Difficulty in changing to air suspension?

[captainkf]

Hello all. I am wondering what the ride is like on those busses that are equiped with air suspension. You know, those air bag donut's that are adjustable to accomidate different loads.

The reason I ask is that the ride in my bus is incredibly stiff. I know, it's a bus and I should just suck it up. However I have been reading about them and they seem pretty slick. The idea of making my bus as smooth as a transit bus is appealing. I know my wife would appreciate it.

My bus does not have air brakes, so I would need to install a compressor and a holding tank. But other than that is it much work? I am not a mechanic but am pretty handy.

Is this somthing that would be super expensive?

Or would it be smarter to pick up a couple of used semi truck driver air ride seats? They seem quite pricey though.

Anyways I would love any thoughts or comments.

-Richard

[trx]

I'm sure converting to air suspension wouldn’t be a small task. I'm sure there would be considerable amount of fabrication involved. Your best bet would be to find a complete rear axle (probably expensive) with the air suspension and adapt it to fit the bus. I wouldn't want to think about what would be involved to convert to air brakes (I know nothing about them in the first place). It sure would be one way to test out your handiness! I'd go with the air ride seat...much cheaper. Another option if your bus isn't hauling around nearly the weight it was designed is to remove some leafs from the spring packs. Of course it might make the back of the bus sit too low and/or too close to the bump stops. An extra set of shocks might also be needed. My bus rides much better when I have my 5000 lb Scout in the back.

Chad

[Griff]

Check out the "Air Ride Suspension on Skoolie" thread in this forum for some additional detail.

[captainkf]

Thanks guys. -Richard

[busone]

My grandmother used to drive school buses for a living. The garage upgraded the bus she drove to air ride. She said it felt funny like the bus was always hard to control. She thinks maybe they messed the install. You might want to talk to Greg Archambault about it. The last time I talked with him we talked about air ride buses. He explained some real dangers with certain systems that should be carfully considered.