Bangs and rattles

Swaltham

Swaltham

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Van conversion
Hi everybody. New member here. Looking forward to some good times
We are on our 4th motorhome (if you count a vw california we had for a few years). After a year with our latest model , a 7.5 metre adria, we've decided to stick with it for a while longer ( unfortunately it hasn't been without problems during that time) and I'm now looking to do some add ons. I don't know whether it's our imagination but this van seems to suffer more from bangs and rattles than any of the others. Even more so than the swift kon tiki we had in late eighties. Hence I'm considering air suspension. What are peoples thoughts on this and especially fitting rear or full? Driving back home on the m20 last week after the tunnel was horrendous. Like driving down a railway track!
Thanks for any replies
Steve
 
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Agree with all those causes. Full air suspension makes a big difference, if you get it you might need to play around with the pressure settings. Too much air and it can give a harsher ride, Experiment to find the sweet spot, it won't eliminate every bang and crash but will feel like a magic carpet on good roads. It also helps with the bouncing pitching affect.

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I fitted semi air suspension and it’s fantastic. Check out this current thread for more info.

Suspension upgrade​


You might need to put that in the search bar at the top, it was started by SteveMcC

Cheers!

Russ
 
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RustyRuss said:
I fitted semi air suspension and it’s fantastic. Check out this current thread for more info.

Suspension upgrade​


You might need to put that in the search bar at the top, it was started by SteveMcC

Cheers!

Russ
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Thanks for the info re air suspension posting. I will certainly check that out
 
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Fitting decent van tyres instead of the useless camping tyres will help a lot with ride comfort especially if it's shod with Michelin CP tyres they give a dreadful hard ride.
I have Toyo Observe Van tyres and full air suspension.
The full air is not a cure all but it will change the crashes into thumps but the driving stability is amazing, I wouldn't have a van without it now.
 
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Swaltham said:
Hi everybody. New member here. Looking forward to some good times
We are on our 4th motorhome (if you count a vw california we had for a few years). After a year with our latest model , a 7.5 metre adria, we've decided to stick with it for a while longer ( unfortunately it hasn't been without problems during that time) and I'm now looking to do some add ons. I don't know whether it's our imagination but this van seems to suffer more from bangs and rattles than any of the others. Even more so than the swift kon tiki we had in late eighties. Hence I'm considering air suspension. What are peoples thoughts on this and especially fitting rear or full? Driving back home on the m20 last week after the tunnel was horrendous. Like driving down a railway track!
Thanks for any replies
Steve
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We have the AirKik on ours, just the rear, and it's really good for rattles and bangs....not to mention a far smoother ride

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The van is only a year old and done about 5k miles so it would be an expensive decision to ditch the tyres just yet. Almost as much as fitting rear air. What kind of average shelf life do they have and what are the basic differences between van and caravan tyres?
Steve
 
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Swaltham said:
The van is only a year old and done about 5k miles so it would be an expensive decision to ditch the tyres just yet. Almost as much as fitting rear air. What kind of average shelf life do they have and what are the basic differences between van and caravan tyres?
Steve
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Welcome to The Fun 👍🏻👍🏻
Motorhome tyres have stiffer side walls designed to withstand long periods in storage and their pressures are usually set too high. Van tyres are expected to be used regularly and use lower pressures So are more comfortable and less less jarring. Take a look at Continental 4 season tyres when your ready to switch but in the mean time, if your tyre pressure are over 65psi consider dropping them by 5 to 10 psi and see what you think.
 
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Otter Spotter said:
Welcome to The Fun 👍🏻👍🏻
Motorhome tyres have stiffer side walls designed to withstand long periods in storage and their pressures are usually set too high. Van tyres are expected to be used regularly and use lower pressures So are more comfortable and less less jarring. Take a look at Continental 4 season tyres when your ready to switch but in the mean time, if your tyre pressure are over 65psi consider dropping them by 5 to 10 psi and see what you think.
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Agree with all that, Bailey recommend 80psi rear! I tried it and I thought my teeth were going to drop out! Reduced them to 59psi front and 65 psi rear and the difference was amazing. I also fitted Continental Vanco tyres, as the ones that were on were Michelin 'knock offs' and were past their sell by date. Thinking back to my motor trade days some 40 odd years ago, Michelin have always been a hard riding tyre.
 
