Odor related to Firestone Ride Rite Air Springs

[rockydog]

I recently bought a 2010 Leisure Travel Van Libero. It has the Firestone Ride Rite air springs. The previous owners told me to just leave the springs at the pressure level they were unless I loaded it more. I'm a newbie, so have not adjusted the pressure until today. I read in the manual that it should be between 20 and 100 psi. I'd been driving it at around 15 psi. So I inflated them to over 20 and started driving. About two miles down the road, I started smelling an unpleasant odor. It got progressively worse and after a couple more miles I stopped to inspect. The odor was strong inside the vehicle, but I didn't smell it at all outside. I drove back home and the odor persisted.

Any suggestions on what's going on?

Thanks!

[Old-Biscuit]

Doubt it has ANYTHING to do with those air bags........

Does it smell like caca ?
Could be black tank if toilet bowl doesn't hold water
Could be grey tank if 'air admittance valve' doesn't close (AAV are installed on sink drain pipes after the 'P' traps so water remains in 'P' traps when you dump grey tank.
They are hand tight on a stub pipe under sinks ....inside is a rubber flapper with a tang that pulls flapper up/closed. Negative pressure pulls the flapper down/open allowing air into sink drain line after 'P' traps. Tang gets stretched and flapper stays open---grey tank odor comes inside rig
(Food debris, grease/oils, scum, sloughed skin cells, hair etc......mixed all together and it can stink worst then black)

[ronjhall]

I have Ride Rite air bags with in cab controls. Have never noticed any smell when raising or lowering air pressure. Like previous poster I would be looking at other items in motorhome.

[lynnmor]

The system might have air brake anti-freeze in it and it may be leaking from the higher pressure.

[rockydog]

Thanks, Old-Biscuit! It started out smelling like caca. In fact, at one point early on, I stopped to look at the soles of my shoes! But it quickly morphed into something more awful and that is what persisted.

I opened the windows and aired her out. Then the next day went back to check to see if the odor was still there. It was not. I did notice that the lid to the toilet was wonky....one of the hinge bolts had come loose and the lid was sitting about half on and half off. But no odor.

I fixed that hinge bolt and drove for a while. No odor. Increased the air pressure in the bags and drove some more with no odor.

So everything seems ok now. Maybe inflating the bags moved something underneath related to the black or grey tanks. The bags were apparently underinflated to start with.

Thanks all!

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

Doubt it has ANYTHING to do with those air bags........

Does it smell like caca ?
Could be black tank if toilet bowl doesn't hold water
Could be grey tank if 'air admittance valve' doesn't close (AAV are installed on sink drain pipes after the 'P' traps so water remains in 'P' traps when you dump grey tank.
They are hand tight on a stub pipe under sinks ....inside is a rubber flapper with a tang that pulls flapper up/closed. Negative pressure pulls the flapper down/open allowing air into sink drain line after 'P' traps. Tang gets stretched and flapper stays open---grey tank odor comes inside rig
(Food debris, grease/oils, scum, sloughed skin cells, hair etc......mixed all together and it can stink worst then black)

[Old-Biscuit]

Did you check for those AAVs under sink cabinets?

Caca smells:
Grey waste tanks via AAVs
Black waste tank via toilet.....bowl or floor seal
MHs driving with window/roof vents open and pulling waste tank odors back in frm roof vents
Batteries boiling over.....more acidic smell then caca smell