Author Topic: Losing Air  (Read 2850 times)

Mark Askew

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Losing Air
« on: October 31, 2019, 05:04:04 PM »
We arrived home 3 weeks ago from our summer trip where we purchased our 2005 Beaver. We backed our new purchase in unloaded, put the slides in and left the air up in travel mode. We didn’t think it was necessary to use the air leveling system as we probably didn’t need to be completely level. Our coach has been losing air ever since. I periodically start it up and the low on air sensor alert on the instrument panel stays on until the air reaches the proper pressure. This has happened 3 times since we arrived home. My question is, This isn’t normal right??? If a air pressure system is full and just sitting it should not be losing air. We are very new to air systems and any help/suggestions would be appreciated.

Mike Shumack

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Re: Losing Air
« Reply #1 on: October 31, 2019, 05:21:27 PM »
All coaches leak air. It's normal. I think if you can hold 90 psi for a week or two, that would be considered very good.

My coach loses all air pressure in about three days now (it used to hold 90 psi for a week). I've been looking for leaks - and need to do some more investigation, as so far I have not found anything. There's a lot of air line and fittings and valves to leak, and most are hard to get to to check. If you look at the manufacturer's specifications for a valve (any valve with an exhaust port) the specs will state that some leakage is acceptable (and they give a leakage amount over time). So add up all the acceptable leaks, and the small leaks from fittings and such, and you find your air tanks draining quickly.

You can spray all the hoses, fittings and valves with a mix of soapy water, look for the bubbles, and hopefully find and fix the biggest leaks, but there will always be leaks.
« Last Edit: October 31, 2019, 05:29:29 PM by Mike Shumack »

Gerald Farris

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Re: Losing Air
« Reply #2 on: October 31, 2019, 06:24:41 PM »
Mark,
Like Mike said, a slight air leak is normal, and it is normally more trouble to locate a slight leak and repair it than it is worth. You did not say what type of leveling system you have. If you have air leveling, you can automatic air level the coach and the electric air leveling compressor will compensate for a slight leak and keep the system aired up. If you have hydraulic leveling, you can just level the coach and no worry about the air pressure loss. However, if you have a rapid loss in air pressure where you loose pressure in a few hours or less instead of several days, you are over working the engine driven compressor, and you should look at repairing the leak.

Gerald

Joel Ashley

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Re: Losing Air
« Reply #3 on: October 31, 2019, 10:30:42 PM »
As Gerald indicates, use the automatic air leveling feature when parking overnight or longer and, if the auxiliary compressor is working okay, it will cycle air in as needed to maintain level.  That said, by virtue of its physical location (underneath near the entry steps) that original compressor is susceptible to failure either electrically or aerobically unless replaced by a better quality unit.

When I store our rig, on ground leveled at least in one direction, I simply dump the airbags (front wheels straight!).  That way no one corner can have less support than another, minimizing body twist and thus no risk of the windshield cracking.

Joel
Joel and Lee Rae Ashley
Clackamas, Oregon
36.9 ft. 2006 Monterey Ventura IV, aka"Monty Rae"
C9 400HP Cat