Airbags for Camper trailer

G'day, airbags pumped up will make the trailer ride very very roughly. Can never understand airbag suspension, when you want the extra height, you need supple suspension, but the airbags are at there hardest not making for supple suspension. Just my two cents worth.

It can be done but you're over complicating something that you would may only ever need to use once every 10 years...... and then you would not use it.

Out of all the camper trailers we have owned we have never had a issue off road with ground clearance.

I would think that if you use airbags to lift your CT 2 inches the suspension would be so hard it would shake the **** out of everything and possibly cause damage.

Range Rover use airbag suspension and the Queen and Prince Philip don't complain about the ride.

Air bags used wrongly may be hard.
Lots of buses use airbags ie ALL.
Trucks use air bags and Bananas are transported on trucks ONLY will air bags so the Nana's don't get shocked and bruised, it is a stipulation of their transport agreement.

Jamming anything into already hard springs isn't going to solve the problem.

What suspension is in the camper at the moment?
They may be, likely to be, crappy, short, hard riding, non compliant ones and then "yes" airbags aren't going to improve things except the ride height.

Possibly longer leaf pack to give a more compliant ride and then airbags to augment them for the off road stuff IF the height is really required.

If you have leaf springs and a beam axle at the moment you will need a major suspension re-design because you will need something like trailing arms to locate the wheels. Adding those plus seats for the bags will involve a major chassis re-design. Can be done, but a lot of trouble. But if you have the skills, time and resources and want to do it for the exercise, go for it. You could end up with rather nice independent suspension.

I think other posters' comments about harsh ride are valid. You will need to research carefully. Simple helper bags are not designed to be the principal spring and will have the wrong rate. You need proper air springs calibrated for the weight of your loaded CT.

Cheers

thanks for all your answers. and yes i will be keeping the leaf springs, Poly air look like they do a kit for leaf springs.
though is it possible to only use the airbags to get though some higher than normal ground clearance areas. so they wouldn't be used a great deal or for long periods of time or am i completely missing the point, just some ideas that i am floating in my head.
cheers Adam

Hi Adam
Check out GAFFA suspension they have airbags and coilsl for trailers. Google Martins trailers parts or Gaffa Airbag suspension for a look at it

Cheers Rod

Hi Adam, I run airbags only on my camper, no springs at all,never had problem. have been on plenty of rough stuff, Gibb River road to kalumbaroo and Broome as well as the OTT to the cape and quite a few others. would not go back to sprung suspension and you are right it is nice to be able to raise the ride height when needed. The trailer rides better than the car over the rough stuff, had no problems with things shaking to bits
Hope this helps you Regards Bill

When we were away for our Christmas camp, we came across a couple of families that had new caravans. They had airbag suspension and were very pleased with it. It seems like a great idea. One of the guys said it was great for levelling the van when pulling up on uneven ground. I have to say I was quite impressed. He didn't however say how it towed, and at the time I didn't think to ask......

This variable height suspension with air bags, has been discussed at length on another forum.

If it was a motor vehicle..car, truck, buss.....there is a very real legality issue.
If the vehicle is originally fitted with airbags and it is approved and an OEM engineered solution variable height suspension is permitted.

BUT, it is specifically forbidden as an aftermarket modification....they "don't want no low riders here"......how that plays out with trailers is a whole other story.

There are a lot of vehicles suspended on airbags alone, that lower the suspension when stationary for a variety of reasons.....most modern busses, some ambulances and so forth.....but mostly they return to the regulated suspenion height when the vehicle is underway.

In heavy vehicles almost all "road friendly suspensions" are airbags alone.....there are regulating valves that keep the ride height constant regardless of load.....so when lightly loaded or unloaded the spring rate is very soft..as the vehicle is loaded up the spring rate is increased only enough to achieve standard ride height.

If you have ever driven a leaf sprung, heavy vehicle, unladen over a railway crossing you will realise how wonderfull these airbag suspensions are.

I think air bags in all sorts of trailers especially self regulating air bags that maintain ride height would be a great idea...the traileing links and such are no biggie....but there are two major issues.

Cost...an airbag system capable of supporting the trailer alone would be expensive in comparison to anything currently offered on trailers.

AND

there is the need for a supply of compressed air...if the trailer is self regulating...a constant supply of compressed air.
Compressed air is not a problem on trucks lots of stuff including the brakes run on it...but it is a bit of an issue in motorcars.

I've thaught about the very issue in the last few weeks.....think of a car trailer that requires no ramps..I have the trailer ..can ride low on the highway and can be jacked up to negociate driveways and the like.

But I think the expense is going to kill it.

cheers

Adam H,

Is your c/trailer an off-road model and what brand would it be?

SB

Monroe Max-Air Air Shock Absorber... might be worth a look . would lift the trailer when needed ,just blow up a bit more.

Adam
Don't forget air bags are variable rate springs just like bump rubbers on your car. They get progressively harder as you compress them and are like a brick by the time they are around 70% compressed. This is why so many people have damaged their chassis with them. The factory engineers know how to use them but the same can't be said of many people using them in aftermarket situations. Make sure you get everything right. If you fit some that are getting too hard too soon, you could easily damage your axle or crack the trailer.

Hi Adam H,

I have put a set of Firestone helper bags in the rear of my Dodge Ram. For no other reason than to improve stability with a top heavy load however they do work to level the vehicle's ride height with a heavy load on. My suspension is rated for a payload of 1.6 tonne. As I have an imported vehicle, I find that I have to import many of the parts that I sometimes require. The firestone air bag kit that I have used is one that I imported. Its pretty much a universal kit designed for leaf suspension arrangments. retails in the US for approx $330. Adam H, if you are serious, these kits are worth a look.

Firestone RideRite air helper spring kit 2071

Summit Racing is a good supplier, cheap and quick shipping. Type them into google.

Cheers
Crawler88