Our Barth 25 footer had a motorcycle rack on the back and now it does again. The good news is the previous owner had put helper springs on the back but this is also the bad news.

While the coach handles very well it rides like a hard tail Harley. Fillings fall out of the teeth of anyone foolish enough to venture aft when we are driving. Objects on the counter tops descirbe strange parabolas as they arc off to sure doom. No need to put quarters in the Barth bed it comes with its own magic fists, no whimpy magic fingers in our Barth bed.

So what sould I do?

Will adding air bags help?

I want something that will help with normal driving, we pulled a trailer last week. My guess is about 200 to 300 lbs load on the front of the trailer and this made no differance in the ride.

Thank you:

Timothy



[This message has been edited by timnlana (edited October 10, 2005).]

Wow, it sounds like it may be on the SNUBBERS?????

Dale

What are snubbers?

Dale:

As I look at my notes maybe I did not say things clearly, this is with no load on the back, so it is not bottoming out.

If the snubbers are the hard rubber stops we have plenty of clearance.



[This message has been edited by timnlana (edited October 10, 2005).]

Tim, you must have the only pee that doesn't sag in the rear. Does it sit high without the bike?

Change out the helper springs and put in airbags. If you do that then you can add air when you have a heavy load and let it out under normal conditions. The best of both worlds.

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http://www.truckroadservice.com/

Bill H:

It appears to sit level, unloaded and with the trailer. The trailer is a two wheel utility trailer that I had the Harley in and a bunch of other camping junk. Connected and loaded I could not lift the front of the trailer, farily good load and the Barth dropped an inch in the rear at the most. I have not used your document to check how high the coach is but the wheel well clearance appears the same front and rear.

Bill:

Going just air bags sounds like a good idea or more to the point it parallels my initial thoughts. Is there a brand you suggest I check out?

Timothy



[This message has been edited by timnlana (edited October 10, 2005).]

I've had Firestone Ride-Rites on a couple applications including the current Barth. They work OK & are within the capability of a shade tree mechanic to install.

I would, however, leave the spring changes to a pro, unless you're just talking about bolt-on helper springs.

I would agree with Bill on lightening up your springs and using air bags. The coach should sit level with springs alone, and sag with the bike. Then raise with the air bags. I use Air Lift bags on my drive axle and am very happy with them. They are a good company to deal with if you need small parts.

Not having any airsprings on my Barth I'm not as qualified to advise as someone who has installed them on Barths. Anybody want to help out.

I would check them all out and take a recommendation or two from a fellow Barth owner. Don't get those rubber helper bags (timbren I think) as there ride is rather ruff.

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http://www.truckroadservice.com/

[This message has been edited by Bill (edited October 11, 2005).]

I've used Timbren springs, & I too would stay away from them. They are inexpensive & effective, but they're not air springs & aren't adjustable. Your ride will be stiffer yet.

I've had no experience with Air Lifts, but bill h likes them, so they must be good. A lot of Air Lifts & RideRites are sold, so both must be OK.

Do a Google search and you'll probably find pictures of both

[This message has been edited by olroy (edited October 11, 2005).]

I put Airlift brand on the rear of my 24' P-30 last year....One of my better investments and an afternoon DIY project.

Because of a saggy left rear spring, it needs about 10psi differential between bags (35 vs. 45 psi) to level the coach, but I haven't noticed any adverse handling affects so I'll probably procrastinate in getting the leaf re-arched until header/exhaust system time......

You CAN add too much air and get a stiff ride, but mid-range (50psi+/- works well for me, and can always be adjusted for loads.

Since "level" is the goal, and psi measurement is merely a related indicator, here's a non-rocket science suggestion:

1. Find a level spot on pavement.

2. Add air to your LOWEST corner to make sure you have minimum sufficient air NOT to chafe the bag (I used 20psi). (All bag manufacturers advise that too low or no pressure is the biggest & fastest bag killer)

3. Add sufficient air to the other bags to level the coach, side-to-side & front-to-rear..... A 4'-6' carpenter's level on the exterior horizontal trim extrusions works fine.

4. When leveled, measure wheel-well flange to pavement dimension on both rear wheels - they should be the same. Same for the front, although the actual dimension may be different from the rears due to wheel-well cut-out design.

5. Using a promo-grade yardstick, cut the stick at the longest dimension - probably the rears. This is now your reference stick for level ride. Since bags always lose air and not gain air, it will be necessary to slightly bend and pry the stick under the wheel well flange anytime you are not at the level ride height.

6. I mounted my air valves right in front of the wheel well, so it's a simple matter to pry the stick in place and just add air until the stick falls away of its own lack of support, i.e.: proper pressure & proper height have been achieved. No extra hassle with an air gauge, no adding air incrementally & checking, no need to bleed air for over-inflation, etc.

7. Since my front vs. rear wheel wells have slightly different cuts ('bout 7/8"), and therefore different measurements to the ground, I just made a compensating notch in half of the top end of the stick, labeling them "F" and "R" with a magic marker.

No more having to remember which bag gets how-much air to be theoretically level....I just add air until the stick falls. K.I.S.S.......It works for me, and my yardstick was about 350 bucks less than a full-blown auto-leveling system!

Innovation in action!!! Great idea, Lee.

My genset is on the left. My holding tank is on the left. My water tank is on the right. My gas tank is in the center.

All of these change except the genset, so air bag pressure going out is different from the trip home.

quote:

Originally posted by timnlana:
Bill H:

I have not used your document to check how high the coach is but the wheel well clearance appears the same front and rear.


Timothy

Tim, the GM ride height charts appear to be different than my coach. I am still recovering from knee surgery and am unable to get underneath for accurate observation, but something is not right with them. I presently use the trim strip on the side of my body as a level reference. It is level with the frame rails.

"All of these change except the genset, so air bag pressure going out is different from the trip home."............

That's why I like the Magic-Stick method Bill.......Anytime I feel the rig is out-of-trim due to changing loads, I just do a walk around with my trusty Magic Stick...If it clears the fender well, THAT corner is good....If I need to bend it and put it in compression, I'll add air in that corner until the stick falls over......PSI is a non-issue, as I've already got a historical benchmark of what it takes to level things.

'Course, this all assumes tire pressures are not contributing to ride height....If that's an issue, a Magic Stick & airbags ain't gonna gonna solve the problem correctly!