Air ride air bag leak

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Rcoon3
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Oct 13, 2022 11:02 am

Air ride air bag leak

Post by Rcoon3 »

Greetings all, I am a new owner so a 2004 BF 26RSB. We down sized from a 40’ beaver marquis. So far we love the new to us coach. That being said I am working through a few issues. Currently the driver side air bag on rear axle leaks down very fast. Used soapy water and found the bag itself Has large bubbles flowing out of one side. My question is…are these standard run of the mill air bags for a E450 chassis (Air lift of Goodyear)or something special for born free? Thanks in advance :D
Rick and Regina Coon
Mr. Bernie 13 yo mixed breed doggie ❤️
2004 Born Free 26RSB casual elegance
Interlachen, FL
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whemme
Posts: 2110
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2005 8:05 pm

Re: Air ride air bag leak

Post by whemme »

According to my available information your coach should be equipped with Air Lift air bags. The phone number I have for the company is 800-248-0892. A good truck suspension shop should be able to replace your leaking airbag.
Bill Hemme - Spencer, Iowa
E-mail: whemme@earthlink.net
2002 Born Free (Ford E-450 V10) 26' RSB
2016 VW Golf GTI - toad
Pete1122
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2019 12:41 pm

Re: Air ride air bag leak

Post by Pete1122 »

My advice would be to ditch the air bags and purchase the SuperSprings, I gained around 3" of rear lift and my 26RSB drives just as good, maybe better. I understand that BornFree made the switch from Airbags to Supersprings on their newer RV's.
2006 Born Free RSB
Rcoon3
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Oct 13, 2022 11:02 am

Re: Air ride air bag leak

Post by Rcoon3 »

Thanks for the reply’s everyone. Just watched a video on supersprings seems a pretty easy install. Can anyone tell me if the Oem spring pack on these BF 26RSB coaches sag normally?
Rick and Regina Coon
Mr. Bernie 13 yo mixed breed doggie ❤️
2004 Born Free 26RSB casual elegance
Interlachen, FL
perleys
Posts: 117
Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2015 3:45 pm

Re: Air ride air bag leak

Post by perleys »

Pete how much did the Super Springs cost for your BF?
tomzleapin
Posts: 485
Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 9:15 am

Re: Air ride air bag leak

Post by tomzleapin »

My '05 has Firestone bags and they work well. I had an upper bracket break and it wasn't too bad of a job removing it and welding the bracket. I would suggest replacing the bag. Springs do sag after several years. I replaced my shocks two years ago and went with Bilstein on the front and Monroe 555010 on the rear. The Monroe has an added coil spring which will help raise the rear.

Image
Tom
2005 24' RB
Towing 2016 Mini Cooper convertible on tow dolly
New Hope, MN
Pete1122
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2019 12:41 pm

Re: Air ride air bag leak

Post by Pete1122 »

One of the reasons I replaced my Airbags was my brackets started to bend, in fact one almost cracked all he way through, you can see the crack near the lower bolt. I have heard that this is a common problem. You can see also where the brackets would hit, this caused some noise. I paid around $550.00 for the Supersprings and installed them myself. The install was pretty easy, no need to lift the motorhome, just make sure you have the right tool to compress the springs.

The picture below shows the crack in my bracket, and the new replacement Supersprings.

Supersprings SSA47 Leaf Helper Spring
SKU: SSASSA47
VEHICLE: 2005 FORD E-450 SUPER DUTY
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1.jpg (116.91 KiB) Viewed 1275 times
1.jpg
1.jpg (116.91 KiB) Viewed 1275 times
Attachments
2.jpg
2.jpg (68.8 KiB) Viewed 1275 times
2006 Born Free RSB
Rcoon3
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Oct 13, 2022 11:02 am

Re: Air ride air bag leak

Post by Rcoon3 »

Thanks all, I ordered a set of super springs off e-trailer…got the springs several days later but the package was shredded (cardboard) and of course one of the u-bolt clamps was missing. For some reason etrailer is dragging their feet getting me the replacement parts. I like the idea that these springs may provide some sway protection as well. I towed my crv behind for a weekend trip and the backend was quite squirrelly .
Rick and Regina Coon
Mr. Bernie 13 yo mixed breed doggie ❤️
2004 Born Free 26RSB casual elegance
Interlachen, FL
User avatar
ScotManG
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2022 12:05 pm

Re: Air ride air bag leak

Post by ScotManG »

Rcoon3 wrote: Mon Oct 17, 2022 6:14 pm Thanks for the reply’s everyone. Just watched a video on supersprings seems a pretty easy install. Can anyone tell me if the Oem spring pack on these BF 26RSB coaches sag normally?
FWIW... We just bought [September] a 2013 BF 27' RSB [Ford E450 chassis] and it came standard with the SuperSprings from BF. So far, based on what I see, no issues, no sag. I haven't towed though and the handling is good in the trips we have taken so far.
--
Scott & Denise Galloway
South central Pennsylvania
2013 Born Free 27 RSB
Rcoon3
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Oct 13, 2022 11:02 am

Re: Air ride air bag leak

Post by Rcoon3 »

Thanks for the reply and info... Just finished installing SuperSprings... Appears to have raised the rear by several inches. Haven't driven it yet though. Will post results of first drivebwith and without toad.
Rick and Regina Coon
Mr. Bernie 13 yo mixed breed doggie ❤️
2004 Born Free 26RSB casual elegance
Interlachen, FL
Rcoon3
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Oct 13, 2022 11:02 am

Re: Air ride air bag leak

Post by Rcoon3 »

Update…much improved ride and handling after installing suppersprings. Also installed a new set of Bilstein shocks. Headed to Tucson, AZ for a gem show in December/January. Will give a better review upon our return to Florida. 👍
Rick and Regina Coon
Mr. Bernie 13 yo mixed breed doggie ❤️
2004 Born Free 26RSB casual elegance
Interlachen, FL
Pete1122
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2019 12:41 pm

Re: Air ride air bag leak

Post by Pete1122 »

Love it! Thanks for the update!!!
2006 Born Free RSB
Mumsienc
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2022 12:32 pm

Re: Air ride air bag leak

Post by Mumsienc »

I’d love to hear about the install process. What special tools are necessary?
Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Rcoon3
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Oct 13, 2022 11:02 am

Re: Air ride air bag leak

Post by Rcoon3 »

In Arizona now. The trip out was a little squirrelly. I am towing a Honda CRE and the back end of the motorcoach does sway excessively. We dropped the road and crazed from Benson, AZ to quartzite for the weekend. Road very nice with minimal swaying. So I am thinking two things, I need a different hitch as the BF own hitch is too high for the Honda. I believe when I return to FL I will install larger front and back sway bars. Not sure if I mentioned this previously but prior to the trip i installed new tires and shocks. Hope this helps others.
Rick and Regina Coon
Mr. Bernie 13 yo mixed breed doggie ❤️
2004 Born Free 26RSB casual elegance
Interlachen, FL
tomzleapin
Posts: 485
Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 9:15 am

Re: Air ride air bag leak

Post by tomzleapin »

For your hitch you need a dropped ball mount. Your tow bar should be level when hitched up. I'm using one with a 10" drop. Here's some available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=drop+hitch&c ... _sb_noss_1

This one has an 8" drop:
Image
Tom
2005 24' RB
Towing 2016 Mini Cooper convertible on tow dolly
New Hope, MN
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