Cracked air bags.

[Barn Owl]

I finally have crawled under my bus and I am developing a list of things to do. Another question: My rear airbags look very good with no cracks. My front, however; are cracked. Is this normal, or do I need to plan on replacing them in the near future? See photo below.

[jjrbus]

Pictures tend to hide flaws.  Yes the cracking is normal, normal for old bellows. Some of mine are good. some are cracked. One is brand new. The cracked ones I have opted not to replace. The one I replaced had a large gouge in it, but still held air. Do you want to replace your bellows in the comfort of your shop at your convieniance. Or replace it on a rainy day on the side of the road? Maybe tomorrow maybe in ten years? tough call. 
I hope when you crawled under your bus, you had it properly supported. You cannot trust the bellows with your life!!

[Barn Owl]

Yes, I did use supports. I sometimes wonder if I have enough though, but I try to err on the side of caution. I am soo very glad to have these bulletin boards, without them I probably wouldn't have known better. One reason it has taken me so long to get under my bus is because I have been scared to death of being crushed. I have picked up some good railroad ties that I cut into blocks and use them to support the body. Thank you for bringing up the safety note. Whenever we discuss getting under a bus with airbags we should mention how important it is to block it up. We never know when a new busnut might be joining us for the first time.

[H3Jim]

Last time I had my bus into the dealer, I had to replace sevearl bags that were leaking.  I asked if I needed to replace the others while we were doing it.  They replied that rarely do they fail catastrophically, rather they just develop leaks, causing one side or another to go down and make the bus lean.  They strongly recommended that if  the bags are holding air, why spend the $.  Only replace them when there starts to be a leak.

Sounds like good advice to me.

And I second JJRbus, cracked looking bags are normal.

[Sammy]

The bags (air springs) will show cracking at the lowest area first, this is where the most movement occurs - inflating and deflating, rolling up and down, as per the leveling valve. I'd replace them and not have to worry about it for quite a while. They never go bad at the right time or the right place. I replaced one on the road in a museum parking lot. I was finished and was washing my hands just as the charter group was coming back towards the bus.
Best of luck with your new coach.
Sammy 

[muddog16]

Just being nosey I guess but when I pulled one of my air bags I had to cut it apart to see what it was all about.  After I completely destroyed the bag I realized that the bag was in very good shape and these things are not as flimsy as one would think, I bet this bag was good for another couple of years. I think I would just rather add a air bag to the spares carried.  I can now change an air bag in about and hour at the most, just remembering that you have to block the bus up securely! :

Pat