut of PVC with a slit. It tucks up under the air switch to hold it in place. I just whistle Dixie for a couple minutes😁

pwhittle · 06-17-2015, 06:01 AM

Castrol,

The ignition must be on and the engine off to prevent the tanks from refilling. One Mac valve is in the the front run bay (outside electrical bay in front of drivers wheel) and two Mac valves in the engine bay on the left side.

They automatically dump when you auto level, but I always partially push the park brake to dump the air from the tanks then use the dump button to lower the coach to the stops before auto leveling, Above 60 PSI in the tanks and the bags will fill again.

The leveling pump is in front of the steps.

Paul

bamaboy473 · 06-17-2015, 06:29 AM

Our Freightliner XC chassis uses a simple toggle switch to moderate air. Flip the switch and a few seconds later (maybe 10?), the sound stops and the coach is lowered.

Flip the switch back before lowering the jacks. That's to prevent raising the jacks and starting the engine with air switch still in the "dump" mode.

castrol · 06-17-2015, 07:39 AM

Awesome info. I wasn't sure if I should be able to hear anything when using the air dump switch as it just seemed like nothing was happening.

I have to go back to storage at lunch today to put the box of paperwork back in that I spent half the night alphabetizing. But holy crap what a gold mine of information THAT was!

ShapeShifter · 06-17-2015, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nodine

We hold the parking brake partially depressed until the air is down to about 15 lbs and then let up on the parking brake.

50 PSI should be enough.

castrol: There are pressure protection valves on the lines feeding the air bags, and they should automatically close around 60 PSI. If the air tanks are above that pressure, they will refill the air bags as fast as you drain them, so it will take a long time to dump. Once the tank pressure is down and those valves close, the bags dump faster.

I'm jealous of folks like BamaBoy who have systems that can dump the bags quickly (my friend's Phaeton is like that.) They must have valves between the tanks and the bags that close off so just the air bags are drained. The way most Monaco built coaches are configured, there is no such valve and you must mostly drain the entire air system.

Quote:

Some folks pump the brakes as a method to deplete the air faster but that is annoying to your fellow campers and puts unnecessary wear on the bake cams.

I stopped doing it because it was causing unnecessary wear on my ankle!

My foot would get tired pumping the pedal that much, the parking brake switch is much faster and easier!

castrol · 06-17-2015, 11:03 AM

The sun is attempting to peek out for the first time in DAYS. I'm going to go and give this a shot.

lanerd · 06-17-2015, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nana25K

We are never in a hurry. Ron cut a small donut of PVC with a slit. It tucks up under the air switch to hold it in place. I just whistle Dixie for a couple minutes😁

Linda, Linda, you're not listening to me honey.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Sounds like you are referring to the Parking Brake switch....are you?

Ron

windsorbill · 06-17-2015, 12:15 PM

Castrol,

If you do figure out how to dump, but sure your front wheels are straight, otherwise the coach might set down on the tires and that's not good.

JohnBoyToo · 06-17-2015, 12:52 PM

Gosh, talk about an obvious, excellent point that we should have mentioned !

good job, Bill !

castrol · 06-17-2015, 01:12 PM

Wow, that is super awesome. I'm so pleased! That thing is basically on the ground. This will be a big help as the previous owner removed the steps!

It was up on the jacks. The bottom step was 18" off the ground. Let the jacks down, dumped the air and re-deployed the jacks. 13" off the ground. What a difference.

Thanks all... I'm really loving this new toy of ours.

And yes, lucky for me, the wheels were straight. I'm not sure that would have caught my attention had they not been. Could have been a sad story I was telling y'all here after lunch.