Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches September 14, 2025 ...

u240 airbag helpers

December 26, 2011, 12:16:01 pm

O.K. here I go; my very first post.  Glad I found this forum; unfortunately it was after I purchased my 1993 U240.  Not that it is a bad coach, I just did not know about the torsilastic suspension or I probably would have passed on it.  The coach only had 55,000 miles on it, and was in good shape except for the Florida sun having baked the decals. 

So, I have recently added airbags to my 1993 U240.  The rear level measured 31 inches and I had enough shims to return it to 32 1/2, but I was afraid that would last only a year or two,  and I planned to keep the coach long term. 

I am a heavy truck driver by trade, and I noticed the tag axle lift bags were smaller than a normal airbag on my dump truck,
so I purchased a pair and installed them on the rear sway bar mounts.  The mounts are 3/4 inch thick plate, plenty heavy enough to mount the airbags and support the 4,000 to 5,000 lbs. of extra capacity I was after. 

I would rather have had the all new suspension, but compared to $3000 the $500 I spent made the airbags worth a try.
With 60psi the coach raised to 32 1/2 to 33 inches.  I have noticed no difference in ride quality, but have not gone on a long trip with it yet.  Ron

Quote Selected

Re: u240 airbag helpers

Reply #1 – December 26, 2011, 12:23:34 pm

I haven't gone through the measurement/shim process yet. I'm very happy with the torsilastic ride on my U225, however. Even so, I've found myself wondering if air bags on the rear might not help a little. I wonder where you got yours and how they are installed and plumbed.

Pictures would be nice.

And welcome to the forum!

Craig

Quote Selected

Re: u240 airbag helpers

Reply #2 – December 26, 2011, 12:27:32 pm

rinron,

Brett Wolfe here on the forum is an outstanding resource on your suspension.  Contact him for expert help that will certainly equal and most likely will exceed suspension folks near you.

Quote Selected

Re: u240 airbag helpers

Reply #3 – December 26, 2011, 12:36:02 pm

Dont feel too bad, we had to install air bags at each suspension/wheel on a 01 Eagle, the origional parts are available for $2,500 each rebuilt exchange X 6 plus a week of labor, so owner decided on the air bags, when all done, he claims it rides and handles much better than ever.
I am not aware of any one using that rubber suspension system anymore maybe More-Ride is still using a form of it.

Quote Selected

Re: u240 airbag helpers

Reply #4 – December 26, 2011, 12:45:33 pm

Dave is correct.  When Goodrich Aerospace sold their "metal to rubber bonding division" which was based in Jacksonville, FL and built such things as the nose cones for nuclear submarines to Lord Corporation (largest metal to rubber bonding company in the world) production of torsilastic suspension components ceased.

Nothing wrong with the torsilastic suspension, but it is different than others and so has slightly different "care and feeding" procedures.

Removing shims to raise ride height to 32-33" is the most important issue.

And it is very rare for the lighter drivetrain in the U225 to run out of ride height adjustment, while the much heavier drivetrain in the U240 (Caterpillar 3116 vs Cummins B and Allison 6 speed vs 4 speed) is more prone to running out of ride height adjustment in the rear.

I have seen some good and some "not so good" air over torsilastic suspension upgrades. Ron-- would be interested in photos of your conversion.

BTW, after running out of adjustment shims on our coach many years ago, I worked directly with the engineers at Goodrich to spec heavier torsilastic springs for the rear of the U240's.  Foretravel then began ordering the stronger springs (19k vs 15k), so if Foretravel installed new springs, depending on year of installation, they may be the "upgraded" springs.  There is also a small quantity of the 19K torsilastic suspension beams available, though Foretravel does not have any.  If you need info, let me know-- they are in Washington state, but I can put you in touch with the guy who bought them.

Brett

Quote Selected

Re: u240 airbag helpers

Reply #5 – December 26, 2011, 04:05:16 pm

Ron, Welcome aboard, you will find a wealth of info here.
BTW Is Greg Jones your Twin ? Looks like the same picture.
Gary B

Quote Selected

Re: u240 airbag helpers

Reply #6 – December 27, 2011, 10:16:49 pm

I am out of rear shims and would love to see photos of your air add-on.  A good description of what you did also.  I'm not as mechanically inclined as someone should be to own one of these rigs so I have to depend on the "professionals" who often seem to know even less than I do.  A step-by-step of what I want done seems to help.

Quote Selected