Air bags

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myface

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Joined
Jan 10, 2020
Posts
14
Location
Green Cove Springs FL
Hi all. New to RV. I purchase 2001 Winnebago Brave SE 29a a week ago. Does this vehicle come with air bags?. My front is sitting low and I took to RV dealer. He inspected the springs and shocks. I was told that my springs are good, but my shocks are bad and I need air bags for springs. There was no air bags when I purchase the vehicle. To mine understanding, some come with air bags and some not.
 
The Workhorse P32 chassis coaches like yours originally came with helper air bags in the front coil springs, however over the years many people have also upgraded to Super Steer brand (and other), stiffer no air bag front springs to improve the ride.  Of course the other possibility is that the airbags failed and someone either removed them or they fell apart, it seems these helper airbags are typically good for around 25,000 miles or so before wearing out.  They are fairly easy to replace, and can be done with an hour or so worth of labor.

See this video of a guy doing it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqASXAhrdSE (note it is even easier with a handheld vacuum pump of the type used to vacuum bleed brakes to roll up the airbag.)  I had to do this 500 miles from home a couple of years ago, the hardest part is removing the old failed air bag, which it sounds like you no longer have.

p.s. the P32 chassis naturally sits in a way that appears a little nose down, there are specific measurements you can take with spacing to the bump stops to determine if it is sitting at the correct height or not.
 
Standard shocks would not affect ride height. Shocks will prevent the bouncing of the springs and settle them down. Shocks will increase life expectancy of the springs.

The front end will look low if you have little fuel in the tank, little fresh water on board, empty holding tanks and no personal cargo onboard.

I would recommend replacing the shocks as age will indicate it is time. I would also suggest to re- evaluate the front end being low once you fill with fuel, water and cargo. You may find that the front end will appear better uniformed.

Some of the winnebagos used air bags and some did not however Issac would be a better source of knowledge on that subject. My 2001 has bags but even when I have the bags set properly, if I am empty of fuel, water and cargo, my front appears a little low. Most of that is from the rear being high from lack of load.
 
I am full of everything. On back, I have extra generator - the Onan is giving me a problems. Still low. Waiting for a call from dealer for repair appointment.
 
You may well need new shocks, but that has nothing to do with the suspension height or spring sag. Shocks control bouncing, not  height.

As far as I can tell from Winnie brochures, all the 2001 Brave models were built on the Workhorse P32 chassis, so Isaac-1's advice is spot on.  Your front coil springs have air bags and odds are they have sprung leaks after 19 years, so replacement is very likely needed.

I'd shop around for shops to do the chassis service - there is no particular reason to go to an RV dealer for that and they are often more expensive than truck or suspension repair shops.
You can download the 2001 Brave brochure from the Winnebago site.

https://winnebago.com/brochure-archive?year=2001&model=brave
 

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