[GMCnet] Broken air suspension. Ok to drive?

[Tynan]

I'm about to buy a gmc motor home. The airbag suspension doesn't work. Will it damage the motor home to drive it broken? I want to do a 10 hour road trip before repairing it. Thanks!
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[Johnny Bridges via Gmclist]

Put a Schrader valve in the air bag, pupm it up, and boogie. If the bag itself leaks, replace it with a piece of threaded rod. It will get you
home.

==johnny
--
'76 23' transmode Norris upfit, 76 26' Eleganza(?) with beaucoup mods and add - ons.
Braselton, Ga.

"Sometimes I wonder what tomorrow's gonna bring when I think about my dirty life and times" --Warren Zevon

[Carl Stouffer]

Tynan wrote on Sat, 02 July 2016 10:38

If it has airbags, it won't hurt a thing to isolate them and inflate them with a tank valve, as Johnny says:

<https://www.grainger.com/product/CDI-CONTROL-DEVICES-Brass-Air-Tank-Valve-1X361?s_pp=false&picUrl=//static.grainger.com/rp/s/is/image/Grainger/1X361_AS01?$smthumb$>

I once answered a "Black List" call for a couple who had leaky air bags in a new to them coach. I took him to a nearby Ace Hardware, where he
purchased some pipe, all thread, nuts, and washers. I told him how to substitute this stuff for the air bag. I got in touch with him later and he
had driven the coach over a thousand miles with the rods in place of the air bags without issue. He said it didn't even ride that badly.
--
Carl Stouffer
'75 ex Palm Beach
Tucson, AZ.
Chuck Aulgur Reaction Arm Disc Brakes, Quadrabags, 3.70 LSD final drive, Lenzi knuckles/hubs, Dodge Truck 16" X 8" front wheels, Rear American Eagles

[Emery Stora]

I blew an airbag just before a planned trip from Santa Fe, NM to Denver. About a 450 mile trip. I couldn’t locate a bag in Albuquerque or Santa Fe so I went to Ace Hardware and bought a length of 3/4” threaded rod, nuts and washers. I cut the rod to the right length and put it in and drove to Denver. As you say, the ride wasn’t too bad. I was used to looking over to my wife and seeing her breasts bounce up and down but on this trip they swayed back and forth. Especially on the I-25 “S” curves through Colorado Springs.
That rod was enough to make two rods so I made a spare and gave it to a friend. I still carry one in the GMC for an emergency.

We had two new bags waiting for us in Denver and I quickly replaced them.

Emery Stora
77 Kingsley
Frederick, CO)

[A.]

Tynan wrote on Sat, 02 July 2016 12:38

> I'm about to buy a gmc motor home. The airbag suspension doesn't work. Will it damage the motor home to drive it broken? I want to do a 10 hour
> road trip before repairing it. Thanks!

I think it would be a bad idea. You have been told the correct approach. Try Schrader valves on the bags.
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/data/500/GMC_schrader_valve.jpg

If the bags only hold air for an hour or so, consider taking a 12V compressor and filling them every hour or so.
If they don't hold air long enough to suit you, I believe Ken Burton has loaner bags if you will pay shipping from him to you and then back to him.

If they won't hold air at all and you don't want to trouble Mr. Burton, here are a couple of temporary replacement ideas:
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/data/5471/75_E_II_Left_side_Boggie_01.jpg
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/data/5471/bag_rod.jpg
--
73 23' Sequoia 4 Sale
73 23' CanyonLands Parts Unit 4 Sale
Upper Alabama
"Posting on the GMCnet seems to always result in a cacophony of responses which only tend to cloud the solution rather than move you closer to it."
Jim Miller

[Carl Stouffer]

The link to the air tank valve in my previous reply was an example only and was the wrong size (18" pipe thread) and should have been 1/4" pipe thread
like this:

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=20780666

I have edited the original post.

[gene Fisher]

Here is the whole list, take your choice
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/g5471-air-bag-spring-systems.html

--
Gene Fisher -- 74-23,77PB/ore/ca
“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today --- give him a URL and
-------
http://gmcmotorhome.info/
Alternator Protection Cable
http://gmcmotorhome.info/APC.html

[Larry]

emerystora wrote on Sat, 02 July 2016 14:47

> I was used to looking over to my wife and seeing her breasts bounce up and down but on this trip they swayed back and forth. Especially on the
> I-25 "S" curves through Colorado Springs.
>

> Emery Stora


Aw Geese Emery...now I can't un-see that....:|
--
Larry
78 Royale w/500 Caddy
Menomonie, WI.