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If you know your way around a spanner, or have an acquaintance who does, semi rear air can be yours for well under £500.00.
If you're happy with your weight carrying capacity already that's good, but semi air on the rear can get you an upgrade to 3850kg or even 4090KG , with a tyre change. If the change is just for the ride quality, and again another convert here, it's a day and night difference, no more bouncing and tilting around roundabouts, or dreading any encounter with HGV's or coaches.
Mike.
 
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First day posting and I'm already learning a lot. My pressures are definitely in the 70"s, I checked them before we went to France and Spain and then when we returned. I shall drop them and I think I will make an appointment with the air people to discuss options. Interesting about the weight upgrades too. Thanks

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I had semi air on my previous van. It only made a difference on the big hits that mash the bump stops. General road chatter isn't changed much.

Changing from camper tyres does make a big difference. Michelin Agilis Campers are horrible. Especially at 80psi. I replaced 1 year old tyres and I don't regret it.

Next I got full air. It's bloody expensive. It produced an improvement roughly the same as the step change from camper tyres to van tyres.

My van is considerably more comfortable to drive than it was. But the M6 on the elevated section through Birmingham still jolts the cutlery. I don't think you can ever expect a magic carpet ride from a commercial vehicle with a plastic box on top.
 
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I have rear air suspension which does help somewhat. Recently I reduced the tyre pressures to 65 on the front and 70 on the rear and this has made a significant difference to the crash/bang on the M25.
 
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meanders said:
Biggest changes we found was reducing the tyre pressures and getting rid of the rock hard camper tyres.
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So true, I once tried mine at the recommended 80psi never again, I lost all my fillings. Now I run at 65 psi and it’s a lot better
 
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As a matter of interest has anyone reduced the pressure on the Michelin Camper tyres from the stated 80psi and to what? It's one hell of a pressure on a 4250kg PVC!
 
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dash300 said:
As a matter of interest has anyone reduced the pressure on the Michelin Camper tyres from the stated 80psi and to what? It's one hell of a pressure on a 4250kg PVC!
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I’m running at 4.3 bar, feels similar to my previous van that had rear VB air although I have noticed it has VB springs on the front.

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Swaltham said:
Thanks for the info re air suspension posting. I will certainly check that out
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Whereabouts are you in the country as I have booked in to get full VB suspension next month and managed to get a good deal.
 
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bigtree said:
Whereabouts are you in the country as I have booked in to get full VB suspension next month and managed to get a good deal.
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We are in East Yorkshire. I think probably the nearest place for us is Doncaster. S+P automotive (?). They seem to have good reviews on here
 
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Swaltham said:
We are in East Yorkshire. I think probably the nearest place for us is Doncaster. S+P automotive (?). They seem to have good reviews on here
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Having said that, any discount out there should definitely be considered so thanks for any pointers
 
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Swaltham said:
Having said that, any discount out there should definitely be considered so thanks for any pointers
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I was quoted £9k by SAP, I’m getting it elsewhere for £8.3k.

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Guigsy said:
I paid £8k for the full VB package on a Fiat chassis at the beginning of the year.
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The 2 prices quoted there are very interesting. Are either of the suppliers within a reasonable distance to me ( Yorkshire)?
 
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As a matter of interest, does the full air offer any benefits re levelling up on site? I watched a YouTube video recently where the v logger had had rear air fitted and he showed he could not quite level the van but could sort of equalise the back and front.
 
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I have a very useful 180mm difference at the rear axle between 0 bar and 5 bar. Makes a very appreciable difference when trying. To get the MoHo level!

Cheers!

Russ
 
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Swaltham said:
As a matter of interest, does the full air offer any benefits re levelling up on site? I watched a YouTube video recently where the v logger had had rear air fitted and he showed he could not quite level the van but could sort of equalise the back and front.
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Yes we can get level over 90% of the time.
Not all suppliers quote with the leveling option.
 
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