The Chevrolet P-30 motorhome chassis that Winnebago built this RV onto comes from the factory with the suspension of a 1-Ton C30 truck (at least in 1986). The leaf springs are not tailored to the the motorhome, because Chevrolet did not have any details about the specific coach being installed on the chassis.

On the longer and heavier coaches (mine is 31 feet), Winnebago would compensate for the extra weight on the springs by adding helper springs that were based on air-bag technology. Air springs are very common on large commercial vehicles (almost all “big rig” trucks use them).

After 30 years, mine were in need of replacement.

I chose to install “Air-Lift 5000” brand springs, which have a helper capacity of 5000 pounds.

Air Spring Installation

If you are so interested, I have put together a YouTube video on my Alaska channel showing the ease with which these are installed. The springs bolt into place between the axle and the frame, just inside of the leaf springs. Six bolts and a plastic air line later and the springs are ready to use.

The Finished Product

Here you can see the finished job. These have been filled with air from my compressor to 90 PSI. I just need to monitor them for a while to make sure that there isn’t any air leaks in the hose fitting connections. You can notice that I took care with teh routing of the air lines. These are clamped and wire-tied to hold them in position and away from anything that could damage them. In addition, I added some rubber hose over the plastic to protect the lines where they cross through or rub against the frame rails.

Next up is refurbishment of the fuel system. Stay tuned…