G0to60

I'm starting to get into some of the expedition type camping and am seriously thinking about getting my allroad a little better prepared for the back country. Now, I'm not trying to go as far as "jesusgatos" on here but his rig is being used as inspiration for me.

I want to keep the air suspension on for the near term and I want to be able to temporarily fix it in case something happens out in the sticks somewhere. Here's some ideas I've thought of to get by in a pinch and I'm wondering what you guys think.

-Heavy duty patch kit
I will buy a tire patch kit and use it on a hole or tear. This won't help if the hole is on one of the folds but I may be able to keep the suspension at level 3 or 4 to give the patch a flatter surface.

-Tire slime
I'm not too keen on this but it could work even in the folded part of the air bag. I may try to find a Schrader valve that will thread into the air connection (see below) of the bag. Then use an tire air compressor to keep that corner raised but independent from the system. That way none of the slime gets back into the lines.



The Schrader valve(s) may also help in the event of a compressor failure. I could use the tire compressor or even a bike pump in a pinch.

So what are your thoughts on these emergency suspension ideas? Are there any other easier ones (short of changing to coils)?

freetobelee

For an "in the field" solution, I think slime would be more effective and easier. The bag will most likely leak somewhere in the fold due to fatigue ( I think it would be pretty difficult to puncture the bag elsewhere,even in pretty extreme off-roading), and to install a patch in the fold would mean full removal of the shock, which would be difficult on uneven and unpaved road.

I thought about doing the slime as a temporary fix for my leaking bags at one point, but just went with cheap replacement bags. I too, was concerned about slime making it's way back into the system when it dries and breaks down in the bag over time. I believe I read somewhere that people reported finding it in the lines, but never all the way to the control block, but it seems like a risk not worth taking considering the prices of the block and the pump.

I had a thought to install an in-line filter of some sort to prevent system contamination of slime.
The line is 4mm, and fitting thread is 1/8 BSPP (british standard pipe parallel)
I came across these while exploring this idea.

http://www.highpressuretech.com/Filters.html

I like the idea of a shrader valve for emergency filling as well, but I imagine isolating one bag from the system would drive the computer nuts! (possibly causing some kind of harm, esp if this caused the compressor to continuously run.)

jesusgatos

Think those are all good ideas, but have doubts about patches holding. They're usually held in place by being pushed against a tire. Would work a lot better if you could disassembly and patch from the inside, but at that point, there are probably other/better options. I'm planning on carrying one spare front/rear bag. The Shrader valves are a good idea too.

Was planning on starting a thread about tools and spare parts I ought to carry. Still don't know too much about these vehicles and could use some help putting that stuff together. I always put together a dedicated tool kit for each of my vehicles, and try to do most/all of the maintenance on those vehicles with those toolkits. Have found it's the best way to make sure I'll have what I need to fix anything when I'm out adventuring. Take a look at this toolkit thread on ADVrider to see what I'm talking about. Obviously the toolkits you'd put together for a car or truck would be a little different than what you'd use to work on a motorcycle, but it's surprising how much crosses over. Used the 1/4" sockets and driver in my motorcycle kit to change the spark plugs in the allroad last night because those tools were small enough that I didn't have to remove the intake or coolant tank.

jesusgatos

Link, for future reference.

G0to60

Great ideas in that link you posted. I didn't think of some of that stuff (like sandpaper) but it makes so much sense.

I'm slowly getting my allroad more off road ready but it probably won't be until next summer that I will feel comfortable going way out in the boonies. I will slowly get things like a tool kit together. Thanks a bunch for all the pics and ideas you have posted.