Installing a Spartan "Air Force One" Safe Haul Air System on your Coach for Towing
Lessons Learned While Installing a Spartan “Air Force One” Tow Kit on a 2001 DSDP with a Spartan Chassis
The following are my observations, not recommendations. Use your own judgment.
This July (2021) we were at the Newmar Rally in Lewisburg WV, I stopped by the Spartan display and picked up the Chassis kit for installing the “Air Tank, Relay Valve and Tow Package” required on the RV to use the Air Force One Braking system on my toad. The kit comes complete, minus the mounting bracket needed to mount the Air QD for the air line to the toad. You can order this part separately, but I did not find that out until after I opened the box at home.
I found the directions, and drawings clear and helpful; installation is straight forward, and simple. All the fittings supplied are the Shark Bite type fitting, just cut and insert, and you are done; they also provide a straight and 90 fitting for all connection points so you have a lot of flexibility for running the new air lines. While they provide a long length of ˝ air line and it seemed that there was plenty of air line, it turns out it was the exact amount needed (no more and almost less), so measure three times and cut once, and don’t waste any.
First thing was getting the coach up high enough to get under to work. I made a set of ramps (out of scrap lumber) to do this, these will be used again for other maintenance and repairs, so the extra effort was worth it.
Next was finding a place to mount the tank and relay valve, on my coach up in front of the rear axle and behind the basement wall was an ideal location that provide protection and close access to the tie-in points on the air system. Any other location and you might run out of air line.
For ease of installation, I made up an 18” long 2x2 angle iron bracket to mount the reservoir tank (I had to drill new holes in the mounting bracket of the tank, since the original ones were too high up to mount to the bracket I made) and the control valve. This bracket being only 2” wide will not interfere with the drain/vents on the bottom of the tank, dryer, or control valve. This let me preassemble the unit, and slip it up into place on the cross member and bolt it in place without any upside down drilling.
After the assembly was in place I routed the hoses over top to tie into the Control Line (1/2”) and the Primary Supply Line (5/8”). I always would tape up the end of any hose I was fishing thru, over, or around the frame and undercarriage, so I would keep any grim, dirt or debris out of the air hose. I also installed split loom tubing on all the air hoses to help protect them.
Tying into the existing lines on my coach was tricky (effort not skill level), the factory did not leave you a lot of room or air hose to play with. When using the push fittings, I would put a mark on the lines with a pencil to ensure the hose seated all the way into the fitting. Working underneath with limited visibility and cramped conditions to manipulate your hands, the pencil line helped out immensely. I found attaching the Tee to the upstream side of the existing air line first worked better to ensure the hose seated in the fitting. On the down steam side of the tee, you had easier access and more leverage to make the connections.
All that was left was routing a new air hose from the control valve back to the rear of the coach. I followed the frame rail and wire bundles all the way back. This is where an extra foot or two of air line would have been nice. As it was, I had just enough to make the run. If you do run short, and have to splice in an additional length of air line, remember all those extra fittings Spartan supplied you with in the kit? Just add a union between two of the connectors and you can splice in additional length. Make sure you use the same air hose type and quality that they supplied you.
For the bracket to mount the QD in, I used an old 6 pin trailer connector and mounting plate. I cut off the spring loaded cover and the raised lip. The QD fits like a glove.
A couple of things that you can address prior to installation day are:
1. A lanyard for the moisture drain valve mounted under the kit’s tank. I will fabricate something up, but it sure would have been nice to have one ready to go in the kit.
2. Add 2’ of length to the air line provided.
3. A generic bracket to mount the QD to.
I would love to see Spartan add these 3 items to this kit (constructive criticism not complaining).
Hope this helps someone out in the future.
Epp
Part #’s for Reference:
Spartan Kit Part # S-2582-001 – Installation Kit for Air Tank, Relay Valve, and Tow Package. This kit has the following valves in it:
These valves are included in the kit, listing them here for P/N reference:
Control Valve
Meritor Wabco
9738980010
RV046 296A7A
N30100AR
Filter Dryer
Meritor Wabco
9348994010
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Thescoutranch
2001 Newmar DSDP/Spartan Chassis/Cummins ISC
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