Air assisted suspension?

My van was in for its MOT today ( which it passed without even an advisory bless her )...

While I was there I was chatting with the mechanic about reindexing the rear suspension as my interior build is quite heavy and when we go away with all the kit the old girl is on the bumpstops.

He sugested it would be better to fit pneumatic air assistance springs ( airbags ) to the rear that would then be adjustable depending on load.

He seemed to think there would already be a kit out there that would essentially replace the trailing arm bumpstop ?

Has anyone any knowledge? I've looked and can see many kits but nothing for the T2.

 

Call Ben Lewis at 'Evil Ben's' in Chasewater, Cornwall.
Tony

 

Thanks Tony, I take it he is a guru / supplier?

 

Guru for T1, T2, and Citroen 2CV all air suspension.
He did my resto. but I resisted the offers to lower it!
He's well known in the industry.
Tony

 

Thanks,

No desire to lower it at all - just manage the weight better. There's some super cheap kits available on eBay etc for many other vehicles but everything I have found so far for vw t2's is big money. I think my mechanic friend may have been thinking this is somewhat simpler / cheaper than it is. I'll give Ben a call and see what he has to say.

 

Bens's phone # 07929 726351.
Just mention Tony and 'Dan's bus'.
Tony

 

he might have just mean air shox as fitted to a lot of american pickup trucks etc, monroe load levelers are one that springs to mind. They are not stand alone suspension units but replacement shox with an air chamber that you can inflate at a petrol station via a conveniently situated schrader valve .. they act as a shock but the air chamber basically an air sleeve as opposed to an air bag, takes a portion of the load and levels the vehicle.. You could fit a small 12 v viair compressor in the van and a simple air pressure valve and plumb the shox in so they will always be maintained at the desired pressure / ride height ... A lot cheaper than a bag system.. A lot of air ride bugs are set up on air shox... not he best idea as they are designed to supplement the suspension not replace it... but bags have come a long way and better set ups for type 1s are out there now....

example : http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1985-2005...483761?hash=item3a9be38a71:g:dR4AAOSw-jhUEEP-

 

That's what I'm thinking having dug a little deeper...... will call Ben though and see what the story is.

 

you can also raise it a spline on the torsion bar, a lot easier with the adjustable rear spring plates ... probably even cheaper than a set of basic air shox

 

Or even cheaper is not to take so much stuff

These vans were delivery van so should be able to take weight are you sure that there's not something wrong

Has it been lowered and the bump stops not altered to suit

 

there's a guy on the earlybay forum who has gabriel (i think) air shocks. As above, pump them up either with a compressor or at a petrol station and they give you a ride height increase.


http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=21827&hilit=Mycha&start=380

 

I had a Westy with air adjustable rear shocks fitted, there must be an off the shelf option.

 

I suggested this a while ago when he suggested a 1600 wasn't powerful enough for his needs and received a torrent of abuse - nice

He seems to have an odd way of problem solving - I'm out ...

Again

 

why is your interior build so heavy? your probably stuck with what you have but the aim with interiors should be to keep the weight to a minimum. Possibly you could take a critical look at what you take with you. Is it worth loading the van differently and having more weight up front or between the wheels so its distributed more evenly. I have to admit there was a time when I took a great deal of kit with me. But only for longer holidays. The temptation is to take everything you'd take for two weeks just for a weekend trip. I opted for a small trailer in the end as that was far more practical getting too and from the campsite and gave me some storage so I could leave stuff there when going out for days in the bus.

 

http://www.vintagev-dubs.com/shop/1968-79-vw-bus-complete-air-ride-kit/
but you need deep pockets
Agree with Dicky though, the best option may just be a refresh of the OG suspension plus a tow bar & trailer or roof bag for lightweight clothing etc....

 

The rear suspension does sag over time
I'd replace the rear torsion bar donut rubbers and adjust the arms on the splines to regain stock height.

 

That's what I was discussing when the mechanic made his suggestion. I already have new donuts and shocks on the shelf ready to go. Do the torsion bars themselves need to be replaced or are they usually ok to be adjusted on the splines?

 

It's a oak interior from SJH joinery - plus fridge plus hob plus plus.....

Definitely not removing it.

Weekend trips are no issue, it is as you say the two week marathons with awnings and bikes and everything else.

A trailer is not currently an option as my garage is full of camper and where I live one does not leave trailers anywhere else unless you don't want it any more.

I've seen that there was a VW heavy duty damper which looked like a coilover for the rear.....are these still avaialable anywhere? They might solve the issue.

 

I see your issues. Im not up on suspension mods myself!