Front springs

[shepherd57]

I am thinking about replacing the front springs on our 32.5. What is the front axle weight. I tried looking for the Moog numbers and weight ratings but can't seem to find them.

Has anyone on the forums replaced their front springs if so which springs did you use. I don't want to use real heavy springs because I still want to use the front air bags

[mayco]

Someone on the forums replaced their springs within the last 4 or 5 months. I searched and couldnt find it. But I remember asking them if they were going to abandon the air bags with heavier springs. (Same as I had asked you) but I cant find the thread

[shepherd57]

I have been searching but can't find it ether I think the front end is rated at 5000 lbs, 2500 lbs per axle but I am not sure

[Isuzusweet]

I should be heading down to the states soon to pick up our weep hole covers, do you need these?

SuperSteer Coil Springs for Chevy Worhorse P RV

Also picking up new vertical moulding for windows.

VERTICAL LIP SEAL GRAY #6010-12 MOTORHOME SLIDING WINDOW

and new moulding for around the front drivers and passenger windows.

GRAY TRIM SEAL - #6032-20FS MOTORHOME SLIDING WINDOW

Do you still need this?

WRAP REAR RS 370 CLASSIC MOTORHOME

or this?

INSERT RUB RAIL BLACK 1 1/2 (50 foot roll)

How about this?

Passenger side window frame with fixed glass

and lastly...this?

DECAL, SIDE STRIPE - BRUSHED ALUM & WOODGRAIN (PRICED PER LN. FT.)

Pity they don't make a front one of these.

Rear End Liner Motorhome Classic and Front and Rear Trailer 1983-1994

not a bad price for these...

Driver side windshield

Is this the very same grey gasket material that everyone says we can't get?

Rubber U-Gasket

I may even get this as well......

Airstream Motorhome Window Pile

Glad I'm working 10.5+ hrs a day and even worked this Monday stat holiday.

Cheers
Tony

[Isuzusweet]

I don't know if this helps as it's for the 7.4l and our diesel is at least another 400lbs heavier.

http://www.airstream.com/wp-content/...f04d0b007e.pdf

shows 5000lb capacity and 2500lb each @ground

again I don't know if Airstream put an upgraded spring to compensate for the heavier engine.

The original spring page shows a number of spring rates.

http://www.supersteerparts.com/produ...is.html?page=3

Cheers
Tony

[SebasSF]

I have been looking at these. It's recommended to go to a commercial scales or truck stop and weigh your front with the RV loaded the way you use it most...water, gas, propane tanks, toys, navigator in front seat...

[SebasSF]

BTW, it did occur to me to weigh on the empty side, and put in the airbags for running loaded.

[Penmaenmawr]

I don't think air bags are necessary on the front suspension, with a gas engine and standard coils. Period.

Is this a controversial view?

[Smartstream]

Originally Posted by Penmaenmawr

I don't think air bags are necessary on the front suspension, with a gas engine and standard coils. Period.

Is this a controversial view?

Only if you disagree with GM. The GM manual says they are used on motorhomes to increase weight capacity.

[Penmaenmawr]

Originally Posted by Smartstream

Only if you disagree with GM. The GM manual says they are used on motorhomes to increase weight capacity.

But that they are always, or can be? I can only report experience. Having bought one in ignorance of the existence of air bags, and then driven about 6,000 miles before finding out about them. When I checked, they were just tattered bits of rubber, obviously gone long before I acquired it. I had driven over frost-heaved highways at speed, on logging roads, and through high speed curves, without a problem. So I never replaced them and drove for another 5 years. Then I bought the 345 and found one leaking front air bag and one that held air. I took the Schrader valve out of the good one and decided to see how the vehicle performed. 5,000 miles later, no problem: no bottoming, no wallowing, no rolling on curves.

[Waipio Rim]

I have seen dissenting opinions along the lines of "don't mess with the original design", but our 310 has no trace of front airbags. Don't know the story behind that, but since it has some aftermarket front end components I assume that the original springs and airbags were replaced with heavier springs.

