1996 Itasca Sunrise 31rq F53 Project Suspension Upgrades 5

[FrankenHome]

Installing and routing the air hoses wasn't difficult but it took the most time because I made sure that each hose was protected from sharp edges, couldn't come in contact with hot parts like the exhaust system or had too much bend that could cause the hose to eventually fail. If you're considering installing airbags you should decide how you want them to function. The Firestone kits come with a schrader air valve for each airbag. This allows each airbag to be manually inflated separately so you can adjust the left and right ride height as needed. Do this on all four airbags and you can manually adjust the left and right, front and rear ride heights as needed. This is also supposed to be the best method to reduce rocking and swaying from crosswinds and 18 wheelers. The down side is that you have to manually inflate each airbag externally and you can't monitor the air pressures. I decided that I wanted the convenience of making on the fly air pressure adjustments so I got two air hose "T"s and tied the left and right rear airbags together and the left and right front airbags together. I now have one hose from the rear and one hose from the front that I routed up through the front firewall through the hole for the main wiring harness on the drivers side. I then mounted the compressor on the backside of the left storage compartment. The compressor is water resistant but not water proof so you want to make sure that it's located where it's somewhat protected. The air intake filter must be located so that it can't draw in water. For that I drilled a hole through my floor under my jackknife sofa and mounted the air intake filter under the sofa. The hose from the compressor to the control panel was routed through the firewall next to the other two hoses. I really didn't have a good place to mount the control panel under the dash so I mounted it vertically on the left kick panel under the dash. It's angled slightly so I can see the gauge and reach the toggle switches while I'm driving. Wiring up the compressor is straight forward. The switches on the control panel activate a relay that sends power to the compressor. To finish the job I covered the hoses with protective plastic wiring harness wrap. Early last August I took it on a 3000 mile road test and it was fantastic. I found that no more that 20 psi in the front airbags and 40 psi in the rear is perfect. More than that and I get too much bounce from bumps. The bone jarring hits I had before is completely gone, my ride height is correct and my old coach drives smooth and straight. What used to be white knuckled driving at times is now enjoyable cruising. It was definitely worth it!

[legomybago]

You are going to be SO much more happy with your new toys installed. Should be night and day difference. One of the main reasons for having individual air lines to each bag, is help identify which bag/or system is leaking. Over time, this WILL happen. But you did a nice clean thorough install, congrats