Eagles International Forum

Thank you Mason.

The original 11 x 24.5s were eventually replaced with the current 315/80R 22.5s. It is definitely a beefy tire upgrade. With the coach scaling at close to 44,700 lbs. GVWR, the heavier load tire truly serves a purpose, but it is a little wide.

I was told the owner that originally installed the upgrade met up with Mr. "Unintended Consequence" on his first trip out with the new tires. Seems the inner duals have a very limited clearance with regard to the inside coach frame. The result was the wider tires rubbing a hole in the secondary air lines supplying the rear coach leveling system. Must have been a challenging trip.

I'm hoping to resurrect the leveling system at a future date. Unfortunately, the coach is demanding younger tires first. It was so much easier when I only had the responsibility of driving these puppies. Ah, the joys of bus ownership... So cool!

Mike, I am curious about what you call a "leveling system". That sounds like it may be airbags that someone has added. If that is the case, I would move that project up the list of to do items.

With your bus scaling out at 44,700 pounds, you are well above the rated GVW of the factory bus (usually in the 38K range). As a result, you are overloading the Torsilastics. That would be particularly true if the bogeys are not adjusted properly.

If you have airbags, they can take a significant part of the load off the Torsilastics and make them live longer.

Jim

Jim, I believe that you could get airbags factory installed on the model 15

Look at this page, there are some pics from an Eagle manual showing airbags. http://www.eaglesinternational.net/test ... edc#p32515
Mike, if they are factory they shouldn’t be too hard to resurrect, depending on how long they have not been used.

Jim - The air bags were part of the Monaco conversion and only usable when the coach was parked. I understand the air was dumped from the leveling system before the coach could be driven. The Torsilastics are the suspension as with other Eagles. As for the rest, I agree, but - ironically - it is within posted specs "on paper," which doesn't solve the underlying weight issue.

A bunch of files came with the coach. Bless my three prior coach owners. Aside from the gold mine Eagle/DDC parts/maintenance books (and Eagle Driver Manual), the docs that caught my attention from a historical perspective were the original delivery documents as well as owner research and sales brochures. An original "Eagle Model 15 Motor Home Shell SPECIFICATIONS" sheet stated the MH version had a GVWR of 44,700 lbs. To add to the intrigue, I also have a copy - it might have been the certificate of origin - citing my original high driver unfinished MH shell in 1987 had a GVWR of just under 40K. This is consistent with your statements and my understanding of the seated coach weight from my driving days.

I ran across a video link in this forum over the weekend. (I'll try to revise the post with the correct reference links) There was a group discussion about Eagles at a bus convention - historical names from the business most of you would likely be familiar with. There was a brief reference to GVWR near the end of the video where it was stated the Eagle Entertainer and MH configurations did have a higher official GVWR than the seated variant - "but that was mainly on paper." That statement put a pit in my stomach.

Yes - the coach is heavy. I had the ride height adjusted last fall and no adjustment remains in the Torsilastics for another one. I know I have suspension and front end work in my future. I'm in research mode at the moment.

For reference, the coach has just over 230k original frame/engine miles and came off the assembly line in 1987.

I do recall that Eagle installed some single (per side) airbags and I think they were only for leveling.

It will be interesting to see what Mike has for airbags.

I recall reading that Eagle had heavy duty Torsilastics for the front axle (14K), but I don't recall that they had them for the drive axle.

The fact that the coach has 230K miles and that the Torsilastics are out of adjustment screw make me nervous. That suggests to me that the Torsilastics are in a near death mode.

Adapting dual airbags (per side) is not a huge project for a person with good fabrication and welding skills. I will try to link to some threads that discuss the modification shortly.

Jim

I thought that there were several threads on air spring conversion (for rear axle) but I only found the following thread:

https://eagles-international.net/forums ... fdd4f60621

That said, it is a great thread with a lot of details. As an update, I did not get copies of the Meeks drawings, nor have I seen any design for the bogey axles.

Jim

Very interesting about the higher GVWR

I'd like to throw a monkey wrench into all the air bag discussions. I recently discovered a product for various sized trucks called Timbren Suspension Enhanacement Systems (timbren.com), which amounts to a semi-solid rubber spring that is mounted on the frame over the axle. There are many sizes that cover light, medium, and heavy duty trucks, and RV's. It needs to be considered for the Eagle as either a supplement or capacity replacement for aging torsilastics. Replacing the torsilastics costs thousands, plus labor if you hire it out. These might do the job and cost considerably less. My concerns are whether they would have an appropriate range of motion, and not change the ride quality. They would take up less space than rolling lobe air bags, and would not interfere with fuel fillers, air lines, and air tanks such as in the double air bag setups that have been done a lot lately. I volunteer Mason to try them out, he has a fairly heavy Eagle (of unknown tonnage), and he knows how to fabricate and weld really well.

I suspect the airbag configuration that involved the CAD designs with the elaborate plates and brackets added a lot of weight and caused interference with a lot of things in the way. It certainly looked very strong, but it might have been stronger than necessary. The fabricator might have also been concerned about commercial liability if he produced the product for others to use. The double air bag design with the support legs welded to the Torsilastic tube seems to have relocation problems, and it personally makes me sick to see torsilastc tubes welded crudely (in most cases I have seen). If the welds were sound, what would the effect be on the rubber within the tube? At the least, if I were going that route, I would fabricate clamps that would straddle the Torsilastic, and bolt in place. My other option is to take good tubes off my parts Eagles and put them in. It should only take a day or so. No matter what, there is a lot of work involved.

Eagle Driver wrote:The air bags were part of the Monaco conversion and only usable when the coach was parked. I understand the air was dumped from the leveling system before the coach could be driven.

For the purpose of accuracy, I’d like to correct an error in my last post. The bags were installed by Eagle at the factory. They are shown in the Eagle MH Supplement binder. However, the leveling system could only be used when the coach was parked.

Please continue to share your suspension upgrade suggestions. I’m taking notes.

I am adding some of the promised documentation I referenced previously: Leveler System, MH Specs, and the Monaco Eagle I Sales brochure for giggles. I have a slight variation of floor plan 101. I find the files an interesting snapshot in time.

I did confirm the Certificate of Origin does state the the shell GVWR rating was 39,500 lbs. when it was transferred to Eagle Motorhome Sales in October 1987. The Shell Specifications sheet references a GVWR of 44,700 lbs. as a finished conversion. That difference is interesting. I'm still looking for the video link.

As I review the leveling system schematics, I'm wondering how much additional modifications would need to be required for a conversion to air suspension or a variation there of. I believe some of the rear suspension mods suggested a similar mounting point.

Lastly, I have found Roger Rice's name on a number of fluid sampling reports in the coach files. I'm guessing he was a former owner of my coach. I believe I saw his name referenced on a thread or two.