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mikecollie

Lowering coach

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When i let the air out of my coach to lower it about half way down i get a loud pop and then again just before it reaches the bottom another pop. I have looked and listened but can not seem to find out what it is.Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem.Everything seems to be working fine .

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I have not experienced that problem, but more info on your coach will be helpful for getting some more educated guess's about solving your problem. I would suggest adding this info to your signature to avoid the need to add it each time you have other problems with your coach. Hope you can get good answers and can resolve the problem soon.

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Are you lowering all 4 cylinders at the same time when you hear the noise? You might try lowering the front 2 then the back 2, by doing this you could determine in the problem in in the front or the back. On Holiday Rambler with Roadmaster chassis the front cylinders have external springs and the back cylinders have internals springs that retract the cylinders.

When was the last time you pumped grease in the lower seals od each cylinder. You should also inspect the cylinders when they are fully extended to make sure there is no scoring on the cylinder shafts, at the same time lubricate the shafts with spray lubricant.

Make sure you place safety blocks under you coach before crawling under  it.

Jim

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Jim, I think you may be thanking of the Jack's. He is talking about letting the air out of his air bags to lower the whole chassis. You do that before using the Jack to level the coach. It reduces the travel of the jacks to level the coach. 

Herman 

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Mike.

When I use the Jacks, I touch the pad for Auto Jack, the air escapes first, then the jacks come down...do you have that system or are yours manual ? 

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If you're lowering the chassis air bags to lower the coach, it would appear that you're also lowering the overall air pressure. I'm wondering if you're going below the minimum air pressure in the reserve tanks, which is causing the air valves to automatically shut down, causing the pop that your hearing. On my coach one shuts off flow to the auxiliary tank at 90psi and another shuts off flow to a tank for the emergency brake release at 60psi. Just a thought, since I don't know which chassis you have or how it's set up.

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Richard.

Roadmaster chassis, on a Monaco Diplomat.  You may have a  valid point, on the 60 psi.  Hope he has the wheels blocked. :P

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Richard, I may be wrong but when dumping the Airbags it doesn't dump the tanks, just the Airbags. The pressure in my tanks stays full. 2002 Monaco Dynasty on a Roadmaster Chassis. 

Herman

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Carl, 

On your coach when you press auto level doesn't it first dump the bags then level with the jacks or with the air, which every you choose? And your tank pressure isn't affected?

Also if the air pressure drops below 60 PSI your brake automatically engages and sets the brake.

Herman 

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6 minutes ago, hermanmullins said:

Richard, I may be wrong but when dumping the Airbags it doesn't dump the tanks, just the Airbags. The pressure in my tanks stays full. 2002 Monaco Dynasty on a Roadmaster Chassis. 

Herman

That was exactly my point. I was thinking that the noise being heard is the mechanism which is designed to close the flow so that the tanks maintain pressure. On my coach they are open down till a certain pressure, and then they close to maintain air in the tanks. It was my hypothesis that the pop is the valve popping shut as the air bags deflate quickly. I know that every system is designed differently, so it was just a theory.

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Could be something as simple as suspension settling.  Have you laid on the ground next to (not under) the coach in the area where you hear the noise and see if you can pinpoint its origin?

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5 minutes ago, richard5933 said:

 I know that every system is designed differently, so it was just a theory.

Point taken.

1 minute ago, wolfe10 said:

 Have you laid on the ground next to (not under) the coach in the area where you hear the noise and see if you can pinpoint its origin?

My DW would say holding the button hurts her finger. (Our coach doesn't dump automatically and you have to maintain pressure on the button till it dumps completely) 

Herman

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13 hours ago, mikecollie said:

When i let the air out of my coach to lower it about half way down i get a loud pop and then again just before it reaches the bottom another pop. I have looked and listened but can not seem to find out what it is.Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem.Everything seems to be working fine .

My system is manual and you have to hold the air release button to lower coach.It will reduce air pressure to about 30 psi in the tank before it is all the way down.The loud pop sounds like something metal on metal.The sound is in the front.I have laid on the pavement beside the tires and listen and it sounds like it is coming from the middle area.

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Mike, if it come from the middle check the Ride Height arm it is on the back side of the axle and in the middle. It may be hitting something which could cause to jump or bump or maybe both. I am just guessing so take it for what it's worth.

Herman

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Mike, Does the sound you hear sound muffled or is it a sharp sound - like metal hitting metal ?

Is there a truck shop in the area that could look at the chassis Air ride systems and bushings?

Rich.

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Since it is coming from the middle, my first thought as Herman said, the linkage on the ride height valve may be binding or possibly broken. If it is broken, the front is probably riding much too high. The popping sound at the bottom sounds as though the chassis has bottomed out.

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8 hours ago, hermanmullins said:

Jim, I think you may be thanking of the Jack's. He is talking about letting the air out of his air bags to lower the whole chassis. You do that before using the Jack to level the coach. It reduces the travel of the jacks to level the coach. 

Herman 

Must have been having a senior moment.

Jim

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I went and checked the ride height linkage and it looks okay. I lowered the coach 10 pounds at a time and it started to creek and make a light popping noise at about 45 pounds so I stopped and the coach looked like it was as low as it needed to go.I have in the past let all the air out to 0,maybe I should not do that?Any thoughts?

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Even if you stop dumping air at 45psi, eventually the remaining pressure will leak off.

Are the air bags original? Based age of coach probably time for a good inspection.

Jim 

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Mike, I always dump all the air and then level the coach. When I bump my bags it doesn't affect the tanks. However if I shut off the engine then level it will use up my tanks and the air pump will take over. Now that is how my coach functions. Not sure about others. 

Herman 

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