Tail Dragger

[mhughes]

Paul,

I was aware of your project and had your complete list of parts supplied to me by Van. But, thank you for providing it again.

I wanted to do the ride height rod mod simply because I hadn't seen it before and it looked like an interesting little project. However, I may go your route in the end.

Sanford, most all of us got the joke (it was a good one). But since I refer to the Cheetah as a 'she' I would be 'squatting' the rear and letting out some water instead.

The problem here is a heavily crowned county road and somewhat steep angle onto my private road leading to the compound 1/4 mile away. Hitting on an angle severely twists the chassis and has, in the past, popped out the windshield. So I can't do that again. Building ramps to hold the nearly 40,000lbs (loaded) coach is probably not a good idea.

I do have a 4" steel wheel welded onto the 4" hitch riser that works. I simply don't like the grinding noise when it hits the asphalt. I doubt rubber or plastic lined wheels wouldn't last very long.

[mhughes]

Correction. That is a 2 1/2" wheel welded to the hitch riser.

[MikeyG]

Paul:
Great write up and parts list to compliment the Monacoers write up.
I've been considering the bypass for some time. About to pull the trigger as I'm tired of pulling out 2 X 12 ramps every time I want to pull into the driveway.
Is there any concern of overinflating the airbag and splitting it or does it have an automatic release feature or does it still release through the MAC valve?
Thanks in advance.
Mike

[wa8yxm]

Two suggestions.. One of em might fly under 100,the other not

FIrst the NOT: Air bags. Now for political reasons I favor Air-Lift but firestone might be better

Second...I call 'em "Sissy Weels" These are very heave (Often solid steel) wheels that bolt to the frame at the very rear.. IF you bottom out (And your rear wheels do not loose traction) They will auto lift/settle for you.

[RCLImperial]

Sometime ago, I Installed couple of solenoid valves that bypass the rear rear height valves and apply full air pressure to the rear air bags, raising the coach rear. There is a full description including pictures in the Monacoers Yahoo site files section. Search the files under the title "Increase rear clearance temporarily." I did this mod to help me to make the transition from the street to my driveway.

Dick L, '04 HR Imperial

[pwhittle]

Dick,

It is likely your write up on Monacoers that I used. If so, I have been meaning to thank you!

We had been looking for a new house for over a year and one of the requirements was that we could build a garage for the motorhome. Despite being over there about 10 times before closing, it never occurred to me that the MH would not go up the drive. Till the day we moved in and had loaded the MH up with mirrors, wall decor, and ceramic decorator items so we would not have to pack them and entrust them to the movers. No go!

Your modification works great, and made a huge difference for me!

Thank you so much for writing it up!

Paul

[pwhittle]

Mikey,

No problems after over a year of use for me. Once you release the switch, they return to normal height through the leveling valves.

I looked at the Source engineering soliton, but not many technical details available. However if you watch the video, that is how Dick's mod works.

Paul

[MikeyG]

Thank you Paul.
I'm going to get the mod started.
Cheers,
Mike