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Old 08-31-2020, 08:37 AM   #1
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2006 Tour Air Ride System

Hello all. My 06 Tour air system raises the coach up for normal driving once the engine starts and the air pressure builds up. Once I park and turn the engine off the air system slowly bleeds off and the coach settles down to its normal at rest low to the ground position. The problem with that for me is that its so low I can't crawl under it to do any kind of minor maintenance or visual inspections. It's so low that I can't put the tire covers on the rear tires. I think the air pressure takes an hour or so to bleed off. Is that normal? If so how can I keep it up after shutting down so I can get under it and do what I need to?
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Old 09-01-2020, 11:13 AM   #2
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I think your primary air tank should take at least 24 hours before you loose air pressure in your lines? ...But it could be 2 days? Maybe someone else can say for sure?

If that is so, then you might want to spray some Windex on your air line connections to see if you are bleeding air out?

Note: My 2004 Itasca "Horizon" 40AD has a Vehicle Data Computer (VDC) located next to my side radiator. This "box" receives a red and green air lines from the primary and secondary air tank. So if you had my vintage of coach then I would suggest you check for an air leak there.

2004.5 and newer Winnebagos use an MMDC that does the same thing as the VDC; and I think this MMDC is located near your instrument/dash cluster, but I don't know where for sure?

Note: The VDC and MMDC convert all your sensor information into a format your instrument gauges can read.

So besides checking your air tank lines you should check the air line fittings at the MMDC and the air manifold your air horn uses too.

Since you will be checking for air leaks with your engine running, for a few extra inches you can drive up on your spacer-blocks; or you can find a slight slope and drive just your front wheels up on a ramp you make. Your front axle weighs 10,000-12,000 lbs, but your back axle weighs closer to 20,000 lbs.

Note: I crawl under my coach all the time after I set my HWH jacks down, but there are risks. So maybe this is one of those things you might want Freightliner to help you with?
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Old 09-16-2020, 02:39 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Grape View Post
Hello all. My 06 Tour air system raises the coach up for normal driving once the engine starts and the air pressure builds up. Once I park and turn the engine off the air system slowly bleeds off and the coach settles down to its normal at rest low to the ground position. The problem with that for me is that its so low I can't crawl under it to do any kind of minor maintenance or visual inspections. It's so low that I can't put the tire covers on the rear tires. I think the air pressure takes an hour or so to bleed off. Is that normal? If so how can I keep it up after shutting down so I can get under it and do what I need to?
Have you tried to bleed the tanks manually. There is a tether to each tank. Pull it with the coach running. If water comes out it could have damaged the system over time. Also, have you ever had your air dryer serviced?
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Old 09-20-2020, 12:34 AM   #4
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Finding an air leak is important so this should be your priority. The HWH "Active Air" system should hold air-level for days. There is a separate pump that is supposed to turn on when the engine is not running. This pump is typically located in the outside compartment under the driver's seat. Do you hear your HWH pump come on to maintain air levels?

I have an "active air system" and to be honest I never hear the HWH air pump come on except when first leveling my coach with the engine off. However, the air in the airbags keeps my coach level for days, but I have never tested the "air hold" for more than 3 days at a time.

...On the subject of installing your tire covers, I would recommend you air-up your system while the engine is running. Then put your tire covers on. ...Then use your hydraulic leveling option for long-term level/storage.

Side note: I use the air level all the time when I'm on the road. I use it to lower the coach to avoid tree limbs; and I use it to raise the coach when driving into various store driveways that have a big dip and I never scrap my tow hitch on the back-end! And on the highway it auto-levels my coach in a high speed turn. So I know two things about my HWH "Active Air" system: 1) I would never pay $10,000 for it; and 2) I am very glad I have it!

Note: The air pressure graph on my coach requires more pressure on the right side to compensate for the heavier weight on that side. However, I'm not sure why, because my frig is on the passenger side, but the kitchen cabinet is on the passenger side and I would think this counter forces would balance-out, but apparently this is not the case if you believe my air pressures in this graph.

Tip: When pulling your lanyards to blead your tanks, use the awning metal extension wand to reach over your passenger-front-tire to grab the loops!
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Old 09-20-2020, 05:04 PM   #5
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Our 2007 Tour works the same way I use tire shades instead of tire covers
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Old 09-21-2020, 06:23 AM   #6
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I do bleed my tanks. Probably not often enough.
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Old 09-21-2020, 06:26 AM   #7
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I don't believe I have an active air system like what you discuss. I have no way to remotely manipulate air pressure. I can manually bleed the tanks. And the tanks fill back up when I start the engine. That's it.
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Old 09-22-2020, 10:54 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by Old Grape View Post
I don't believe I have an active air system like what you discuss. I have no way to remotely manipulate air pressure. I can manually bleed the tanks. And the tanks fill back up when I start the engine. That's it.

How fast does it settle down? I think this should take a few hours. I have never noticed. I usually level soon after parking. Have you considered taking the rig to a truck stop shop to have the air spring system checked? Might be worth it. Or, you could go to Gaffney, SC, to the Freightliner factory service center. If you have never had the chassis service done by them I highly recommend you do so. I'll be doing that next year when I am back east.
Happy trails,
Rick Y
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Old 09-23-2020, 11:47 PM   #9
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FL Can Find An Air Leak, But Don't Let Them Adjust Your "AA" Ride Height!

