Chevolet P30 Shocks

[bjarnold]

I have a 1996 Bounder that the front air bags were cracked and would not hold air when I bought the coach. The front bumper was 12" off the ground. After replacing the bags and putting 70psi of air in them the front bumper is now 14.5" inches off the ground but the motor home still has a slight sag in the front. Would bad shocks cause the front to sag slightly?

Thanks

[tropical36]

bjarnold wrote:
I had the suspension checked when they did the air bags and the springs were fine. The only issue they found and replaced was the sway bar bushings on the passenger side

Again, air bags are a waste of time and money, if you're going to keep the coach for any length of time. Not only that, you'll need to be constantly checking them for air while traveling and eventually you'll find yourself with one that won't hold air. Might as well let the air out of the other one now and until you can do something with it.
As said, there has to be 1.75 - 2.50" of ride height between the stops and and the upper control arms to properly align it.

[BrianinMichigan]

Just remember to whatever you put the pressure at, the front end alignment will have to be set at that pressure and maintained at that pressure otherwise you'll start wearing the tires.

[cdl2]

Jack up the front end & put 100 psi in the air bags.
I did that on my 96 Cruise Master.......really helped the ride & steering.

[Chum_lee]

Check your actual loaded weight vs. the GVWR of your P30 chassis. You'll probably find that you are close to or above max rated weight. The Ford F53 chassis has a big advantage over the Chevy in that department. Over the years I've seen a lot of aging, sagging P30 Chevy chassis.

[Gjac]

Measure your ride height from the a arm to bumper stop on each side they should be at least 1.75 in clearance and close to the same from side to side. Post your results back here. New shocks will not help this problem as others have said.

[mike_brez]

Just courious how did they check the coil springs.
They wold need to remove them and put them in a compression machine.

[bjarnold]

I had the suspension checked when they did the air bags and the springs were fine. The only issue they found and replaced was the sway bar bushings on the passenger side

[Chopperbob]

Get the springs!

[Chopperbob]

Get the springs!

[tropical36]

mike brez wrote:
No. Springs may be shot. When I needed new bags on mine I ordered new springs from Henderson super steer and ditched the bags. The springs are matched up to your front end weight.

Some good reading for the P30 Here

Also when you inflated the bags I believe the proper way is to lift the front end up then inflate and lower onto ground. I would put 90lbs in mine lower and bleed off.

Yep, OEM spring fatigue and no air bag will fix it for the proper ride height, so it can be properly aligned. They don't last, but for a few years anyway and was always sorry I didn't do the after market Henderson thing in the very first place, with our old coach.

[Clay_L]

Depending on your front suspension 70 pounds may not be enough.
I had a 96 motor home on a 95 P30 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.

[crasster]

X2 yes, check the springs. Also, is there anything causing offending weight (out of the norm) on the coach?

[mike_brez]

No. Springs may be shot. When I needed new bags on mine I ordered new springs from Henderson super steer and ditched the bags. The springs are matched up to your front end weight.

Some good reading for the P30 Here

Also when you inflated the bags I believe the proper way is to lift the front end up then inflate and lower onto ground. I would put 90lbs in mine lower and bleed off.