BAC Forum
General Boards => Technical Support => Topic started by: Michael Bacon on November 13, 2023, 11:50:28 PM
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I need assistance, we have a new to us 2008 Beaver Contessa w/C9 - 28,300 miles.
I’m told I need new airbags(8) and shocks (it does appear they are original). We live in Wyoming will spend (3) months in Arizona so would like to take it there for the repair (leave it and then pick it up early January when we travel down). The coach is currently in Las Vegas (long story!).
Any assistance direction would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Mike
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Mike, if you make sure you're logged in, go to the Home tab above, then choose "Private BAC Members Only" from the General Boards list, then "Service Provider Guide", and click the "RV Service Providers Guide" link on Steve's note, it will download a pdf you can open. There are many shops listed under Arizona, and you can see whether members here had good or bad experiences and how long ago. Others of those here may respond directly to your query.
That said, it is uncommon that a coach with so few miles on it should need either bags or shocks. The exception would be had they been damaged in some way. Personal experience, myself and others here, would deem the recommendation of Henderson's Line Up in Grants Pass, Oregon. They are the go-to experts with anything motorhome chassis, and BAC sponsors. It's probably not likely that you'd want to go that far by the sound of it, so hopefully other options will be provided here. Henderson's (and I) would go with Koni shocks, assuming you don't already have them, not so much as because yours have worn out, but rather as an upgrade. I noticed the difference when I changed from the factory ones (Bilsteins?), but I also added other Henderson services and products that contributed to a much improved ride and handling.
https://www.hendersonslineup.com
Joel
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Joel
Thank you for the quick response!
As mentioned in my communication, this is my first diesel pusher. I’ll make a long story short if I can. I bought this coach from a private individual in Las Vegas. Previous owner did not have the coach service regularly and I decided to leave it here to have annual maintenance done on the chassis and coach. I left it here for the better part of two months, they did do the maintenance on the chassis as it relates to oil changes, etc. During the inspection. they found the items I mentioned earlier. They say they’re having trouble finding the parts.? In truth, I don’t think they look very hard. I picked the wrong service center and that’s on me. So now I’m trying to understand what’s real and what’s not. Trying to arrange a discussion with the techs tomorrow to understand how they determine the status of the airbags and shocks. We have our winter escape from Wyoming planned (including the Beaver gathering at Quartzsite in January) and I’m trying to get all the maintenance items completed.
Thanks again!
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Arizona is a large state with many firms that work on RVs. I have used a couple of RV repair firms in Yuma. Two years ago I had Chassis Dynamics in Yuma replace our four front airbags, steering linkage, and kingpins. Chassis Dynamics does the work on most of the buses and heavy trucks in the Yuma area. The firm said if I sourced the replacement hardware and paid cash, then I could save substantial money by eliminating their parts markup and credit risk. I found the kingpins and bearings at a local truck shop, found the airbags online in Los Angeles, and found the steering linkage through an RV dealer in Michigan. Plus, Yuma is only 76 miles south of the Roadrunner BLM STVA near Quartzsite.
Phoenix has several RV repair firms too. And Phoenix is 134 miles east of the Roadrunner BLM STVA. The Roadrunner STVA is the site of the Beaver Rally near Quartzsite in January.
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Michael,
If you have the RR8R chassis (no tag axle) it should take the same bag in all 8 positions. It's a Firestone W013589551. It crosses to a Continental AS9551. If your coach has a tag axle, it probably uses Firestone W013589376 in all 10 positions. It crosses to Continental 9912P477 or Goodyear 1R11.
I just had the 4 on the rear drive axle replaced. My coach is an 07 Contessa with a tag and has about 130K miles on it. It's been garaged when not in use. The bags developed slow leaks that slowly got worse over time. Consider purchasing the bags yourself to save some $. Possible sources include Find It Parts, Anything Truck, Stengelbros.com, MJ Heavy Duty Parts. I got mine (Continental) at Anything Truck for ~$187/bag. Suggest you verify the bag part # before ordering as 08 was a transition year when some coaches were built by Monaco and some by Navistar after Monaco sold out. The part # is either on the metal end plates or on the bag itself.
In the Phoenix area shops I've had good luck with are Masseys in west Phoenix and Luxury RV in Mesa. But as Joel suggested, check out the Service Providers Guide in the Private Members Only board.
Steve
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FYI Tom is no longer working at Massey he was the main guy in the Massey facility.
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Thank for the replays guys, I really appreciate your suggestions and insight!
Mike
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First off, why do you think the air bags need replaced? Are they leaking, they may look a bit rough on my 06 PT I've replaced the right front two that were actually leaking a minute amount of air, the rest are what came on it and are not leaking a bit. Air the coach all the way up and spray the bags with soapy water. That is a big expense that probably is not needed. The shocks may also be good, take one off and test it, 28K miles is nothing.
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Lee
The coach is currently at a Service Center in Las Vegas and they said air bags should be replaced (cracking).
I’ve held off having this SC do any additional work (although they didn’t do much anyway) and will have a big truck/semi service shop back home look over the chassis.
Thanks
Mike
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Be aware, not all truck shops will service motorhomes.
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I have lived in Phoenix all my life. for 8+ years we have owned, stored and serviced our Beaver here in Phoenix.
This is the place to go for both throes repairs: https://maps.app.goo.gl/y861Gom2Dppd9qUy8