Community Forums

Kountry_star · 02-13-2020, 05:46 PM

Thank you for the first hand info. Seems "we" as RVs do a lot of maintenance that O. O. would never do / afford to do.

DKenworth · 02-13-2020, 05:47 PM

I think the air bags on my semi tractor would be a good indication of life span. 15 years old and 1 million six hundred thousand miles on originals
All types of weather and road conditions. Mine were manufactured by Goodyear.

Kountry_star · 02-13-2020, 06:09 PM

Not being one to want to cause trouble. BUT! If I may. To summarize 5 pages think what I got out of it was. If it makes you feel better change them, otherwise look or have them looked at with your normal maintenance, replace if leaking of deteriorated. Just my take.

Arkansas RV · 02-13-2020, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darin1960

Read on one site the thickness is 4.3 to 4.5 mil. I Know on the ones I removed they are no where near 1/2 inch thick.

I have a 2000 DSDP and my begs looked ok. When I talked to Spartan in 2017 they said I was on the fringe of service life. So I changed all 4. On close inspection they did look dated and walls were 1/4” in thickness. Like tire age It wasn’t worth it to me to see how long they’ll last.

dans1999f-53 · 02-13-2020, 06:35 PM

1996 original still look good

Darin1960 · 02-13-2020, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moconno

My 97 Newmar Diesel Pusher blew the right rear air bag last summer. It caused the linkage to the compressor to fail and put a lot of strain on the drive train. The transmission temperature shot way up quickly. The speed sensor in the Allison transmission stopped working so even after replacing the airbag and repairing the linkage the sensor had to be replaced before the transmission would shift again. This happened on July 4th weekend on I95 in Virginia. Ended up disconnecting my toad and leaving the coach at the truck repair shop for several weeks.

This is why I replaced mine, would you share you cost after all repairs, tow and everything?

NeverGrowUp · 02-13-2020, 07:38 PM

25.4mm = 1 inch so 4.3mms is about 1/6 inch. Way less.than 1/2 inch.

ARB357 · 02-13-2020, 07:54 PM

Yes, I did at 15 years, look at them while during the chassis maintenance. When you see large cracks it's time. A blowout while on the road is not good.

DocDon · 02-13-2020, 10:36 PM

Only read the very first post but ...

'89 Fleetwood Southwind here with (I think) rear air bags still working, prolly installed by original owner (have the riginal printed instructions so I think it is original - the particular model is no longer offered). Front air bags (inside springs) are kaput, tho and getting them replaced next week.

Just put air in the rears and, oh my, is the ride better!

DKO · 02-13-2020, 10:43 PM

An interesting thread and a wide variation of opinion.

I purchased my motorhome well used and the bags looked great and passed an inspection by "experts". I had a brake chamber go bad out on the road so I decided to change them all (Originals) and the bags too.

I have 8 airbags. When they were removed, we found 5 of them were original (Nearly 20 years), 1 was 15 years old, 1 was 14 years old and the newest was 10 years old.

Once they were removed, I could see how bad they really were. I will post pictures below. I would not think of telling you what to do with your coach, but I am very glad I changed these and will change them much sooner next time.

Changing an airbag on my schedule is inexpensive insurance. Changing one on the road, especially if it involved a flatbed tow, would be more expensive than changing all 8 in the shop.

Davy

WVPete · 02-14-2020, 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pete5016

I have a 2008 Tiffin Allegro Bus with a Tag Axle. I don't want to have an Airbag give out on me while on the road (which would be significant trip interupter).

So, Tiffin says that life span of an Air Bag is 12-17 years. So, do you age out Air Bags (like you do with Tires), or do you keep an eye and replace them as you see cracks or wear on them?

Anyone else with a Rig around my Age...what are you doing? THANKS!

I changed mine (2005 Dutch Star) two years ago because I saw some cracks in them. Once I got them out and took a good look at them, I concluded that they probably would have been fine for many years. I doubt you need to change yours at this point.

sneffels · 02-14-2020, 08:25 AM

I just had mine changed because I could not confirm they had been done by the previous own. I think they were original on a 2003 Travel Supreme Select 45DS01. I also have a long trip this summer and did not want to run the risk of a breakdown on the road. I've heard you can't tell by looking at them.

sneffels · 02-14-2020, 08:35 AM

Mine on a Spartan K2 Tag, was $4300 including labor for the set of 6.

moconno · 02-14-2020, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darin1960

This is why I replaced mine, would you share you cost after all repairs, tow and everything?

I didn’t need a tow as I was able to limp off of I-95 in low gear to the truck repair shop. I ended up paying 3 shops over $1200. The first one replaced the linkage. The second replaced the airbag and the third replaced the speed sensor. That doesn’t count the money spent on the hotel or time and money spent on driving the 700 miles to Vermont then returning to retrieve the coach weeks later. Preventative maintenance is much less expensive and much less hassle.