- Mar 6, 2019
- 417
- 864
- Funster No
- 58,909
- MH
- A Class
- Exp
- Since 1987
Hi folks.
Like many, we have air assist suspension on the back of our van. One advantage is you can ‘pump it up’ when facing possible grounding over rough ground or boarding ferries. So……… we were heading off to Europe via a ferry in Dover so I thought to myself, ‘Self,’ I said, ‘time to pump up the rear suspension’, as we were sitting on the apron ready to board. Out came the old plug in compressor and up went the Near side. About 5 bar, just for the embarkation and disembarkation. No worries. Plug into the Off side. As soon as I start to pump, the gauge shoots up to 6 bar in about 1 second. ‘Somethings not right,’ says I. So switch off the pump and drop the near side back to level.
The guy with the hi viz and bored look waves us on and up the ramp we go. ‘Oh joy, the tide is high ( bet your singing Blondie songs) so no big bump. Off the other end, slight grounding but home made roller protection saves the day.
Next available place to check, a country park car park in Luxembourg. So under the van I go to check the air line on the off side. Head torch and crawling about reveals the airline goes into a bunch of cables and back out again. ‘Mmm,’ says I, ‘that’s not the way I fitted it.’ It turns out the guy that fitted the new pump for the self-levelling system has scooped up the air line in the bundle of cables. Not only this, he has folded the air pipe and it has a kink in it.
So I’m now facing a dilemma (that well known Welshman with a problem to solve). Do I free the pipe, so resetting the air system, running the risk that the pipe will split as it opens out, or leave it alone and hope everything is ok till we get home in five weeks time?
It just so happens that in my ‘handy stuff that might save the day’ box, I have an inline air pipe connector. So I cut a couple of cable ties, and free the pipe. With a cup of hot water, I warm the kinky pipe and gently open it out. No phishhh of air, no bubbles in the soap solution so I think it worked. I secure the airline and re-bundle the pump cables.
The moral of this story is, always assume the bandits working on your van will do something daft. Check after they have done, not just their work but everything else. Don’t listen to those who say ‘why do you carry all that junk about with you?’ You know that one dat that junk box will save the day. And, everything can be fixed with cable ties and duct tape so never be without them.
Oh the joys of Motorhoming.
Like many, we have air assist suspension on the back of our van. One advantage is you can ‘pump it up’ when facing possible grounding over rough ground or boarding ferries. So……… we were heading off to Europe via a ferry in Dover so I thought to myself, ‘Self,’ I said, ‘time to pump up the rear suspension’, as we were sitting on the apron ready to board. Out came the old plug in compressor and up went the Near side. About 5 bar, just for the embarkation and disembarkation. No worries. Plug into the Off side. As soon as I start to pump, the gauge shoots up to 6 bar in about 1 second. ‘Somethings not right,’ says I. So switch off the pump and drop the near side back to level.
The guy with the hi viz and bored look waves us on and up the ramp we go. ‘Oh joy, the tide is high ( bet your singing Blondie songs) so no big bump. Off the other end, slight grounding but home made roller protection saves the day.
Next available place to check, a country park car park in Luxembourg. So under the van I go to check the air line on the off side. Head torch and crawling about reveals the airline goes into a bunch of cables and back out again. ‘Mmm,’ says I, ‘that’s not the way I fitted it.’ It turns out the guy that fitted the new pump for the self-levelling system has scooped up the air line in the bundle of cables. Not only this, he has folded the air pipe and it has a kink in it.
So I’m now facing a dilemma (that well known Welshman with a problem to solve). Do I free the pipe, so resetting the air system, running the risk that the pipe will split as it opens out, or leave it alone and hope everything is ok till we get home in five weeks time?
It just so happens that in my ‘handy stuff that might save the day’ box, I have an inline air pipe connector. So I cut a couple of cable ties, and free the pipe. With a cup of hot water, I warm the kinky pipe and gently open it out. No phishhh of air, no bubbles in the soap solution so I think it worked. I secure the airline and re-bundle the pump cables.
The moral of this story is, always assume the bandits working on your van will do something daft. Check after they have done, not just their work but everything else. Don’t listen to those who say ‘why do you carry all that junk about with you?’ You know that one dat that junk box will save the day. And, everything can be fixed with cable ties and duct tape so never be without them.
Oh the joys of Motorhoming.