Air Suspension - how to use it?

[UFO]

The Chausson Allegro 83, first registered early 2206, that we have just taken delivery of has air suspension.

There is a display on the dashboard, with left and right; pressure guages and air release buttons and a switch to increase the pressure. The pump is under the drivers seat.

Everything works but there is no manual or instructions.

As I've no experience or knowledge of air suspension - how do you use it?

 

[Nabsim]

That looks the same as mine. I just leave mine set just under 4 bar. The compressor blows up both sides together then balance by releasing air if one is higher than the other. Mine is AS and after contacting them they said to use around 3.5bar S

 

[Val54]

Trial and error, it depends on road conditions weather etc and how susceptible your van is to corner roll and side sway from HGV's. As Nabsim says, 3.5 to 4 is a good benchmark for most conditions but we will go 6 plus in windy conditions and up to 10 if we need to avoid crunching the rear overhang on ramps etc. Whatever you do, don't drive with the system fully deflated otherwise there is a good chance of damaging the airbags.

 

[r4dent]

Have you tried googling for the user manual?

 

[witzend]

Mines set to 2.5 bar seemed right when I fitted it took some lift off the springs so left it like that 10yrs now
But mine is only air assist not full air ?

 

[Val54]

There's a bit more info in the sales brochure ...........

AS Air Suspension

 

[Nabsim]

I contacted AS a couple of years or so back to ask about settings as it was already fitted when I bought the van. They sent me this document, mine is fitted to a Sprinter based van, single rear axle so may not apply to others. Also told me mine had been fitted for 12 years so longevity was goos, still going strong

 

[Val54]

Phil and Cath at AS are very helpful, they've done a few jobs for us over the years including fitting airbags so no problem if you need to ring them.

 

[Drover]

Thats a air assist system. It replaces the rubber shock above the spring on the rear Ducato suspension.
I run mine around 2 bar.
It is fitted to uprate the rear axle weight .
The rubber bump stop is part of the suspension. It is not a bump stop as most people think.
If the compressor fails you can increase the pressure with a air line on the two valves.

 

[UFO]

Thank you for sgaring your experience.

From the AS Operating Instructions.
- Minimum at least 3bar to avoid damaging the air bellows.
- Maximum permitted pressure 6-7bar, for parking and manoeuvring only, not during transit.

The user consensus from here is in normal conditions between 3.5 and 4 bar and up to 6 bar in windy conditions.

 

[Nabsim]

Cant say windy conditions make any difference to me, at least not when moving. I think I may have better ground clearance on my Sprinter based van than other makes or AlKo chassis as the only place I ever pumped it up for extra clearance wa the car park down the steep ramp opposite the cafe at St Mary Loch. Charlies Hymer couldn't get down it but I went down without changing anything and it slightly scraped, pumped iy up to get out when we left and no noise at all.

I had changed it in the past just seeing what it did but since I got the recommended settings I don't change or need to change.

 

[n brown]

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