My Barth had a leaking air bag inside the right front coil and the front end felt really soft.
After reading some of the posts about replacing the coils with heavier springs and deleting the airbags, that's the route I decided to take. I bought and installed a set of 5700 lb. rated springs and it raised the bottom of the front bumper up about 1& 1/2 inches. The ride is firmer, but not stiff by any means. Now , instead of bouncing up and down and rolling, the front end seems much more stable whenever taking curves or going over a dip in the road. Cost: $244 plus the frontend alignment I'm having done next Tues. I have one airbag that is good if anyone wants it. I think it's an AirRide rated at 1000 lbs. Just pay shipping.

1989 Barth Regal
453 chevy P-30

Sounds like the solution we have been looking for! Can you share the name of the springs and where you purchased them with me. My motorhome has two bad air bags and I am tired of the soft mushy swaying. Thanks!

I was thinking of the same thing. I think Super Steer makes custom coils, did you use them?

Air bags are not air bags!

The Gillig chassis is no where similar to a P30 (something)The Gillig chassis is a FULL air suspension chassis where as the P30 (something) uses air bags as an auxiliary support for the weak front end springs.

All Barths seem to be, are, different. What works for one will not work for another. Replacing an airbag (if it is holding air) on a Gillig chassis will not improve ride quality. It is the main component of the suspension system. The airbags on the P30 system is an auxilary "helper spring" that when goes out will allow the front to drop and ride quality will worsen.

Front springs replacement to eliminate the air bags for the P30 chassis and variants of it are available from many different sources and certainly work better than replacing the airbag although replacing the airbags will restore original ride quality as designed.

HTH

And some times we mix and match!

86Barth has a tag axle with full air suspension, no metal springs at all. As delivered, the drive axle was steel only (leaf springs), while the front coils have air assist bags in them.

I added air assist bags to the rear axle. Great improvement... The ride height is restored to normal and the springs are softer for the first part of their travel.

OTOH is appears to me that GM cheaped out on the P chassis, using the same coil springs for a wide range of loads and compensating with air bags to achieve correct height. Problem is, the springs are already quite stiff and the air bags inside make them even stiffer.

I'm thinking of replacing my coils to be able to get rid of the assist bags. I believe it will give me better suspension compliance and improve the front end ride. The custom springs are available with spring rates matched to the front end weight. Also may have progressive rate for softer initial rates, etc. Stock springs are standard coils.

The P30 folks I've talked have mostly been pleased with the custom springs. One of these days...

I have air bag assist on the rear leaf springs of my Breakaway. BUT they were not installed correctly and in the wrong place. They are mounted ahead of the axle and in order to increase the ride height I have to run 60-80 PSI. At that point the harshness increases a lot.

During my trip to Alaska I experimented with various pressures and found that with only 10 PSI the ride was SO much better. Of course the ride height was low. I wasn't carrying the weight that I normally carry so it wasn't an issue.

After my Texas run this October I will install a 1 1/2 inch thick plates between the spring perches and the frame to get back the ride height without the airbags. With the 10 foot over hang I need all the height I can get.

I could re-arch the springs but that is a lot of work an they are heavy, not sure how long that would last either.

If I could relocate the air bags to the rear of the axle, it would certainly be better but shocks and other frame mounted things are in the way.

Steve, I want to go to the spring-only front, but maybe keep the air bags in the leafs in the back, even though they're flat. The ride is better than most, but nowhere near what it could be. This a 28 foot Euro single rear 10500 gross. I'd like to get some input as to what others have done and how it worked out for them.

Good to hear.
I am having springs installed in my 1997 also and should be out of the shop this week.
I bought this baby back in the summer. Been getting her ready ever since. Now she is ready for the road.
The wiper motor were the hardest to fix. I had to re-wire and put each wiper on different switches.
Anyone have this problem
I'm a rookie and learning as I go

Sorry , I haven't been on the site for quite a while, or I would've responded sooner. I got a set of 5700 lb front coils from Husky Spring Co. They're website is www.huskyspring.com Super Steer is another brand but they're about $100 higher. They have good installation instructions and alignment specs for the Chevy P30 chassis at Super Steer. My 25 foot Barth weighs 4880 front and 6490 rear. Since the rear airbags are not leaking, I left them alone. Handling is much improved. Just got 2 new windshields installed this weekend and replaced some missing rivets on the front. Next project is replacing gaskets between exhaust pipes and exhaust manifold. From the looks of the rusty bolts, I'll probably end up drilling out the studs after I ring them off.