Andy FL shop or any qualified diesel repair shop can check your airlines for air leaks. However, you can basically do the same thing with a bottle of Windex.

* With your engine running, you can raise the air bags to their full "up" position with an Active Air (AA) system. This will give you more clearance to crawl underneath. And for even more room, you can drive up on your leveling blocks for another 2-3" and then raise your coach.

* You can also get more room under your engine by parking it on a driveway that slops "up"... and then raise the rear air bags... and then lower the front end.

Note: You are not pulling any airlines so it will be safe. However, you do NOT want to separate and fix any air lines until you put you RV on a level surface, dump your air tanks, and raise coach using your HWH Jacks!

When you can safely crawl under your coach, then you can use an appropriate wrench to slide over the airline... which will give you leverage to push on the fitting... and when you push on the collar in one direction... you then pull the air line out in the other direction.

Then you need to trim the airline with a clean-90-degree-cut; and then just push the air line back in the coupler. ...Just make sure you have enough airline to trim off 1/8", because my airline was cut so tight that added a brass pipe extension in order to give us enough air line to work with.

==== Active Air Ride Height Adjustment ===

* If you find your coach is leaking to the right as your drive down the highway, that's because the AA system will level the coach with the road.

* ~80% of all Freeways are sloped 2 degrees to the right; and most country highways are sloped 2-4 degrees to the right and/or to the left. This allows rain to runoff the road.

* The problem I found is that my back was getting sore sitting in the driver's seat. Of course you can use a 2" foam pad and angle it on the high-side of the captain's seat to help with this problem, but I did not truly get find any back relief until I took my coach to HWH so they can adjust the ride height... and yes, they also found a slow air leak in one of my air bag lines, that that had no affect on my suspension.

It was at HWH that I say them use a proprietary diagnostic tool to adjust my ride height. And there are only so many coach dealers that have is tool.

Here'e the HWH ACTIVE AIR "GOLD STAR" REPAIR SHOPS ACROSS THE COUNTRY... BUT IT HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED FOR 10+ YEARS SO YOU NEED TO CALL AHEAD FIRST:

http://www.hwhcorp.com/ml41023f2.html

Note: I have called quite a few of these shops and most of them DO NOT work on Active Air systems. Foretravel has perhaps installed the most AA systems, but but they really don't want to work on Winnebago's. *** So I keep this HWH list as a reference list to find general RV repair shops when I am traveling!!!

WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T TAKE YOUR HWH "ACTIVE AIR" TO FREIGHTLINER TO ADJUST YOUR RIDE HEIGHT!

I tried that once and I can confirm that even the Freightliner "Oasis" locations, who are supposed to be RV-friendly, do NOT know anything about HWH "ACTIVE AIR" Systems.

I just wasted my time when I went to FL to get my Active Air ride height adjusted; and I ended up in a billing dispute. This is what happened:

The Freightliner CSM will tell you they can work on HWH, but when he hands the job off to his mechanic, who then talks to his service manager, who calls ???? (Mom); they will ultimately give up, but that won't stop them from trying to bill for their education, even though they told you can know how to work on an HWH-AA system.

My bill came to $250 and FL, Austin fixed NOTHING!

...The CSM tried to charge me $150 for a "computer diagnosis" and $100 for a minimum service charge, after 2 hours of effort. ...But when I asked the CSM to show me where he connected his computer to diagnose the HWH system, they couldn't do it, because there is no computer port the FL mechanic could connect to!

When I went to HWH in Iowa they couldn't have been nicer; and they don't mind owners being in the service area! They even have several full-hook-up for overnight parking. So if you go to HWH you should have a good experience and they bill fairly, based on my experience. (Most of the time they will not charge you to adjust the ride-height. So you can't beat that! ...But it depends what they find and repair.)

So by all means, any shop can find an air leak, but only HWH can adjust your Air Ride suspension and may Winnebago, Forest City. Litchenstein too, maybe???
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Old 09-29-2020, 11:01 PM   #10
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...Sorry. I thought your system was an HWH "Active Air" System. If it's not then... yes! Any FL shop should be able to help you with a stock leveling system.

"Active Air" was installed on some OEM coaches and I thought your Tour would have it. I now understand this is not correct.

The Active Air HWH System costs about $10,000-$12,000 and it's a great upgrade, but apparently they were not successful getting a lot of coach manufactures to install it as an OEM option.

What HWH Active Air does is install their own computer leveling system, in place of the stock FL air leveling system, and the HWH Active Air System has additional air bag controls.

I particularly like the ability to "Air Level" my coach and on-the-fly lower the ride-height or raise it as needed. This comes in handy when when passing under a low clearance (or city tree cover) and/or when driving over uneven driveways so my trailer hitch does not bottom-out. ...But the another great advantage of the "Active Air" system is to pump up one side of air bags when in a turn.

I also use the Active Air System to "Air Level" my RV when camping overnight in one place. Just on press on the "Air Level Button" and my coach levels itself.

And when I'm on the road with the Active Air System, it is in auto level mode.
This means the right or left air bags will adjust in a clover leaf turn and more so on a freeway-down-grade with a curve so I can drive at full speed without the normal coach sway that usually occurs.

Overall I like the Active Air System and I fell lucky and spoiled to have it. The shameful thing is that there is no resale value, because no one knows what the HWH Active System is.
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