How often should air bags be changed?

[tuga]

My 1999 Newell is now 10 years old. I have noticed that the air bags are starting to show little hair-line cracks around the top & bottom of the bag itself. I know that many people change their tires every 5 to 7 years because the sun and aging causes these little cracks in the sidewalls. I was just wondering if the same applies to air bags?

John C, would you give us Newell's opinion on this?

[HoosierDaddy]

Hi Tuga,
I just take my coach in to a shop annually to have everything on the bottom checked. Air bag inspection is part of the process. If there is any concerns as to their condition we just replace them. They don't endure the same abuse as tires so I think they last longer.

[Richard and Rhonda]

Tuga,

My 95 has a couple more birthdays than yours, and I also see the micro crackes you mention. As part of my ongoing battle with air leaks, those bags have been coated numerous times with soap solution and never have I detected a leak in the bag itself. The rubber is not going to get the UV load that tires get, so they are susceptible to the same degradation. The Ultraviolet is what really kills the rubber.

I am not aware of any recommendations on frequency of replacement that says any thing other than "when needed".

Maybe some of the guys with more vintage coaches will chime in on either still having the originals or when they found it necessary to replace

[fulltiming]

I noticed the same small cracking on my air springs so I had Newell check them out last year. They indicated that they had no concern with their condition and they did not recommend replacing them on my '92.

[chockwald]

As near as I can tell after reviewing the folder of repair invoices I inherited for my 1982 Newell, the airbags are the originals, and so far no leaks.

[tuga]

Thanks for the answers guys, I purchased 2 spare air bags; 1 for the front and 1 for the drive axle. Based on these answers, I will keep my original air bags on my coach checking them every time I grease the coach. In the mean time, if I do have an air bag failure I will have a spare of each size on board.

[fulltiming]

Sounds like a great plan Tuga. Having a spare of anything that can put on the side of the road and be somewhat difficult to find can be a real blessing.

[encantotom]

out of curiosity, do you mind sharing what each airbag cost?

thanks

tom

[tuga]

Tom,

The front air bag was $231 (Newell's price) and the drive axle air bag was $319. I purchased these as spares. If I decide to change them I will check prices on the internet first. I feel that with a little shopping I could probably find replacement air bags for about half of Newell's price. Listing the part #'s for the air bags would be futile because of the vintage diffence in the coaches.

[encantotom]

thanks for giving us the price. i must admit it is WAY more than i thought they would be. i thought my local suspension place told me 100 bucks, but that was without knowing for sure what they were. i wont know until i need to have one replaced.

thanks again

tom

[my38special]

My 1983 Newell recently found out the hard way that air bags last about 25 years - luckily it happened while sitting in storage (after returning from a trip). When checking on my bus, I found it leaning to one side. I soon discovered that one of the rear bags was leaking. The rubber wall was quite badly decayed showing the cords underneath. As I checked the other bags, I found they "only" had bad cracking; however, I obviously replaced them all. If you're curious, they cost me about $125 each.

[tuga]

38Special,

What was your source for the air bags? A phone number would be handy also.

Thanks!

P.S. Well guys, I guess we can enter in our maintenance logs to change the air bags every 25 years!

[Richard and Rhonda]

Tuga,

I use these folks for most stuff like that. Also for oil filters, coolant, and air fittings.

I see they have shops in Lou. http://www.truckpro.com/

The prices seem reasonable to me on what I have bought from them.

[ABnormal]

Tuga,

All of this discussion made me begin thinking of my recent experience. I too had asked 2 different RV facilities about replacement and was told it is not necessary. I believe one should also consider what kind of failure might occur.

A slow leak is a nuisance, but can be repaired ASAP. A rapid and total failure, like a blowout, is going to have more serious consequences. This past summer I had the misfortune of a blowout on the right rear. It took out both airbags and 3 hoses. Total loss of air, but I was able to get to the shoulder before the brakes locked up. Total bill for a tire change and towing was $700. I also learned you can not even turn off the engine when this happens. It took the repairman 2 days to find replacement bags, so this is not something that could be repaired on site.

This was an extreme case, but I may re-think replacing all of the bags anyway. I would hate to find out the hard way what could happen in a serious failure. (and if it can happen, it will happen to me)

Larry P. in KC
1987 Coach #130