Ah you all gotta love us newbies. Full of ignorant questions. :) and I've got another! Maybe a few more. Just purchased our 2000 Newmar dutch star on a p30 chassis with a gmc 7.4. The owner indicated the front airbags might be in need of replacing but he said it should be fine for our journey home some 540 miles away. WRONG! I did notice the front end seemed to be sitting a little low, but was assured it'd be ok. I got out on the highway and about 30 miles down the road we went over a bridge with the big hump/ hump in the road. The front end tires must have hit the wheel well as it sounded like the world was ending and I could feel it in my seat. Something was either grinding or coming apart up under there. I pulled off and got out and now the front end looked to be sitting down so low that about 1/3 or more of the front tires were covering the front tires. Luckily there was a camping world about five miles away with a full service center. Camping world can replace the airbags and will check things over under there. Not sure if they can fix major stuff up in the front end or not, we will see. The other question is the brakes, they're mechanical and while they work to stop the coach, this does not seem normal. Do 2000 rv's still come with mechanical brakes? The only other known issue at this time is the thermostat gauge is stuck about 150 and seems to be broke. Asked them to check this out as well. Hope the previous owner didn't fixate it there to avoid me seeing it overheat. Seemed to run fine otherwise.

What happened to the 2004 National Dolphin you purchased on Oct 9 that you talked about in another post? Ten days later you purchased this 2000 Newmar? ...just wondering?

2gypsies wrote:What happened to the 2004 National Dolphin you purchased on Oct 9 that you talked about in another post? Ten days later you purchased this 2000 Newmar? ...just wondering?Went to pick it up, bought off the Internet. It was not as described so we backed out. Bough the Newmar instead.

Mechanical brakes???? I don't think anyone has used those for 75 years or more (model A's and such). I'm sure you're referring to standard hydraulic (that uses brake fluid) brakes...right? I actually didn't know that newmar made a gasser dutch star...but obviously did. FWIW...most if not all gassers have hydraulic brakes as you typically only see air brakes on a diesel.Hope you get your problems fixed.Ron

darin338 wrote:Ah you all gotta love us newbies. Full of ignorant questions. :) and I've got another! Maybe a few more. Just purchased our 2000 Newmar dutch star on a p30 chassis with a gmc 7.4. The owner indicated the front airbags might be in need of replacing but he said it should be fine for our journey home some 540 miles away. WRONG! I did notice the front end seemed to be sitting a little low, but was assured it'd be ok. I got out on the highway and about 30 miles down the road we went over a bridge with the big hump/ hump in the road. The front end tires must have hit the wheel well as it sounded like the world was ending and I could feel it in my seat. Something was either grinding or coming apart up under there. I pulled off and got out and now the front end looked to be sitting down so low that about 1/3 or more of the front tires were covering the front tires. Luckily there was a camping world about five miles away with a full service center. Camping world can replace the airbags and will check things over under there. Not sure if they can fix major stuff up in the front end or not, we will see. The other question is the brakes, they're mechanical and while they work to stop the coach, this does not seem normal. Do 2000 rv's still come with mechanical brakes? The only other known issue at this time is the thermostat gauge is stuck about 150 and seems to be broke. Asked them to check this out as well. Hope the previous owner didn't fixate it there to avoid me seeing it overheat. Seemed to run fine otherwise.Don't waste your time and money with the air bags and have camping world install the proper per front end weight....HENDERSON SUPER STEER...coilsDon't know what you mean by mechanical brakes as they went out with the Model A Ford. What you have are hydraulic brakes with power assist that is being supplied by the same pump as your power steering is. May not be as easy on the pedal as your vacuum assist car, but still pretty effective, as long as you don't tailgate or even drive anywhere close to anyone in front of you.

Your chassis has power hydraulic brakes. The previous owner told you wrong. Do not drive it any farther than you have to. With the deflated airbags the geometry of tha front suspension is wrong and will cause excessive wear on the inside of the tires. The bags provide assist for the springs and maintain the ride hight.I suggest you do a total brake fluid replacement.

Front end problems on ride home. | Good Sam Community

33 Replies

aadam56
Explorer
Oct 23, 2013
I think you did well for 900.00. The shop has to make something. The springs by themselves should work fine, and its true airbags are a week point in the system that will inevitably go out before the springs do. As another post indicated, Alignment is very important. I would also include good shocks. Old worn shocks will over work your new springs causing them to fatigue early.

