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Old 12-07-2021, 08:26 AM   #1
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Air bags drop overnight

I have a 2007 dutchstar and all of a sudden when parked my air bags will completely drop overnight.But if I deploy my jacks just touching the ground the bags stay inflated for several days.Any help would be appreciated.
Tom
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Old 12-07-2021, 08:46 AM   #2
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You have a leaky air system, which is quite common. Most any truck service center can tune up your air suspension - it's just a matter of checking the dozens of air hose connections & valves and tightening/replacing as needed.



At a guess, one of the larger leaks must be in a ride height valve or one of the air bags controlled by it. With the jacks down, the coach frame is held up by the jacks and the ride height valve(s) do not engage, so the air system pressure stays up. Without the jacks in place, the air system continually feeds air into the suspension to compensate for loss and soon the reserve tank runs out.
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Old 12-07-2021, 10:08 AM   #3
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Do you have automatic air leveling, besides your jacks?


The airbags should be isolated from the other parts of they system unless the leveling valves are malfunctioning. Plus the front and rear are separate systems. Are all the air bags going down??


My air bags were staying up but my air system was bleeding down overnight where before it would hold for days. Finally took a spray bottle of soapy water and started checking. All of my Pressure Protection Valves were leaking. I am in the process of fixing now. I am also replacing other components on the air tanks (check valves etc) that could fail and using new fittings. I'll spend ~$300 fixing and have spare fittings and some lengths of tubing for emergency.
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Old 12-07-2021, 12:37 PM   #4
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Air bags

I was under the coach withe the system aired up with a spray bottle of dawn soap.I can fix most anything but not very comfortable under the coach.yes the front and rear both drop completely.
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Old 12-07-2021, 01:10 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ltmoeller View Post
I have a 2007 dutchstar and all of a sudden when parked my air bags will completely drop overnight.But if I deploy my jacks just touching the ground the bags stay inflated for several days.Any help would be appreciated.

Tom


If your air system purges a lot it’s a definite sign of a air leak. My 2007 would drop over night, it had rotten air bags which is very easy to see without crawling way underneath.
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Old 12-07-2021, 01:35 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by ltmoeller View Post
I was under the coach withe the system aired up with a spray bottle of dawn soap.I can fix most anything but not very comfortable under the coach.yes the front and rear both drop completely.
Funny... I know the feeling... I have a couple very large wood blocks that i place under the coach while i'm under it... I have fixed most of my air leaks with just tightening fittings and screws... I think it is more the air suspension that worries me... thinking i could pop a fittings and the coach would in turn pop me... good luck...
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Old 12-07-2021, 01:37 PM   #7
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Mine will leak down over a period of a week or 2.
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Old 12-07-2021, 07:04 PM   #8
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Air bag

Mine always did hold air for many days.This is a quick overnight drop that just recently started.I suspect it’s a leveling valve.
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Old 12-07-2021, 08:00 PM   #9
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I have a 2007 dutchstar and all of a sudden when parked my air bags will completely drop overnight.But if I deploy my jacks just touching the ground the bags stay inflated for several days.Any help would be appreciated.
Tom
Well Sir,
Let's look at a couple items here. First, you have a 2007 coach. That means you have a 14 year old coach. You don't say what kind of mileage is on this coach. But, depending on the environment where it's stored or kept, the deterioration of the air bags themselves can sometimes be accelerated. It's not guaranteed but, it can happen.

If your system, as in the air bags, goes down over night, that's a serious air leak. I know you might be a bit hesitant to wiggle around under it but, with that kind of a leak, you'd have your trusty spray bottle with you and, you could spray a few items and then, if needed, build pressure to the compressor cut-off, then scurry under another section to spray away. With that kind of age on the coach, one of the first items I'd spray is all the air bags themselves.

I had air leaks over the years and it was really frustrating to not find any each time I did searched. Well, one day I backed the coach into its cave and as I shut things down and was doing a walk around it, I actually heard some hissing. Hmmmm. I quickly grabbed my trusty spray bottle and dove under it. I sprayed away at valves, hoses and, nothing. But, I could hear the hissing even more. Hmmmm. Then I thought, lets spray an air bag and just see.

