Ride Height Valve Failure
On the way to Bandera, TX the day before Thanksgiving, smelled a slight odor of burning rubber and heard a funny noise. Pulled off the road at the first available spot and discovered the right rear suspension deflated. After a few minutes found I could inflate the air bags with the leveling system, but travel mode would deflate it and air was coming out of the bottom of the ride height valve. Suspected that maybe the valve was bad. About a year ago when at the factory purchased a spare valve for $267. After doing that, I was thinking that was stupid to pay that much for something I may never need, but now I was glad I had it. Installed the new valve but it still didn't work. Called the factory, it was getting close to closing time for a long holiday weekend. James T was not there, but Mark seemed to think the problem was the valve and that I had not inserted the control rod in one of the two holes correctly. He was right, actually the rod can be installed 4 different ways. After a couple of tries, I got it right and everything was working again.
Some things I learned: there is a 7.5 amp fuse in the HWH control box that can be pulled to remove power from the travel mode. That would keep air in the bags after inflating the bags to travel height. I might have been able to drive with my finger on the level button to keep it out of the travel mode. The 2 mounting bolt holes on the replacement valve are not spaced the same as the no longer available original valve, but one bolt will hold the valve until new holes can be drilled in the mounting bracket. This valve might be available at a truck supply or repair facility. Thanksgiving turned out okay after all and this was the first breakdown since purchasing the coach 4 years ago.
Topic: Ride Height Valve Failure