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berghild
04-21-2010, 06:03 PM
are we supposed to be adding air beofre we hit the road. we have always had to add air...now we hear that the trailer trail air should hold and not need added air....hmmmm.
DRV says we must not be keeping it aired up but that is not true. they lose air everytime that we sit for awhile and so does the hitch.
now have to dig out the trailer warranty info. and will also scan trhough and see if anyone else has posted about this subject.

GlennWest
04-21-2010, 06:11 PM
I have to air mine up every time I sit a while too. As long as it doesn't leak down while pulling I don't consider it a problem. I have to air up truck tires, rv tires, suspension also.

Gemstone
04-21-2010, 06:43 PM
Likewise, I air up the axle bags and the pin bag prior to hitching up, and check air pressure on all tires before we move.

Regards
Gemstone

47hook
04-22-2010, 12:11 AM
Over a couple of months of sitting mine will drop a few pounds. Check your owner's manual for the trailair ctrpt, it will tell you what to do to correct small leaks at the slip fittings. The ones that the plastic air lines fit in. IIRC, you air the system to 100 psi to help seat the fittings (don't drive with them at that pressure). Again, IIRC, the air lines slip into the fittings and to release them you simply slide a collar back which releases the line. If there are any nicks in the area they are seating this could cause a leak. Get a very sharp knife and cut straight across to remove the damaged section and make sure you make a square cut. Then just reseat the line. I'd first try the high pressure treatment.

My pinbox doesn't really leak, either. Check to see if the valve stem/core isn't leaking (also check the 2 for the ctrpt system). If you have the right little valve core remover you can check for tightness or just put a few drops of water on the valve to check for leaks.

Good luck, and as always call DRV or Lippert/TrailAir for help.

berghild
04-22-2010, 08:36 AM
thank you for the help.

DRV said we should have told them that we have to add air all the time.. or most of the time...of course we would have but we didn't realize that what we were doing was out of the ordinary.
our repair guy is going to try trail air today to see if they will help since we are not out of warranty yet.
DRV says we must have been driving with not enough air and that is why we are having U bolt problems and bent plates and damaged shocks. we always check air before driving off....but maybe they are right.
700.00 for the u bolt solution. so it would be nice of something was paid for. DRV has always been fair to us so we shall see how trail air goes.

Motor31
04-22-2010, 10:12 AM
Ours drops pressure over the space of a week of inactivity. It's a system with a lot of areas for leaks. I also add air to the pin box after hitching, especially if we have been sitting for a month or so. I rarely have to add any air to it over a week of traveling and same for the suspension. Neither one bleeds down to nothing but they both lose a bit of pressure sitting.

$700 for U bolts seems to be very excessive. They are not kryptonite or gold and are a common use item. I just got a quote for an axle replacement in Tucson and the whole deal was less than $700.00 labor and parts. The quote was because the goodyear shop in Wichita bent the damn thing by jacking the axle next to the spring shackle while changing a tire at an HDT rally. It took some time to show tire wear so I can't go back to them over it, besides it would cost more in fuel to get there than the axle replacement.

berghild
04-22-2010, 11:20 AM
yes it does seem high. we trust this rv place in vegas always come here if we can. i have dealt with them for 20 years and it is a 3rd generation outfit. so it's 3 u bolts...grade 8, the 4 plates, and install 3 shocks. Howard did one shock and one u bolt, but not the plate....what a job it was a nightmare. I hope we are doing the righta thing.
the trail air never loses all air, so i guess what we are experiencing is within normal limits

Jack in Alaska
04-22-2010, 09:46 PM
My Trailair pin box lost 10 psi over 6 mo. this winter. Not a big problem in my estimation.

bstark
04-24-2010, 08:36 PM
For the centerpoint suspension, be sure to check the connections behind the fill port in the water service cabinet. Air it up and spray some soapy water on each connection and then perform the trimming of the ends of the tubing as described earlier and your system will probably hold air after that. There is also a lube available for these types of fittings used in the OTR class 8 push connect fittings (Parker Fittings) for the air suspension and air brake fittings that eases the insertion of that tubing into the seal inside the fitting to make sure it seats completely and will come apart easily when needed to.

If you run without air or low air you've changed the normal stroke range of the shock absorbers and they will bend or even break the extended tang off the bottom spring pack clamping plate. A quick fix is to interchange two plates from one side to use the other tang welded onto the plate. The worst case scenario with shocks that are bottoming out is the mount welded to the frame of the trailer breaks loose, thats going to require a re-weld of the mount to the frame. You can actually cause the shocks to hyper-extend as well with similar resulting damage, by running too much air in your Centerpoint.

This is all stuff you need to consider if you intend to change the setting of your suspension to another set of holes in the frame stanchions to change the height of your RV.

berghild
04-25-2010, 11:55 AM
lwow...more stuff to learn. i think we are going to be really careful abot the trail air....and if it leaks we will check all these connections.

bstark
04-25-2010, 12:23 PM
berhild: I would also add and hope I'm not speaking out of turn; Dale Fenton of trailair, as you probably know, is the proud owner of a DRV trailer and it is my perception and opinion only, he considers us a "fraternity" of sorts. Were you to run by his facility with any suspected Trailair product related problems you might be surprised at his desire to 'set it right'. He prides himself on having any trailer with his equipment installed "follow you like a piece of rope".

This is all dependent, of course, on things being the same as they were up to a year ago with his relationship with DRV.

The View 5046
04-25-2010, 06:59 PM
Dale was at Drv factory this past week getting something done to his Suites. Didn't get to talk to him but bstark is correct, Dale does stand behind his product. I do believe he has sold his business to Trail-air not sure if its true or but if it is, it will be a loss for us Suite owners. Nothing but high marks to Drv factory tech's and Ryan Miller. Our time there this week was awesome, great support from Drv. GBY...

Jack in Alaska
04-26-2010, 12:24 AM
3 years ago I purchased a Trailair pin box directly from Trailair. After I installed it, with lots of help in the RV park, the bag would not hold up the weight put on it no matter how much pressure we put in it.
I called the 800 number on the pin box and talked with the secretary. She put me on the phone with Dale and I told him the situation.
He said "man you have the wrong bag and I am going to send you the correct one with a box and stamp to send the wrong one back". It arrived in two days and works beautifully. He said at the time that he had a MS himself and knew exactly what I needed.
Great customer service.........

5thwheeler
04-26-2010, 09:09 AM
Dale Fenton is still in business.
He has sold the rights to Levelups to Lippert. Dale is now the exclusive installer of levelUps in Indiana.
His other company Trailair Service Centre in Goshen is still up and running.
See his ad on the forum at http://www.5thwheelforums.com/trailair_page1.html

Trailair Service Center can be reached at 800-988-4238

The View 5046
04-26-2010, 07:05 PM
Thanks Admin for setting the record straight. I'm glad Dale is in business, good man. GBY....