air bags

[express1]

Do more or less coaches have four (4) air bags in front?
Tuga spotted this and said it seemed unusual.

[fulltiming]

I know that the Newell coaches starting in 1990 has four air bags per axle. This practice continued until Newell switched to the ZF front suspension.

[tuga]

My coach has only 2 air bags on the steer axle. They are huge air bags, but there is only 2 instead of 4. Maybe it is because of the independent front suspension! Or maybe because of the slides! ?????

[fulltiming]

Tuga, I knew that the ZF IFS had only 2 air bags on the front but apparently all of the IFS (independent front suspension) coaches changed back to 2 bags rather than 4 on the front. Do you have 4 bags on the drive axle and 4 bags on the tag axle?

[Richard and Rhonda]

The construction of the IFS somewhat dictates two large bags centered in the A frame.

The parallel beam suspension used on the straight axles is much more conducive to four air bags.

[tuga]

Tuga, I knew that the ZF IFS had only 2 air bags on the front but apparently all of the IFS (independent front suspension) coaches changed back to 2 bags rather than 4 on the front. Do you have 4 bags on the drive axle and 4 bags on the tag axle?


Michael,

I have 4 bags on the drive and 2 bags on the tag. So I have a total of 8 bags. I just changed 4 of them and purchased 4 more to be mounted at a later date. I will mount them when I recover from the cost of the Aqua Hot tank replacement which will be done by Newell Monday July 27th. Ouch!

I feel that it is good to change the bags every 10 years. They start to have little cracks like the tires do. I know that some people run the air bags for 20+ years but I had one blow out while I was parked and I would hate to experience that while driving so I will change them every 10 years.

[Richard and Rhonda]

Tuga,

Was the air bag that failed the one that got sprayed with hydraulic fluid from the steering box?

[fulltiming]

My air bags do have small cracks in them. I asked Newell to specifically look at them about 2 years ago and they said that the cracks I was seeing were not a problem although as Wally would say, you can't replace stuff too often.

[tuga]

Tuga,

Was the air bag that failed the one that got sprayed with hydraulic fluid from the steering box?

Richard,

The bag that burst was sprayed with hydraulic fluid from a leaking hose that operated the bedroom slide room. The steer axle bags have never been sprayed with hydraulic fluid. I'm sure that the oil bath was what caused the air bag to blow on the driver's side drive axle bag, but I feel that after 10 years new rubber is a good investment. I am also going to change my brake chambers for the same reason.

When a bag blows you are dead in the water and if it happens on the side of the road you have a real mess on your hands. You are at the mercy of a tow truck driver who may or may not know how to handle a Newell. I was lucky; mine blew in an RV park that had a service center across the street!

I look at it this way: change them at 10 years old in the safety and comfort of a repair shop or have the coach towed ($$$$$) and then have them changed by Goober's Truck Service. I like the former!

See you & Rhonda Tuesday!

[glenfoxman]

Airtight bags help you save your bag space. Very useful for packing thick coats and bedding.

But the only problem is that you can not easily get access to a vacuum cleaner during your travel.
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