Older DP - When do you change out your Air Bags?

[Prof_T]

Originally Posted by jcussen

Agree, some will just throw money into the hole in the driveway, but something else will always break. Got a buddy that read on some forum that batteries fail in 4 years, so he spends $1500 every 3 years. Got another buddy that has not driven his coach in 3 years because he is afraid of what could happen. Go figure. Proactive to me is oil and filter changes, 6 year tire changes, 4 year air filter/dryer changes, 2 year air filter changes, the rest as required when they show problems.
RVing is not for the faint of heart.

Well said and so accurate. My wife and I are not retired yet so the bus awaits our full use. We figured that for now it would be repair and maintain to get the bus ready, take a trip, repair and maintain, rinse and repeat. Your practical approach to maintenance and repairs is spot on. I don't know how much it will cost to keep our bus running. We arbitrarily budgeted $1K per month. Probably in the reasonable range since we are not full timing yet but we will see. On a 14 year old bus you never know even though it has had extensive maintenance and repairs performed on it with the documentation to prove it.

[Grampa 8943]

Originally Posted by jcussen

Not sure what you asking, if about power inverters, they run off batteries to produce 120 volts. When engine runs, alternator charges batteries. If you do not draw too much power from batteries, engine does not have to be running, batteries will charge up next time you run the engine.

Hi we’ve been camping for years but reaching retirement we up dated to a class A going to do more traveling I’m familiar with small inverters I drove trucks coast to coast for 54 years used small inverters for charging stuff they only worked when engine was running I think the ones I read about on these blogs are a lot bigger than the ones I used

[jcussen]

Originally Posted by Grampa 8943

Hi we’ve been camping for years but reaching retirement we up dated to a class A going to do more traveling I’m familiar with small inverters I drove trucks coast to coast for 54 years used small inverters for charging stuff they only worked when engine was running I think the ones I read about on these blogs are a lot bigger than the ones I used

Most RV's have two 12 volt systems, one for the coach that provides power to it, for starting, driving lights, engine and transmission electronics, etc. The house side is separate with its own batteries, maybe a generator and inverter to supply 12 volts for lights etc, and for the inverter to supply 120 volt items. Normally the engine will charge both sets of batteries when engine is running and disconnect them when not running. That way if you run your house batteries down, your engine batteries will still be okay,

[AE Wanderer]

We have a 2008 American Eagle with a tag axle. 2 years ago, the passenger tag got a hole in it. That bag was replaced by the Spartan shop in Austin, Texas. They told me that air bags do not age out. Usually, they rub against something or get weak spots because of lack of use. Replacing due to age only keeps parts companies happy.

[USMCRET]

Originally Posted by AE Wanderer

We have a 2008 American Eagle with a tag axle. 2 years ago, the passenger tag got a hole in it. That bag was replaced by the Spartan shop in Austin, Texas. They told me that air bags do not age out. Usually, they rub against something or get weak spots because of lack of use. Replacing due to age only keeps parts companies happy.

That's certainly a different take on the subject!

Semper fi!

[skyexplorer]

Does it look like it should be changed. Going on 8 month trip just ordered new set. Is still holding air with no bleed down.

[Prof_T]

Originally Posted by skyexplorer

Does it look like it should be changed. Going on 8 month trip just ordered new set. Is still holding air with no bleed down.

Yes. Looks like it was rubbing something?

[J. W. Hyde]

03 Tiffin--110,000 miles --bags all o k ----Over the road truckers replace every 500,000 miles whether needed or not, so i was told by a long time trucker, while in the shop for fuel filter by-pass valves.

[Darin1960]

Originally Posted by skyexplorer

Does it look like it should be changed. Going on 8 month trip just ordered new set. Is still holding air with no bleed down.

My theory is the bottom portion you see that has lost the outer skin or layer is due more to the fact that is where the bag or air spring does a 180 so to speak and when deflated creates a fold sorta like if you had a piece of rubber that was flat and folded it for a long period of time you would see little cracks or checks form . I have crawled under lots of rigs , a few rvs and just about every one with some age has more checking or cracking in this exact same area than the rest of the bag. As far as rubbing, its is infact making contact with the piston which is the large plastic portion that generally bolts to suspension so with the fact that it folds in the same general area plus add some road dust, grit, makes sense that is the most common wear point.

[Ray,IN]

Firestone Air Spring maintenance , date codes, construction, etc
https://www.firestoneip.com/products...ide/#learnmore


The maintenance pdf says "inspect every 50,000 miles", and "they are designed to flex millions of times".

[kenwyatt]

No expert but looking at that one I would change it. The cloth element is showing thru

[NHRA225]

Originally Posted by skyexplorer

Does it look like it should be changed. Going on 8 month trip just ordered new set. Is still holding air with no bleed down.

Yes those are worn Out !
Just had my 92 in the shop last week - Bad Bilstein Shock - said my Air Bags look great - I’ll keep on Running @ 238k on the clock

[Det57]

I bought my 2000 Discovery DP about 2 years ago. Only has 29 k miles on it. I first replaced the 6 tires as preventative as the ones on there were from 2007.

I just had it in to Freightliner for a chassis safety check and had them replace the two rear air bags only as a preventative, but they were pretty cracked.

I plan on replacing the two front ones after this season as they don't look too bad at all. Figured the rear end holds a lot more weight so had them done first.

[justm1ke]

I have replaced one rear airbag on our 20-year old Discovery 37. It is a simple job, took less than 30 minutes. I check the rest of them before and during travel but I wouldn't replace them until/if one goes out.