Can a van be levelled with VB air suspension?

[Just us on Tour]

Hi Funsters

This may seem like a silly question but can a MH be levelled using VB air suspension. Does it give enough adjustment ? Anyone with any experience of VB .
Thank you

 

[DerryW]

Are you referring to full air suspension, or rear air assist.

If the latter which I have experience of, this is not really considered as a levelling aid.

I believe full air suspension (both front and rear axles) does provide an element of levelling.

 

[Just us on Tour]

Are you referring to full air suspension, or rear air assist.

If the latter which I have experience of, this is not really considered as a levelling aid.

I believe full air suspension (both front and rear axles) does provide an element of levelling.

Good point . I was thinking just rear assist . Thank you for pointing that out, I didn’t think of full air

 

[Lenny HB]

Had Goldschmitt full 4C air on the last van and could get level over 90% of the time, it's similar with VB full 4C air.

 

[funflair]

If it's 4 channel then the answer would be yes to a point but not a patch on hydraulic jacks.

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[stuartholmes]

Good point . I was thinking just rear assist . Thank you for pointing that out, I didn’t think of full air

I have rear air assist. Strictly speaking it can raise or lower either or both of the rear wheels by a couple of inches or so from median but it's so limited & such a faff to pump up & down it's not viable as a levelling aid.
I love it for the ride and handling improvement but for levelling I carry three pairs of yellow ramps. Thinking of taking a fourth because we're fussy!
'Real' four wheel full air with one-touch self-levelling is a totally different thing and I'd love it but I'd also love all the alternative things I could do with a spare £9k

 

[jezport]

VB 4c won't unless you buy the extra levelling option. Most people don't bother as they by EP jacks at the same time

 

[Millcourt]

Never had full air suspension but, from what I have been told, I believe it can offer some degree of levelling but obviously not to the extent of (for example) E&P Hydrauic self-levelling.

We had E&P fitted by SAP to our MoHo. Not cheap, but there are other benefits as well as effortlessly getting level. When deployed (which we do even on level ground) there is no descernable swaying when moving around inside (getting up to the loo in the middle of the night is less likely to disturb ones partner), nor do heavy winds cause the swaying we experienced before fitting. Also, elevating one side can assist greatly in the event of a wheel change; getting stuck with the drive wheels spinning on an unsuitable surface may be overcome by elevating the drive wheels off the ground, sliding “mud mats” (or similar) underneath to get traction and lowering the wheels back down rather than having to resort to digging; I have also experimented on Aires with lowering the rams to ground level, without actually raising the wheels completely off the ground, as a further anti-theft deterrent when out for the day, taking the remote control with us.

I did consider fitting full air suspension as an alternative to self-levelling in the hope of gaining both the benefits of improved suspension and the possibility of getting level in some situations. Obviously you could have both, but given the choice of one or the other I am glad we chose hydraulic self-levelling.

 

[Mr porky]

We had just the air before getting the levellers fitted, it's OK but not really a long term solution.

 

[Guigsy]

We've got VB 4C full air. We rarely need ramps now. For most slopes, it can normally cope. For steeper pitches, it seems to have more ability to tilt the noise down, so we park facing uphill.

Even if we do need the ramps, there's less faffing about to get the level right because it can compensate, and because it's dropping the suspension at one end, you don't end up with such a huge step out the hab door.

Levellers do a better job, but air suspension can manage most of the same thing most of the time. Plus it's useful on the move by improving comfort. And as it mostly replaces existing suspension, I don't think it affects payload too much? Not sure.

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[1967bowesj]

Never had full air suspension but, from what I have been told, I believe it can offer some degree of levelling but obviously not to the extent of (for example) E&P Hydrauic self-levelling.

We had E&P fitted by SAP to our MoHo. Not cheap, but there are other benefits as well as effortlessly getting level. When deployed (which we do even on level ground) there is no descernable swaying when moving around inside (getting up to the loo in the middle of the night is less likely to disturb ones partner), nor do heavy winds cause the swaying we experienced before fitting. Also, elevating one side can assist greatly in the event of a wheel change; getting stuck with the drive wheels spinning on an unsuitable surface may be overcome by elevating the drive wheels off the ground, sliding “mud mats” (or similar) underneath to get traction and lowering the wheels back down rather than having to resort to digging; I have also experimented on Aires with lowering the rams to ground level, without actually raising the wheels completely off the ground, as a further anti-theft deterrent when out for the day, taking the remote control with us.

I did consider fitting full air suspension as an alternative to self-levelling in the hope of gaining both the benefits of improved suspension and the possibility of getting level in some situations. Obviously you could have both, but given the choice of one or the other I am glad we chose hydraulic self-levelling.

When you let handbrake off the jacks retract automatically though

 

[funflair]

When you let handbrake off the jacks retract automatically though

Take that as well but joking aside yes you are right.

 

[Two on Tour]

When you let handbrake off the jacks retract automatically though

Take that as well but joking aside yes you are right.

Only if the ignition is on, well that's the case on our SAP installed E&P system.

 

[Millcourt]

When you let handbrake off the jacks retract automatically though

Not with the electronic handbrake on the most recent Fiat base vehicles…… or at least the way SAP wired the installation.

 

[1967bowesj]

Not with the electronic handbrake on the most recent Fiat base vehicles…… or at least the way SAP wired the installation.

Strange as it is supposed to be a safety feature so you don’t damage said jacks when driving off if you forget to retract, user manual part 1.2.

Do you not have a control panel hard wired?
I expect it will be too E&P agreement as SAP must have checked any alterations to wiring installation instructions

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[Lenny HB]

When you let handbrake off the jacks retract automatically though

Easy enough to fit a hidden switch across the handbrake switch.

 

[1967bowesj]

Easy enough to fit a hidden switch across the handbrake switch.

Ssshhhh, that’s what I’ve done.

 

[funflair]

Not with the electronic handbrake on the most recent Fiat base vehicles…… or at least the way SAP wired the installation.

We have the electronic handbrake but the jacks retract on start up anyway so we don't get a chance to see what would happen when the handbrake comes off as its happened already