First, have you had your Lexi weighed? Need to get that done to determine what your front and rear axle ar supporting. Ge it weighed with the equipment you would normally carry, full gas tank and maybe 1/2 tank of fresh water.
On our Lexi, like yours, the fresh water tank sits well aft of the axle, and if your hauling a fill tank, it dosen't help the weight on the rear overhang (that portion of the coach thats behind the axle)
Second, after getting it weighed, you can adjust your tire air pressure to the weight specs. If your running the max listed for your tires (usually 80 psi) they may be overinflated for your specific load.
On our Lexi 283ts, I run 70 psi in the front, and 72-75 psi in the rear tires. This is well within the tires weight rating (for my rig), and gives a smooth ride without the "light" feeling in the front. Airbags are set at 70 psi.
You just have to expermint with tire pressures, airbag pressure, and maybe adjusting some weight forward of the rear axle.
Grumpy
I have the Firestone airbag set up on the Lexi, but it was installed at the factory. An option I think.
Anyway, if you don't have them, get them. No need to get fancy...the standard manual fill works just fine.
No drilling, but unless you have accesss to a good (20 ton) bottle jack and impact wrench, get it installed at a shop.
Also, check that your rig dosen't already have them. If you bought your rig used, previous owner/dealer might not have mentioned/knew they were there.
Check the two rear left and right storage compartments. Look on the front wall of the compartments and if installed you should see an air valve (schrader valve) mounted on the wall. Just a thought, as the airbags themselves are small in size, and not really visible from under the rig.
Grumpy
Your rear end being 1 1/4 inch higher that the front is pretty much normal. On our 2012 the rear sits higher with no air in the air bags. Adding air lifts it up another inch, but no big deal.
Rear ends on the E-450 are pretty heavy duty, and are set to carry a lot of weight. Even adding a coach body like the 283ts dosen't come anywhere near the weight limit of the springs.
Don't have the exact weights with me now, but when I weighed our Lexi, full gas tank, 1/2 full water, and normal stuff we carry, me and wife aboard, I still had over 1500 lbs of carrying capacity left inside the rig.
The Lexi line is one of the few that dosen't come anywhere near the weight limit/carrying capacity of the E-450 chassies.
Grumpy
ostbob,
If your getting shocks, get a full set. With the milage your rig has and its age, your better off just biting the bullet and get a full set.
I put a full set of Bilsteins on our Lexi when it only had 12,000 miles on it. The difference was night and day. I also have a Roadmaster steering stabilizer to replace the wimpy Ford OE unit. Front end was aligned using adjustable bushings (search this forum for front end alignment specs)
Our Lexi tracks streight and true, with no wandering. Still wibbles a bit when I'm passed by a flying big rig, but other than that no problems. Also, we're towing a Subaru Crosstrek, again with no problems.
Havent gone to heavier sway bars or a track bar just yet, really havent felt the need.
Another item you may want to consider due to your rigs age/milage might be the sway bar bushings. There's a lot of stress placed on those rubber bushings, and they'll ware out quick.
Also, have your front ball joints and steering linkage checked. They are greasable, and previous owners may not have maintained them like there supposed to.
Don't give up just yet. You may have to dump a few bucks into the suspension to get it right, but it's well worth it if you use your rig alot.
Grumpy
Haven't been on till today...no wifi in some of the campgrounds we've been staying at.
@0-25 lbs in two weeks is a bit on the excessive side. We've been on the road for 3 weeks now and have only lost 10-15 psi. Just rechecked and added a bit yesterday.
As for schrader placement..on ours there are 2, one in each of the rear compartments on left and right side...one for each airbag. Have to open each compartment to check pressure.
I wish mine WERE where yours are, and I wish I only had one to feed both bags like yours. Been planning to run the two seperate lines to one and mounting the valve outside...its on my to-do list. Don't need to get on your back...just get a good 100 psi gauge with a hose extention.
Grumpy
Haven't been on till today...no wifi in some of the campgrounds we've been staying at.
@0-25 lbs in two weeks is a bit on the excessive side. We've been on the road for 3 weeks now and have only lost 10-15 psi. Just rechecked and added a bit yesterday.
As for schrader placement..on ours there are 2, one in each of the rear compartments on left and right side...one for each airbag. Have to open each compartment to check pressure.
I wish mine WERE where yours are, and I wish I only had one to feed both bags like yours. Been planning to run the two seperate lines to one and mounting the valve outside...its on my to-do list. Don't need to get on your back...just get a good 100 psi gauge with a hose extention.
Grumpy
Your rear end being 1 1/4 inch higher that the front is pretty much normal. On our 2012 the rear sits higher with no air in the air bags. Adding air lifts it up another inch, but no big deal.
Rear ends on the E-450 are pretty heavy duty, and are set to carry a lot of weight. Even adding a coach body like the 283ts dosen't come anywhere near the weight limit of the springs.
Don't have the exact weights with me now, but when I weighed our Lexi, full gas tank, 1/2 full water, and normal stuff we carry, me and wife aboard, I still had over 1500 lbs of carrying capacity left inside the rig.
The Lexi line is one of the few that dosen't come anywhere near the weight limit/carrying capacity of the E-450 chassies.
Grumpy