Kneeling rookie question

[skipn]

  With the roof AC on my bus I am about 7'' to high to get into the shop.
  one of those old tall style AC's
  The kneeling switch hasn't worked since I got the bus.......from what I had read it didn't
sound like a good idea to have it working.

   If I have the kneelers working how much hieght can it drop me down.

  It's snowing today w/ 4" already on the ground it will be a couple of weeks before I can even move the bus and
  I am tired of playing in the mud!

   Thanks
   Skip

[Nusa]

If you only needed 1-2 inches you could probably just let some air out of the tires.

I don't know the answer to your question, but I'm guessing it would be easier to pull the AC unit than to work on the air suspension in the snow and mud. Probably safer too.

[skipn]

Thanks Nusa,

    Thought about pulling the AC's and putting in big roof vents. Will have to wait and see
  what this weather is going to do.

    Trust me the soil the bus is on now there would be no way I would get under it.
    the controller valve is in the spare tire bay so I wouldn't be under the bus so to speak.

Skip

[tekebird]

Kneeler will give you a few inches...not 7"

Keep in mind
: your kneeling only the front....as you go back you are gaining less lowering.

Does anyone know if any of the kneelers are just the curb corner?  I see an aweful lot of kneelers with the curb side low and the drv side at full ht.......could be a coincidence

[HighTechRedneck]

Kneeler will give you a few inches...not 7"

Keep in mind
: your kneeling only the front....as you go back you are gaining less lowering.

Does anyone know if any of the kneelers are just the curb corner?  I see an aweful lot of kneelers with the curb side low and the drv side at full ht.......could be a coincidence

On my RTS it only kneels the front curb side corner.  Also it has an interlock that activates the brakes and deactivates the air throttle pedal when it is kneeled.

[tekebird]

yeah I was pretty sure the transit did that...expect the same system is used on the coaches too

[skipn]

Well ya can't blame a guy for trying.

Thanks guys

Skip

[HighTechRedneck]

You could install a manual air bag leveling system, then you could lower it all down to go through the garage door.  A fair amount of work and expense, but then you would have a nice leveling system and a way to get it in the garage.

[skipn]

Hightech,

      Thanks

    It might be cheaper than going to central air


Skip

[prevost82]

Pete's campground level kit would do it, it's around $500 and a day work to install. Works great.
Ron

[Stan]

Even with no air in the bags, it won't go down 7".

[HighTechRedneck]

Even with no air in the bags, it won't go down 7".

I wasn't sure how much height the bags normally provide.  It just seems like that is about the difference in mine from aired down to aired up.  I am going to be having to start my bus to move it over a pit in a couple days.  I will try to remember to measure it before and after and  post back here.

[NJT5047]

Central air won't be cheaper!   
A kneeler on an MC9 (what bus you got?) will give about 4" of travel. 
The kneeler only works on the front axle.  So the rear of the bus would still be high. 
I had the same problem.   Couldn't get the bus in the building with rooftops.
I've got ball valves that control the rear air bags.  Dump the air completely from full ride height on an MC9 and you'll see about 6 inches of total movement. 
The rears are returned to the leveling valves once outside the building.
The front is controlled with a couple of ball valves and a regulator.  I don't use the front leveling valve.   
I'd read that regulators wouldn't stand up to the constant changing pressure of the suspension....so far, 7 years and no problems.  Used an Ingersoll Rand regulator.  I carry a spare just in case.
Kneeling systems don't exhaust all of the air in the bags.  They drop to between 20 and 30 lbs...from 60 lbs at normal ride height.  So there's still a little more downward movement available.
Moving a bus with no air in the airbags is not recommended.  I do it, but I poured a concrete slab that matched the floor of barn so the air suspension could be exhausted completely on both ends, and yet the bus isn't getting twisted or bounced. 
Driving over uneven surface with no airbag pressure will surely damage something.
This sort of setup makes a crude, but effective, leveling system...if your airbags will hold air for a few days. 
You'd be surprised how much movement the air suspension has. 
Bleed all the air off in the engine RH service door...and measure the coach with it on the stops.  Then air it up...and make sure that the suspension is at the recommended ride height.
I see a lot of air suspension buses that are obviously not operating at recommended ride height.  A low front ride height will cause an MCI to hunt around...more than normal.

FWIW, JR

[skipn]

JR,

    Thanks,
I have a mc8. The kneeler was disabled by one of the PO's. I have to check closely
but it looked like all the original plumbing is there. 4" travel gets me real close after I remove the
AC shroud I might make it

  Ron,
      I have been eyeing Pete's kit, Been holding off because it wasn't a top priority yet thanks
   Nothing worse than me being a busnut tire kicker
   Skip

[NJT5047]

IMHO forget the kneeling valve.  Buy three of Pete's controllers and get going. You'll have better control over the range, leveling options, control of the rear bags (and front) from the drivers seat, and no leaks, assuming your air bags are tight.   
Kneeling valves are prone to all sorts of issues.   
The original kneeling  valves have the cruds from years of sitting unused.  They'll stick open and bleed off all the air, fail to open when you need to lower the bus, and they'll leak.  And they are relatively expensive to repair.
The kneeler is (was?) interlocked with the door controls, and neutral.  It may not allow you to shift when kneeled....if it's still factory wired.
You could get around the interlock.   I'd recommend leaving the kneeling idiot light functional.  The light is a separate circuit.  It'll remind you any time the front suspension drops below the 30 lb, or so, point.  As low as the bus is when kneeled, that's good info.   
The only benefit of an original kneeling valve is their fast action.  They'll drop and recover fast.  That's not useful for an RV conversion.

Cheers, JR