Regarding buses that settle down quickly..... try not to park too close the curb

[zubzub]

My aux air tank has a leak and as a result in 6 hours the air bags are empty.  If you have parked too close to a curb you may have trouble opening the door  to get back in the cab.  I was reading a thread about using an aux air compressor for airing up and I was reminded about my rookie error.  In my case I managed to just squeeze through the door opening.  Other options would have been to air the bus up with an aux compressor, maybe jack the front corner, but as I have a manual bus and like to leave it in gear (no spring brakes)  starting it from the engine room was not really an option as it is really hard to be sure that the box is in neutral from there.  Live and learn.

[Hartley]

Either stay away from curbs or keep a ladder in a bay so you can crawl in through a window when you can't open the door....

Been there & done that when I locked my keys inside at a rally...

[buswarrior]

If the bus settles according to the air in the tank....

then the air suspension is a major culprit in your air consumption.

The leveling valves are supposed to hold air in the suspension when the tanks drop. Good chance they are emptying the tank either to fill leaking bags, or because they are leaking themselves.

Get out the spray bottle and see what is leaking. First suspect is the leveling valves themselves, then on to the bags.

No worries, changing leveling valves is good preventive maintenance, they are a consumable, as are the bags.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[jjrbus]

I developed mistakes and OH POOPIES!! to an art form. I do not have to go throught the inconvieniance of waiting for the bus to leak down, with the push of a button I can do the same thing with my manual leveling system.   Jim

[zubzub]

Hi BW the  drain valve in my aux tank has rusted out as a result there is a constant leak there.  I have a replacement so when I get a chance I will replace it.  You make a good point that the system should be staying up any way, although I haven't studied the schematics carefully enough to know if this is the case in a 4104.  What I do know is I can't hear the other leaks until I fix the big leak.

[cody]

not saying nuffin lol

[gus]

Zub,

If you are not parked level the suspension will keep trying to level the bus and deplete the air in a short time.

Fortunately the drain valve is not hard to get to once the front end is raised. I just run mine up on two piles of gravel. I've wanted to replace that little front tank for quite a while but can't find a good one. I know it is living on borrowed time since the rear one rusted out long ago.

When you do replace the front drain valve get a quick release one with a cable attached and run the cable through a couple of eyes to the front of the RH wheel well so it is easy to drain. Those drains are pretty cheap.

Don't worry, you will never start the engine if the bus is in gear, it won't even budge.

[pvcces]

Zubzub, each leveling valve has a check valve to prevent the air in the bags from draining back into the air system. In the 4106, the leveling valves have a six second delay before they attempt to adjust height, presumably to minimize air consumption in turns and the like.

The check valves should be removable without taking the valves off the coach.

For waht it's worth.

Tom Caffrey

[zubzub]

This info re  the plumbing of the bags is helpful, I didn't realize the leveling valves should hold even with an empty aux tank. The  brake system functions well re this as no pressure in the aux  and there is still pressure at the pedal after a few days. I may have leaks in the bags or in the leveling valves, or who know where else but I won't be able to find any leaks until I replace the Aux(?) tank with the hole.  It makes too much noise, so I can't hear any other leaks now.