Refrigerator & Air Leveling

[Thomas Csibor]

Hello members,

My name is Tom and with Laurie, we just purchased a 2000 Beaver Marquis Amethyst. Purchased in St. Louis , Missouri and drove home to central California. Lots to learn and between this website and the PO we have learned quite a bit , with lots more to go.

I hope someone can answer a couple of questions.


1. The refrigerator was working well on AC when on shore power and Propane on the road. We parked  the coach 2 days ago whne we got home and when I checked the fridge today, neither propane nor ac lights were on, but the "check" light was on. I shut the main switch on the fridge to off, waited a few seconds and turned to on. The propane light came on and the fridge started working. Any thoughts?

2. Regarding suspension. When I bought the coach, I took it into a truck service center to have the alignment checked. Whne doing so, they told me that the ride height was a bit low and they adjusted the valves underneath the coach. The front of the coach looked a bit low, but drove 2000 miles without incident. Then we hit the wonderful roads in California and went through some pretty severe bumps. 100 miles later, every time we hit a dip in the road, the coach felt like it would never stop bouncing. I pulled over and saw that the front bumper was almost to the ground. I used the driver controls and used the AIR and UP controls to bring the front back up. Seems to be holding there. Any thoughts?

Thank you for considering my queries  - I'm sure there will be more :-)

Tom and Laurie

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Tom,
Welcome to the Forum!
The reefer issue could be that the propane flamed out due to dirty burner. Try cleaning the burner with canned air. I'm assuming your batteries are charged as the reefer needs 12-13V to operate and you have sufficient propane in the tank.

The porposing you experienced is due to shocks, not the  air bags. Consider replacing the shocks. The purposing can cause your tires to cup (especially if they are Goodyears), resulting in a vibrating steering wheel and degraded ride.

In travel mode the airbag height should be 10 inches in travel mode. You can check them but don't try adjusting them without blocking the coach body to prevent it from bottoming out if one of the adjusters slip.
Steve

[Thomas Csibor]

Thank you for the reply Steve. I will check the burner as you suggest. The batteries are good and I have 63% in the propane tank.

With respect to the suspension, I drove the first 2000 miles with no issues until I hit some nasty spots on the CA highway. The shocks on the front are brand new Konis and when this happened, the front bumper of the coach was only about 3 inches from the ground.

As a side question to the above suspension issue,if I use the AIR to raise the coach, does the system still adjust the ride height when moving or will it stay aired up as manually set?

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

tom,
Konis are known for not porposing so roads must have been severe. 3" off the deck seems low so I would check air bag height in travel mode.  The HWH system will go to ride height when coach stars moving.
Steve

[Fred Cook]

You may have a problem with the air height adjustment arm. Mine broke off on a previous coach leaving the air bags completely deflated driving down the road.

[Bill Sprague]

The ride height adjustment arm is held in place with a very simple, common clamp.  It may be loose, especially if recently adjusted by someone. 

[Thomas Csibor]

Well folks the suggestions that there is something amiss with the ride height adjustment is bang on. I got under the front of the coach and the rods and little black piece are just dangling in air. Would anyone. Have a picture or diagram of where it all connects? Once reconnected,is the 10 inch height obtained by trial and error or should other procedures be used. I understand  the dangers and precautions that must be followed. Thank you

[Joel Ashley]

Thomas, refer to content in the recent Forum discussion linked below, and try searching here for others regarding the height control valve.
http://beaveramb.org/forum/index.php/topic,7379.msg51939.html#msg51939

Included there is this photo which may provide guidance.
-Joel

[Fred Cook]

Well folks the suggestions that there is something amiss with the ride height adjustment is bang on. I got under the front of the coach and the rods and little black piece are just dangling in air. Would anyone. Have a picture or diagram of where it all connects? Once reconnected,is the 10 inch height obtained by trial and error or should other procedures be used. I understand  the dangers and precautions that must be followed. Thank you

I was able to take my old one off and piece it back together. I then adjusted the new arm and bushing to the same length of the old one and put it on. Worked great! Look for a truck parts store in your area, they should have it in stock.

[Frank Bergamo]

   
    Tom, when I did my  adjustments to all air levelers, I made sure tag axle tires were on ground. Also, I used a piece of 10" long PVC pipe as a measuring device between plates of air bags. As I recall, I could not get the full 10" clearance on front air bags. Keep in mind the front valve controls both front airbags. Also when reinstalling new rubber grommet look for markings where old grommet was installed. This will give you a starting point to install new one. Also as I recall, moving rubber grommet or lengthening it, raises coach, shortening it lowers coach. You will have to do this a few times to get desired height. It would not be a bad idea to check rear bags first to make sure they are at correct height before you adjust front valve. The rear of coach has two valves, one for each side. Same process for rear, only you have two valves to adjust. Keep in mind safety at all times before crawling under coach to make these adjustments. There is very little space under coach if air bags deflate. Hope this helps, Frank.

[Thomas Csibor]

Thank you all fr the information. Frank, is the coach running while you make the adjustments so you can see the results real time?

Tom

[Frank Bergamo]

  Tom, if air pressure is at maximum pressure then you can adjust grommets with coach engine off. Once air dryer relief valve goes off, you are at maximum pressure. I prefer to perform adjustments with coach off so I can hear and see what is going on around me. With motor running it can get distracting by the noise of motor. As I said before safety is of the utmost importance when working under coach. Also, when air pressure drops as you are adjusting grommets you will have to start motor to build air pressure back up. Try to keep air pressure as high as possible when making adjustments. One other thing, make adjustments on as level ground as possible. Hope this helps, Frank.

[Thomas Csibor]

I finally got the leveler rod connectors and got under the coach. Since the leveler arm that connects to the air valve was no longer attached to the air valve and since there are multiple holes in the valve for the rod to go into. would anyone have a picture or advice how the two rods connect and which holes in the valve it needs to go to. I have the coach up and safety stands underneath, just need a little help as to fitment. Thank you. Tom

[Frank Bergamo]

     Tom, if you look at air valve on other side of coach you can hook up connecting rods and rubber grommet in similar fashion. I would also check to see that the other rubber grommet is in good condition, if not replace it also. Hope this helps.