[Smartstream]

Originally Posted by Penmaenmawr

But that they are always, or can be? I can only report experience. Having bought one in ignorance of the existence of air bags, and then driven about 6,000 miles before finding out about them. When I checked, they were just tattered bits of rubber, obviously gone long before I acquired it. I had driven over frost-heaved highways at speed, on logging roads, and through high speed curves, without a problem. So I never replaced them and drove for another 5 years. Then I bought the 345 and found one leaking front air bag and one that held air. I took the Schrader valve out of the good one and decided to see how the vehicle performed. 5,000 miles later, no problem: no bottoming, no wallowing, no rolling on curves.

From the GM manual.

AIR BAG CYLINDER INSPECTION

The air bag cylinders should be inspected periodically for

signs of deterioration or damage. Air bag leaks can easily

be checked on the vehicle . Inflate with a small amount of

air conditioning freon No . 12 then locate the leak using

an air conditioning leak detector. To check for possible

leaks with the air bag removed from the vehicle, submerge

the air bag in water and check for bubbles. (Replace with

GM Part No. 367762.) Inflation pressures should be maintained

at 10 PSI minimum to avoid chafing . Under load,

40-50 PSI is recommended for a 4,300-Ib . suspension, 50

PSI for a 5,000-lb . suspension. 70 PSI is required on the

5,300-Ib suspension . 80-90 PSI is recommended for the

F44 5,500-Ib . optional 16,000-Ib . suspension. This unit

uses an Airlift HD bag Part No. 15631881 . Vendor #40-571

NOTE: Air bags are currently used on nearly all motor

homes and are proposed for use on some GSeries

(cut-away) models for 1988-89 .

My 280 has about 3" of suspension travel as indicated by Figure A3-2-1 on page 3-21 of the Chevrolet Motorhome Chassis Service Guide. About 2" into the travel it makes contact with the rubber bump stops, at 3" it is metal to metal. Perhaps you feel comfortable riding on the bump stops but many on here expressed ride and handling improvements with the installation and properly inflated air bags. You may feel differently but I'll put my trust in the GM Manual and run the air bags.

[Smartstream]

Originally Posted by Waipio Rim

I have seen dissenting opinions along the lines of "don't mess with the original design", but our 310 has no trace of front airbags. Don't know the story behind that, but since it has some aftermarket front end components I assume that the original springs and airbags were replaced with heavier springs.

I'm not saying that somebody hasn't developed a spring that might work but here is what GM says on the subject.

VEHICLE RIDE HEIGHT-FRONT COIL

SPRING/AIR BAG REPLACEMENT

The motor home owner should be cautioned in the use

of some after-market front coil springs currently available .

Some after-market front coil springs are merchandised as

a method to increase ride height for the motor home. To

obtain this additional ride height, manufacturers have increased

the diameter of the wire slightly and added one

extra coil. However, use of these after-market springs

should be considered very risky for the motor home owner.

GM recommends the use of only factory-approved replacement

parts for this "safety-sensitive" area of the vehicle.

Some after-market coils are physically too large for

the normally designed working area of the front coil spring

as the wheel goes through its ride travel. On crush, these

after-market springs can create a metal-to-metal "coilbound"

condition before the ride stops come into play.

(The damage created by using a metal-to- metal solid

coil

can be compared to installing a piece of well casing in
place of a spring, then raising the vehicle in the air and

dropping the vehicle to the ground.) The force of this

metal-to-metal "coil-bound" condition is transferred directly

into the potential destruction of the lower ball joints

or broken lower control arms. The addition of a spring

shim (donut-type spacer) has a similar effect of promoting

a "coil-bound" condition .

Complaints of air bag failures are also the result of these

after-market front coil springs . The springs have a tendency

to "pinch" the air bag between the coils on crush.

Front coil springs should ONLY be replaced by a qualified

service shop. Access to the front coil spring and the air

bag is gained by lowering the lower control arm .

CAUTION : USE ONLY GM APPROVED REPLACEMENT

PARTS FOR THIS SAFETY-SENSITIVE AREA

OF THE VEHICLE.

1984 to Current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GM Part No. 14054345

Prior to 1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GM Part No. 472222

NOTE : 1984 to current front springs (GM Part No .

14054345) can be used for 1983 and prior years

that require front spring GM Part No. 472222 .

This will raise the front of the vehicle 3/8 inch to

1/2 inch measured at the "A/BC" measurement

location shown in Figure A3-2-1 . Study Figure

A3-2-1 at the back of this section of the manual

to determine if the useful life of the front coil

springs is exhausted and replacement of the front

coil springs is necessary.

