Rear Air Ride

[milkmania]

It's 75° this evening... Cloudy & calm, Worked a bunch on the bus this weekend!
Sitting back in my lawn chair recliner, petting my bus... (It has a calming effect)

I dumped my air tank earlier, all stages were wet!

Now my air bags are leaking down... About every 5-10 minutes, I hear the springs creak.
Should I start the engine and build pressure back up, or just dump the air bags?

Not sure what I'm gonna do when I'm full timing it

 

[EastCoastCB]

Mine empty in like 15 mins. Yeah, I gotta leaky airbag.
Jack stands under the rear axle would solve your sagging issues. Set em maybe an inch low and once you fire up the bus and it airs up you can pull em right out.

 

[bread519]

I suspect this is why my rig doesn't hold air pressure for more than a few days. I'm wondering if it's something I need to address or not

 

[BusFiend]

Losing air, while not running, is pretty typical. I put over 100k miles on a brand new $420K Prevost that would lose its air in 36-48 hours. I believe that RVs with air suspensions and leveling have a 12V compressor to maintain air pressure.

 

[milkmania]

I'm still puzzled why all 3 stages of my air tank blew out moisture...

When I opened them a few weeks ago for my first time, at least a cup of sludge came out of first stage.

Has anybody tried the cabled pull down tank drains?
https://www.amazon.com/Compressor-Valve-Moisture-excess-compressor/dp/B00BBZGWIC


Soon, I won't be on concrete with a creeper and I've got a protected area I can put the cable ends

 

[EastCoastCB]

Losing air, while not running, is pretty typical. I put over 100k miles on a brand new $420K Prevost that would lose its air in 36-48 hours. I believe that RVs with air suspensions and leveling have a 12V compressor to maintain air pressure.

Thanks to the severely dry rotted and leaking driver side rear air bag, mine loses its pressure in maybe 20 minutes. Definitely needs to be fixed sooner than later. I don't use it on the road anymore. Just around the property.

 

[bread519]

I'm still puzzled why all 3 stages of my air tank blew out moisture...

When I opened them a few weeks ago for my first time, at least a cup of sludge came out of first stage.

Has anybody tried the cabled pull down tank drains?
https://www.amazon.com/Compressor-Valve-Moisture-excess-compressor/dp/B00BBZGWIC


Soon, I won't be on concrete with a creeper and I've got a protected area I can put the cable ends

How do you drain the tanks? I've never tried

 

[bread519]

Losing air, while not running, is pretty typical. I put over 100k miles on a brand new $420K Prevost that would lose its air in 36-48 hours. I believe that RVs with air suspensions and leveling have a 12V compressor to maintain air pressure.

Ok good that makes me feel better

 

[EastCoastCB]

How do you drain the tanks? I've never tried

Yours are on the drivers side just forward of the middle of the bus. There's a big tank with three drain valves on the bottom. Just go under there once you've shut it down, and let the air/moisture out.

 

[milkmania]

Yours are on the drivers side just forward of the middle of the bus. There's a big tank with three drain valves on the bottom. Just go under there once you've shut it down, and let the air/moisture out.

Cautiously!

Make sure you know which way the outlet is pointed!
Air, moisture, and sludge blows out

 

[bread519]

How often is one supposed to do this?

 

[milkmania]

From Fueloyal.com

8. The Truck Air Brakes Reservoir
The reservoirs are used to hold the compressed air. Every model of truck can be different, the size and number of tanks will vary. The tanks should be big enough to allow the vehicle to stop several times before going empty. This is a safety feature just in case there was a malfunction with the compressor.

Water and oil can build up in the air tanks. This can be really bad for the truck air brakes. The water can freeze up in the winter time, causing your truck air brakes to fail. This usually collects at the bottom of the reservoir. Fortunately the air tanks are equipped with drain valve. Be sure to drain the oil and water out completely.

 

[bread519]

So I'll want to empty it when it's under pressure correct?


Sorry for hi jacking this thread haha I'm a newb with all this

 

[milkmania]

From California DMV
5.1.4 – Air Tank Drains

Compressed air usually has some water and some compressor oil in it, which is bad for the air brake system. For example, the water can freeze in cold weather and cause brake failure. The water and oil tend to collect in the bottom of the air tank. Be sure that you drain the air tanks completely. Each air tank is equipped with a drain valve in the bottom. There are two types:

Manually operated by turning a quarter turn or by pulling a cable. You must drain the tanks yourself at the end of each day of driving. See Figure 5.1.
Automatic--the water and oil are automatically expelled. These tanks may be equipped for manual draining as well.
Automatic air tanks are available with electric heating devices. These help prevent freezing of the automatic drain in cold weather.

 

[bread519]

Each time you drive eh? I'm curious to see what condition my tanks are in then

 

[milkmania]

So I'll want to empty it when it's under pressure correct?


Sorry for hi jacking this thread haha I'm a newb with all this

Yes, open the drain while system is pressurized.
The vehicle won't move if your brake components work properly... It's air pressure that releases the brake pads from the drums.

Take a free online CDL brake test and it'll teach you a lot.


hi jack???
Pffft! I think I'm the thread jacking king

 

[milkmania]

Each time you drive eh? I'm curious to see what condition my tanks are in then

I highly doubt that most skoolies get their tanks drained daily.
That would require crawling under the bus and opening the valves, unless cable operated valves.

I bet there's a lot of trucks on the road that don't get drained daily or weekly even. Although it's required during pre-trip inspection.

But many OTR trucks have auto drains... If you've ever been near one when it pops off, you'll know it!

 

[milkmania]

[youtube]http://youtu.be/pZx9beEXNAg[/youtube]

 

[cadillackid]

I get about 1-2 hours maxx till my air bags leak down to where the protection valve shuts off the air at 45-50.. then my main air pressure stays there for days... I changed my valve since it wasnt levelling right.. but one iof the bags leaks I just dont know which one it is.. .. sprayed everything down, no bubbles.. so Ill have ti discinnect each bag from the valve and put shop air to it to find the leak.. it is kind of annoying to have to wait for the system to pump back up everytime I want to drive... but I use that as time to do a walk around...

if I was fulkl timing Id probably just put jack stands underneath the rear when parked.. you could easily make a device to over-raise the suspension slightly to get the stands in and out when you wanted to move..

im thinking it wouldnt stress the body too hard as you would still have the main suspension weight on the tires and just be supporting the body... would want to find a good solid spot to place the stands

-Christopher

 

[retiredChemist]

It's not going to hurt the bus letting it drop the air out of the bags. Just sits on the bump stops.

Putting it on stands, that puts stress where it's not meant to be.

Draining the tanks fully when you park, helps to get it to drop before you go to sleep.

or at least that's what I do to get around the issue.