1992 itasca sunrise

Air bags were not optional, they were OEM. Airlift bags are orange, Firestone are blue: that's the only difference I ever noticed. In 10 years I replaced bags twice.

Running without air bags changes the wheel camber. Years ago when I had a P30 I had bags fail in central Idaho and drove home to Vancouver BC. My new front tires scuffed so bad on the inside that I had to replace them: outside of tire looked new, inside of tire was bald.

I replaced air bags and tires and ran over 50,000 miles on the new tires before I sold the unit, with no more tire issues. My front axle was rated at 4880 pounds, I ran 50 psi in the bags.

jvander wrote:
Maybe I'm wrong then. How do you know they were OEM?

Because every P30/P32 I have ever seen has them* and they are listed and shown in the Chevy service manual.

*Except for the ones that have the after market springs that can replace the OEM springs and airbags.

Maybe I'm wrong then. How do you know they were OEM?

jvander wrote:

bsinmich wrote:
The springs in the P30 were not added by the motorhomme builder. They were an original part from Chevrolet and the chart from the 1995 manual is correct. The coach will handle much better with proper air pressure.

The chart is correct. But the airbags were not an original part from Chevrolet, and I'll let somebody else correct you on that :)

The airbags in the front springs were OEM from Chevy on mine and are shown in the service manual from Chevy.

bsinmich wrote:
The springs in the P30 were not added by the motorhomme builder. They were an original part from Chevrolet and the chart from the 1995 manual is correct. The coach will handle much better with proper air pressure.

The chart is correct. But the airbags were not an original part from Chevrolet, and I'll let somebody else correct you on that :)

They are talking about the axle rating not the actual weight. I think you can find the rating via your VIN but I am not sure. You can download the service manual HERE

There may be some info in it.

You can download the original brochure HERE you may be ableto find the axle rating in it.

Clay L wrote:
I had a 96 motor home on a 95 P30/32 chassis. The vehicle owners manual described how to set the pressure in the airbags. In case you don't have the manual this is what mine said:

The owner’s manual gives the following ranges:

4,300 LB front suspensions = 10 psi to 50 psi
5,000 LB front suspensions = 40 psi to 50 psi
5,300 LB front suspensions = 50 psi to 80 psi
5,500 LB front suspensions = 60 psi to 100 psi

For the proper adjustment it says to inflate the air bags to the maximum pressure for your vehicle, load the motor home, park on a level surface and then reduce the air pressure as needed to level the motor home but don’t reduce it below the minimum.

I have seen other schemes for adjusting the pressure per ride quality, but the 1995 Chevrolet Forward Control Chassis owner’s manual said to do it as shown above.

I don't know if it's accurate or not but other posts have said the pressure in the bags affects the alignment and you should have it checked when you get the pressure set. The manual did not mention that however.

I had mine weighed my front is only 3980lbs so I'm thinking 50psi was to much to begin with that's why I'm noticing ride is better . Last owner might have been over kill with air bags at 50 psi. Mine look like it was a after market deal. 1992's might of not had them there's nothing in gm. Manuel that I found yet. :h

mfinnerty wrote:
Be aware that no air in the bags or too little also affects the front end alignment. Ask me how I know.

Ok I'm game what happened :)

Itasca55

The springs in the P30 were not added by the motorhomme builder. They were an original part from Chevrolet and the chart from the 1995 manual is correct. The coach will handle much better with proper air pressure.

Air bags were not really optional, they are essentially used as supplemental springs. After the coach has been constructed and the final weight determined, suitable springs were to be installed, most mfrs just put in airbags to supplement the stock springs though.
I've driven from South Dakota to Indiana with no front airbags. It handled fine but you could tell that the springs were not strong enough. If you have Air-Lift springs they will replace leaking bags for free, installation is up to you though.