Newmar / K2 Spartan air bag replacement

[DavidL]

Time to get the RV ready for a trip in October.
I think it's time to replace the air bags. No issues, just preventative. Really wouldn't like replacing them on the side of the road.

The Rear Axle and Tag bags seem to be popular part numbers and there are aftermarket replacements that are less than $100 per bag. So, ordered all four.

The Fronts seem to be made of gold. Spartan wants $700 per bag ("Is that for the pair? Oh, for each? Crap"). Online goes from $500 - $1000 per bag! Spent some quality time with Google to research alternatives (none).
So, bit the bullet and ordered the two $500 bags. They were $311 last year which I thought was expensive back then, so delayed purchasing them. Oh well.

Not really looking forward to spending a day under this heavy rig...I will wait for all bags to arrive and just get er done.

I suspect I'll take some pics and post along the way.

EDIT, OK Step 1, did a quick inspection by glancing underneath. Nothing crazy seen. Step 2, Powerwash the heck out of everything. Get the leaves out, the nests, scare the wasps away, and get rid of the road gravel and any hydraulic oil from my leaking leveling cylinder fitting (likely fixing that this project too).

I will let it dry for a few hours and then lift and support. Just got noticed that the Tag bags should be here tomorrow. I might do all four back bags in one shot, and then do the golden front bags on their own when they arrive. I don't like to lift all 4 corners at once anyway...rather put all the stands on the end I will be underneath...

I also see some ravages to the paint (arghhh). And the wheels need a good polishing from lack of use / care.

 

[FLSteve]

@DavidL ... I was just going to ask you to post some pictures and then I got to the end of your post and see that you are. I will be interested to see what this job entails.

FLSteve

 

[DavidL]

Got the RV up on levelers, removed the rear six wheels and put a pair of heavy duty jack stands under the chassis. Powerwashed the heck out of everything again now that there was full access.

Tweeked my knee taking the last tag wheel off that was stuck on pretty good. So now I am hobbling around and used a 2x4 as a crutch to get around and finish the powerwashing so all is dry tomorrow for detailed inspection.

But I gotta tell ya, on first blush, there isn't anything wrong with any of the bags. Rubber isn't cracked, still supple. I might just do some routine maintenance like grease everything, fix the leveler leak (I see it weeping ever so slightly from the pressure sensor threads). I might just keep one of each bag in the RV in case something bad does happen on the road. Again, not a project I would look forward to especially on the side of the road, but it's possible. Pretty easy access to all fasteners it seems so far. I might go so far as cracking the bolts loose and greasing them so it's easier to service later.

 

[DavidL]

Been trying to figure out what shocks go on this rig...ideally upgrading from the current Monroe to Konis. I have Bilstein / Gabriel part numbers from Spartan parts dept, but not having any luck getting a Koni cross reference. Drive: 24-015943 tag: 85029 (which looks like a Gabriel part number). Currently has Monroe Drive: 557001 (29.1inch) Tag: 557012 (20.5 inch)

I already purchased and received one pair of wrong shocks based on a Spartan online shock catalog....

So, looks like the shocks might have been replaced by previous owner. Maybe the air bags too. None look in bad shape. No leaks, nor cracks.

Knee requires surgery 9/26. but able to walk slowly so maybe I can finish up this project soon, once I get shocks.

 

[DavidL]

One of the Shock pairs came in. Here is a pic of it installed.
I had to cancel the Tag shocks as there was no promise of shipping.. Reordered elsewhere and am waiting.

The Monroes felt very whimpy compared to the new Bilsteins. So glad I made the investement.

This pic also shows you how the jacks are positioned.

Since the jacks are usable now, I retracted the leveling leg and removed the leaking sensor. Wire wheel all clean, put some teflon tape on, resecured, cleaned all the hydraulic fluid off the top, put the sensor back on medium tight, and reapplied the leg pressure. No leaks. The sensor is on the left.

So, the back is on a 22 ton, a 16 ton pair of jack stands and the leveling legs. Should be safe to get underneath now and really look at the air bags.

 

[DavidL]

So, with the wheels off, good time to clean them all up. Cleaned and painted the inside drive wheels. Acid cleaned the polished wheels. And, of course, one of the polish wheels fell over and snapped the valve stem off as the TPMS sensor exposed the stem to the pavement. So, the tire bead had to be removed from the wheel to fit a new stem...and while doing that, it became apparent that the tires are aged out, sidewall was cracked more than it looked while inflated...so all new tires coming in friday...this project just got more expensive. Crazy what we do for a week's "vacation"...

 

[Rich W.]

yes, these things tend to escalate…

 

[DavidL]

Took the rear and tag air bags off. Rears are definately needed. Tags arent too bad. Put new rears on. The new tag bags arent right ones. Ordered right ones at 3x the price the the wrong bags... Tomorrow tag shocks come in. I will finish polish the wheels. All wet sanding to remove most pits is done already. So making progress.

 

[Rich W.]

Took the rear and tag air bags off. Rears are definately needed. Tags arent too bad. Put new rears on. The new tag bags arent right ones. Ordered right ones at 3x the price the the wrong bags... Tomorrow tag shocks come in. I will finish polish the wheels. All wet sanding to remove most pits is done already. So making progress.

and then post some pics!

 

[DavidL]

Pic of new rear bag and tag with bag removed