On a long tail rv with one back axle, Air bags are good for adjusting positive or negative camber when you change the weight ratio from front to back with a heavy tongue boat or cargo trailer, also adjusting side to side for suspension wear or luggage etc. You cannot let them run too low on air or they will be ruined. I do have a psi monitoring system because I raise the back when I go on dirt roads and cross creeks. With a loaded 16 ft cargo trailer I lower to 30 psi in the front. With the toad I run 60 in the front. (no tongue wt.)
If you decide to add airbags later, Stim, an earlier post said he installed through the bottom A arm without disassembly. My older rig only only has a small hole for the air inlet. I agree with the others about the springs you got, I only had 2 choices from Napa and I got the heavier duty ones, probably not as good as those.

Hope you don’t have too many more surprises like that again… But you probably will, That’s part of the adventure ?
Ps Where but rv.net can you get 4 pages of opinions on a repair question??? Isn’t it great?
Chopperbob
Explorer
Oct 23, 2013
You Need to weigh the front first. The Trek
Was 5180 with just the driver on board.
We got the ss260 springs. Couldnt be
Happier. Of course its only 14800 gvw.
Bob
tropical36
Explorer
Oct 23, 2013
darin338 wrote:
wny_pat wrote:
aadam56 wrote:
Its a p-30 chassi. front end. airbags are inside the coils. that's how mine are. Ive done it one time on my rv.
If he gets the Henderson SuperSteer Coil springs, he doesn't need the air bags ever again. And it will even handle better without the air bags.

That's wfat I'm getting. $900 installed. Seems a bit steep, but this will seal the deal for years to come.

That is a bit steep, since you can have the coil springs at your front door for $350 and the labor cost at any truck shop shouldn't be that much. Maybe with a couple hundred more for alignment, which you'll need also and hopefully it's included for that price. There should be sheet included with the new coils for the alignment specs. as well.
darin338
Explorer
Oct 23, 2013
wny_pat wrote:
aadam56 wrote:
Its a p-30 chassi. front end. airbags are inside the coils. that's how mine are. Ive done it one time on my rv.
If he gets the Henderson SuperSteer Coil springs, he doesn't need the air bags ever again. And it will even handle better without the air bags.

That's wfat I'm getting. $900 installed. Seems a bit steep, but this will seal the deal for years to come.
wny_pat1
Explorer
Oct 23, 2013
aadam56 wrote:
Its a p-30 chassi. front end. airbags are inside the coils. that's how mine are. Ive done it one time on my rv.
If he gets the Henderson SuperSteer Coil springs, he doesn't need the air bags ever again. And it will even handle better without the air bags.
Gjac
Explorer III
Oct 23, 2013
What is your ride height now? You should have about 1 3/4 ins between the lower rubber bumper and the upper A arm. If not try jacking the MH all the way up then inflate your airbags if you still don't get the ride height after you lower the jacks then go with the Henderson super springs. Worn ball joints or other worn front end parts will cause a bad ride also.
Stim
Explorer
Oct 23, 2013
I replaced the worn out air bags on the front of my 1989 Southwind P chassis and the ride was fantastic! I only needed 45psi all the way around.
The bags go in through a hole in the lower A Frame, no need to remove the coils to replace.
Changing the coil springs is overkill, it is a truck chassis designed to carry a lot of weight for many miles!
The brakes should be Hydroboost and if they are working properly you should be able to lock them up if it does not have anti lock brakes.
aadam56
Explorer
Oct 23, 2013
Its a p-30 chassi. front end. airbags are inside the coils. that's how mine are. Ive done it one time on my rv.
tropical36
Explorer
Oct 22, 2013
aadam56 wrote:
Hi,
You just need new heavy duty coils springs AND airbags, a set of shocks. labor should be the same since they have to dis assemble the same things to change the airbags. you don't need a monitoring system. just fill them up to about 60 lbs. and check them when you check your tires like one of the other post said.

The brakes feel like mechanical brakes but with the right power steering fluid and brake fluid they will stop.just have them check them to be safe.
Good Luck and have fun :)

Why are you recommending air bags along with proper and weight selected coil springs and you certainly wouldn't disassemble the coils if you were to just change the airbags? Don't know how many you've done or have seen installed, but I just don't see where you're coming from with these recommendations for the OP, who should be pretty confused as it is by now. Just wondering if you read each and every post before commenting?
aadam56
Explorer
Oct 22, 2013
Hi,
You just need new heavy duty coils springs AND airbags, a set of shocks. labor should be the same since they have to dis assemble the same things to change the airbags. you don't need a monitoring system. just fill them up to about 60 lbs. and check them when you check your tires like one of the other post said.

The brakes feel like mechanical brakes but with the right power steering fluid and brake fluid they will stop.just have them check them to be safe.
Good Luck and have fun :)