89 354LE air bag replacement

[swinginping]

While coming home from our trip this weekend , i guess my drivers side rear air bag decided to give up on me, its leaking around the bottom. Moho can still mantain enough air to drive but makes compressor run non stop and i think its stealing some air from my front bags. I beleive firestone makes replacements correct?? Do i simply need buy the ones for the p30?? The local rv shops book listed the years as 93-02. Anyone out there know the part #'s.... i found some which i believe would work from ppl's website. I was wondering how hard is this to do?? The front ones look like they can simply slide out the bottom maybe?? I might as well replace them all while im at it. I thought there was a post on this but did a search and couldnt find it. Thanks.

[ScrapIrony-2]

We had our front tires replaced in Cottonwood, AZ, at the Big O tire store, and a mobile mechanic who was there said he could replace the front airbags(shot) with a $140 kit, and about 4 hours labor($75/hr)...don't know about the back ones...they seemed to be in ok shape...offered FWIW...?
mike

[Poprivet]

There are several posts concerning airbags and replacement there of. It is not all that hard to do? I used a saws-all to remove the old ones from the coil spring and then you kinda roll the new ones up like a sausage and tie them with string so they don't unroll until they are in place. Yes, they go in from the bottom.

I used Airlift J-03-08-A1. Check Air Lift Company. They come with good instructions. Inflate the front ones to 55psi and the rear ones to level depending on your load.

[swinginping]

maybe i am looking at the wrong thing but whatever i look up seems to be the whole kit... meaning new bags brackets hoses ... the whole nine yards. Can you simply not just replace the air bags?? They are the firestone ride rite air springs which are coming up, however they seem to listed more as helper air springs not the main ones, and look different, but maybe the 2 bubble style is the new thing, not sure....

[Poprivet]

If you go to the web site for Air Lift, you can order individual parts. If you go to an auto parts store, they can order individual Firestone parts. These bags are very common and used frequently on the P-30 chassis.

[Robfike]

The compressor goes to the rear bags only. The fronts are not tied in with them. You inflate the fronts individually to 55 psi.
Rob

[swinginping]

Yeah after reading all the posts then doing some searching on the bags i realized they are separate, and mustve just decided to go out at the same time, or the rears suffering effected them...

[pwhittle]

The Firestone kit for the rear is not the same as the factory setup. It wil not replace the factory bags, but instead mounts betweem the axle and the frame.

I have a new Firestone rear set that I did not install if you decide you want to go that way that I would sell you at a better than retail price.

For the fronts, I chose to install the Henderson springs that are uprated so that you never have to mess with front bags again. 4 hours labor is high for the airbags install only. I would think a couple of hours to r/r the front springs was fair, but I don't have to do it for a living. I did it myself, and could probably do it again in 2 hours.

Paul

[ScrapIrony-2]

Mr Paul,
With my mechanical ability, 4 hours would probably begin to undo the damage I could do trying to be something I'm not...the thought of crawling under 16,000+ pounds of unforgiving weight to blindly go where I shouldn't have before is enough to make me pull out the ol' checkbook...
You would want to see me after a wreck or coronary, but if you see my feet sticking out from under a vehicle, you'd better hope I'm napping...
mike

[swinginping]

so im assuming maybe you ended replacing the stock bags somehow pwhittle?? I need to crawl under there and try and find some numbers... if you went with the firestone bag route do you simply do away with the airbag set up now??? The stock way seems to be more heavy duty, as they are a true air bag setup, like tractor trailers run. I am gonna order the front ones this week and try and do it myself... usually i can get things done, maybe not as quick as an rv shop but it still gets done. If i replace the front ones by this weekend, i can still run my rears right at the beginning of the green on my gauge..... would it hurt the moho to drive it about 40 miles like this??

[pwhittle]

I had won an autocross (not in the Airstream, but in this Paul and Jeremy's Super Stalker) and received a $500 voucher from Air-Lift. Part of it I used to get the Firestone kit thinking I could just replace the bags and never have to worry about them. Once I got the kit, I saw it was not the same, so I shelved the kit and looked around a bit further and found a leaking fitting between the tank and the leveling valve which I replaced along with the pump. It has been fine since.

I assume that the original rear bags are available from a truck supplier, but not from Firestone. Note that mine does not have a tag axle, so my experience is a little difference from yours too.

Not sure on the merits of running it on low pressure.

Paul

[bkahler]

Sometime between 1983 and 1984 Airstream changed the rear air suspension system. Our 1984 310 uses the newer style bags. Search the forums for information on the bag arrangements. I found a lot of good information on swapping them out. The air bags Paul used on his 1982 are definitely different than the ones used on your 1989.

Surprisingly they weren't all that hard to change. The biggest thing to worry about is to make sure you have the motorhome blocked up properly so when you remove the air lines the motorhome doesn't "fall" on you and also to make sure you have room to slide the bags out. Two bolts on top and one bolt on the bottom for each bag plus an air fitting going into each bag.

Took me something like 4 hours to do the job including blocking the motorhome up properly.

Brad

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by pwhittle

I had won an autocross (not in the Airstream, but in this Paul and Jeremy's Super Stalker) and received a $500 voucher from Air-Lift. Part of it I used to get the Firestone kit thinking I could just replace the bags and never have to worry about them. Once I got the kit, I saw it was not the same, so I shelved the kit and looked around a bit further and found a leaking fitting between the tank and the leveling valve which I replaced along with the pump. It has been fine since.

I assume that the original rear bags are available from a truck supplier, but not from Firestone. Note that mine does not have a tag axle, so my experience is a little difference from yours too.

Not sure on the merits of running it on low pressure.

Paul

Paul, its sounds the kit you have is for providing "air assist" to the rear leaf springs. We installed a kit like that on our 1st Coachmen motorhome. Worked like a charm. Our 1974 Argosy 20' motorhome would likely be able to use the kit you have. If you're still looking to sell it PM me so we can discuss them.

Thanks,

Brad

[klattu]

Originally Posted by pwhittle

For the fronts, I chose to install the Henderson springs that are uprated so that you never have to mess with front bags again.

Paul

Tell us more...
This sounds like the best idea.
Part #'s ?
Price?

[swinginping]

Finally people are understanding what i am trying to get across... if only all the rv shops and garages i went to would....they all insist on trying to order the firestone aftermarket kit for assisting the leafs or hooking to frame then axle, simply cuz it says p30 i assume.. do you happen to remember what part number the bags were bkahler... i crawled under mine and couldn't decipher what they said.... did you have any trouble getting the bolts out on top??? so far all bolts and screws ive tried to take out have been nothing but a pain and rusted pretty bad... all else looks somewhat simple i guess... just getting her blocked up safe.

[guy99]

Originally Posted by klattu

Tell us more...
This sounds like the best idea.
Part #'s ?
Price?

I too have Supersteer front springs and no air bags. I had them installed by Henderson Line-up in Grants Pass, OR who is the manufacturer of the product.

Here's a link SuperSteer For RV Owners

They are nice folks. They go to a lot of RV shows and you may be able to get special pricing at a show.

[swinginping]

I did notice my moho has the supersteer bell crank, and bilstein shocks... its handles nicely and stays in the road really well, im used to driving anywhere from 30-80k lbs a day though.. but still think the moho handles better than what i hear from some people.

Actually found the springs on camping worlds site...... Super Steer® Coil Springs - Camping World