Yahooooo, man was it spitting some air from my left front air bag. The video below really shows it. Those air bags have a terrible life. I'm amazed they actually last as long as they do. So, I found all four of mine leaking, some more, and some barely. About $850 later, I replaced all four of them. I also had a pressure protection valve leaking on one of the tanks. That was only around $15-$17 for that one. But, my system now holds air for days and days now.

But, if you're gonna do this, do be careful. Some guys don't like getting under them at all. Been doing it for decades, ain't dead yet. Below are also my two rear air bags leaking.
Scott

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Old 12-08-2021, 05:20 AM   #10
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Air bad drop

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Well Sir,
Let's look at a couple items here. First, you have a 2007 coach. That means you have a 14 year old coach. You don't say what kind of mileage is on this coach. But, depending on the environment where it's stored or kept, the deterioration of the air bags themselves can sometimes be accelerated. It's not guaranteed but, it can happen.

If your system, as in the air bags, goes down over night, that's a serious air leak. I know you might be a bit hesitant to wiggle around under it but, with that kind of a leak, you'd have your trusty spray bottle with you and, you could spray a few items and then, if needed, build pressure to the compressor cut-off, then scurry under another section to spray away. With that kind of age on the coach, one of the first items I'd spray is all the air bags themselves.

I had air leaks over the years and it was really frustrating to not find any each time I did searched. Well, one day I backed the coach into its cave and as I shut things down and was doing a walk around it, I actually heard some hissing. Hmmmm. I quickly grabbed my trusty spray bottle and dove under it. I sprayed away at valves, hoses and, nothing. But, I could hear the hissing even more. Hmmmm. Then I thought, lets spray an air bag and just see.

Yahooooo, man was it spitting some air from my left front air bag. The video below really shows it. Those air bags have a terrible life. I'm amazed they actually last as long as they do. So, I found all four of mine leaking, some more, and some barely. About $850 later, I replaced all four of them. I also had a pressure protection valve leaking on one of the tanks. That was only around $15-$17 for that one. But, my system now holds air for days and days now.

But, if you're gonna do this, do be careful. Some guys don't like getting under them at all. Been doing it for decades, ain't dead yet. Below are also my two rear air bags leaking.
Scott

I have owned the coach since new and it is garage kept and it just turned 80,000 miles.It’s on a Spartan chassis.As I said in my post when parked overnight all 4 bags drop in about 8 hours.If I put the jacks down just touching the ground the bags do not deflate for days.I do plan to get under it and spray away.Thank you for your nice comment and suggestions.
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Old 12-09-2021, 02:42 PM   #11
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Mine is a 2015, had the same issue. Bought used in 2020. Finally found the problem this summer, both front air bags were leaking. Had to spray up into the bag where is rolls during inflation and wait several minutes. It would turn foamy from the very slow leak.

Replaced and all is now good.
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Old 12-09-2021, 06:46 PM   #12
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Air bag

I don’t believe it’s a leaking air bag because as I said aired up with jacks down the bags stay up.Retrack the jacks and the all 4 bags deflate in half a day.
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Old 12-09-2021, 07:54 PM   #13
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I just got done working on my air system. The only real way to tell where the problem is to spray down all the fittings etc.

When I drop the air bags I can't fit under the coach easily. So I made a set of ramps that are ~6" high. Once I got the rig on the ramps I was able to spray down all the hoses and fittings. I ended up replacing the pressure protection valves which were most of my problem, several other minor leaks.



But not sure what your problem is since my airbags would stay up but the tanks pressure would drop.



You will just have to spray down all the fitting and solenoid valves.
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Old 12-10-2021, 11:29 AM   #14
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You need to isolate the air system and the air ride system from each other to determine what is going on. You mentioned that with the jacks down the air bags stay inflated. What do your air gauges read on the overnight test? When you put the legs down, what does the air pressure read? After sitting over night, what does the gauge read with the legs deployed? Putting the legs down takes the weight of the coach off the bags and may be enough to stop a small slow leak in the bags from appearing..

If you use kids bubble soap to spray your air lines, leveling valves / fittings, and air bags, you will be surprised on what that show up as leaking. I would put my money on the air bags. It is easily confirmed with the spray teat.
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