Keeping in mind what happened to Mayco a few weeks ago I will follow what GM says.

[Smartstream]

By the way there is a link to the GM Manual in the sticky at the beginning of this section but I can't get the link to work. I have the manual in a pdf, if anyone would like a copy send me your email in a PM and I will be happy to send it to you.

[Penmaenmawr]

Originally Posted by Smartstream

From the GM manual.

AIR BAG CYLINDER INSPECTION

The air bag cylinders should be inspected periodically for

signs of deterioration or damage. Air bag leaks can easily

be checked on the vehicle . Inflate with a small amount of

air conditioning freon No . 12 then locate the leak using

an air conditioning leak detector. To check for possible

leaks with the air bag removed from the vehicle, submerge

the air bag in water and check for bubbles. (Replace with

GM Part No. 367762.) Inflation pressures should be maintained

at 10 PSI minimum to avoid chafing . Under load,

40-50 PSI is recommended for a 4,300-Ib . suspension, 50

PSI for a 5,000-lb . suspension. 70 PSI is required on the

5,300-Ib suspension . 80-90 PSI is recommended for the

F44 5,500-Ib . optional 16,000-Ib . suspension. This unit

uses an Airlift HD bag Part No. 15631881 . Vendor #40-571

NOTE: Air bags are currently used on nearly all motor

homes and are proposed for use on some GSeries

(cut-away) models for 1988-89 .

My 280 has about 3" of suspension travel as indicated by Figure A3-2-1 on page 3-21 of the Chevrolet Motorhome Chassis Service Guide. About 2" into the travel it makes contact with the rubber bump stops, at 3" it is metal to metal. Perhaps you feel comfortable riding on the bump stops but many on here expressed ride and handling improvements with the installation and properly inflated air bags. You may feel differently but I'll put my trust in the GM Manual and run the air bags.

That's the whole point.... I'm not on the bump stops.

[Waipio Rim]

I have hit some pretty decent bumps and potholes in our 310, no front air bags. Never heard or felt anything unusual. I doubt that I have even been on the bump stops, and definitely never had the solid metal feel of a fully compressed spring.

[Isuzusweet]

Originally Posted by Waipio Rim

I have hit some pretty decent bumps and potholes in our 310, no front air bags. Never heard or felt anything unusual. I doubt that I have even been on the bump stops, and definitely never had the solid metal feel of a fully compressed spring.

Consider yourself lucky then as I know someone that hit a very poor railway crossing at speed, bottomed out so hard that the fixed passenger window shattered. You can't just replace the glass; you have to buy the whole frame at $475.00 at Airstream supply.

Cheers
Tony

[dadstoy]

I can only speak from my own experiences driving my 280. When I originally picked up the 280 and drove it from Eugene to Redding, the airbags would not hold air. With that and a multitude of other possible issues, I drove no faster then 55. Before I replaced the airbags, I had to drive the 280 from its home in the foothills into town multiple times in an effort to get the motorhome smogged. This is on a windy, hilly and bumpy road...about 100 miles round trip.

I have put probably 10,000 miles on the motorhome after replacing the airbags, new shocks and a few other suspension parts. Actually, I have done the "mountain" road drive with the new shocks and the old non-working airbags.

Without the airbags inflated, the front end of the motorhome would porpoise multiple times when driving through a dip in the road. Twice I remember "bottoming out" and this was with no bump stops in place.

After replacing the airbags and inflating them to 55lbs, it is my experience that the ride and safety of the motorhome has increased substantially. Even after replacing the bump stops, I have not hit the bump stops or bottomed out since. The porpoising is gone. When driving over the same road with the same dips, the front end will drop slightly on the uphill side of the dip and then levels out as one would expect. This is very different then this same drive without the airbags.

The motorhome is an absolute pleasure to drive out on the highway and I think I would only experience better in a new million dollar plus coach.

Before replacing the airbags, I was considering replacing the springs with aftermarket springs from Henderson. I made an economic decision not to spend the money. The $800-1000 in savings paid for my new roof A/C instead.

I'm going to guess that the aftermarket springs would have created a bit of a stiffer ride and would have impacted the driving comfort level. I run dual rate springs on my Polaris RZR and I believe the spring/airbag combination on the motorhome has a similar function. That in conjunction with the the "dual rate" leaf spring and air spring setup in the rear make for a really nice ride.