2015 Ventana LE Porpoise

[skychs]

Thanks everyone. I'll try to get back out to the RV this week and try everything you suggested. Lots of good advise.

 

[Jabber Jaw]

skychs.......RV Services of Va. is a great place to have an RV serviced. They do good work, are reasonably priced, & very few issues. Unlike the 2 major Dealerships across the road about a mile away!
Good luck on getting your coach fixed!

 

[skychs]

RV Services of VA just released the coach. Everything related to the air bag system is normal and in great shape. He said the porpoising I experienced was due to uneven air bag inflation. My guess is ... I wasn't allowing the air bags to inflate "fully" before moving the coach. He wasn't familiar with hitting the auto level button a second time to help empty the air bags before the jacks are extended. Still very happy with RV Services of VA.

 

[skychs]

Update on the air bag issue .......

Even after getting our Ventana serviced and inspected we had issues with the airbag suspension.

At the end of a two night stay .... no matter what we did the air bags would not inflate. While we were troubleshooting the issue the wife noticed we lost some of the outlets we normally plug our phones into. That turned our attention to something electrical. Since we were boondocking, as a last resort (with the engine running) we started the generator. As soon as the generator came online the coach started to rise. Electrical ???

Long story short. We had all our batteries load tested. The two chassis batteries were fine. The 4 house batteries however were shot. Two of the 4 batteries were actually swollen from overheating. With the new house batteries, as soon as the engine starts the coach starts to lift.

Im still trying to figure all of this out. House batteries control the airbags? Coincidence? Electrical shedding?

 

[Neal]

A couple of concerns come to mind:

1. Do you have your Low Battery Cutoff (LBCO) set? For typical use the recommended value is 11.9V for lead acid batteries. If you do not have this set and you're running your batteries too low you can damage them. If the LBCO is set and your voltage is going below this then that will cause your inverter to cutoff and hence your outlets not work
2. The generator has no ties to the airbags or jacks. Running the generator alone should not cause anything to change in the leveling. I assume your air bags are deflated and your on jacks if you're boondocking?
3. What is your jack system? HWH or Equalizer? And are you on jacks?
4. If lead acid batteries make sure to check fluid levels quarterly and add distilled water as needed. I added the flow-rite system to make this easier to maintain for my 8 batteries.

First is to really determine what is going on and what you're feeling. You may be hypersensitive to the airbags as that was your recent service. Generator running won't do anything but supply electricity. Engine running will supply air which could inflate airbags if they are not disabled from being on jacks.

 

[skychs]

1. I have not messed with the Magnum EMS yet. Im still going over all the options and will be tackling it soon. The good news is I have been moved to a covered storage area with 30amp. Hopefully that will help in electrical management.
2. Yes, the bags were deflated and the jacks were down.
3. My Ventana LE has the Equalizer system.
4. When all this happened the bags were empty, the jacks were up and the engine was running. The pressures gauges were normal in both systems. The bags did not inflate. When the generator was started and came online the air bags started to inflate. With the new house batteries installed, when I start the coach (jacks up) the coach starts to rise immediately.

I will be working on the coach today. Ill try to go through a full set up (jacks down, air out) and see what happens. I really need to get all of this sorted out before I leave on the next trip.

 

[Neal]

Re #4 - The equalizer has to send a 12V signal to the shuttle valves to close in order to fill the airbags. If you're electrical situation was compromised that signal may not have been sent hence not airing up. It sounds like you have to get your trons sorted out and the magnum inverter setup. Your EMS may need manual settings too as it may be prior to the automated version. Once you have this nailed down you should be fine.

 

[skychs]

Final note ..... Since replacing the House batteries I have not had any issues with the air bags inflating after engine start. I'm averaging around 3 minutes to full inflation and all the electrical outlets are working.