New Concept in RV suspension stabilization/safety

[majbjb]

Hey, new Forest River E-Pro owner, having decided to "go back to my roots with a pull behind after last 20 years of owning Class C's. With kids gone I decided driving a "house" down the road wasn't really necessary anymore. Very happy with the quality and ease of use of the E Pro, just what the doctor ordered! But I was immedeatly reminded of the joys of white knuckle driving on highways/bad roads with a lightweight and bouncy trailer. Was going to buy one of the load leveller hitches but then discovered another option. Company called Base Air out of Australia manufactures an air bag supplementary suspension system for trailers and trucks that sounded almost too good to be true. They needed to put some systems on various vehicles (semi's, RV's, large cargo vehicles, etc...) as a test bed to showcase to US industry. I managed to convince them my E Pro would be a great option for them (helps that a cousin of mine was working for them here in US as a consultant, and I was the only person he knew who actually owned an RV helped LOL). So after the installation and many miles, I'm convinced these suspension systems are going to be standard options on US RVs in a few years. Revolutionary describes how much more controllable pulling a trailer is with this system. Air bags for each wheel that activate multiple times per second to level suspension in reaction to bumps, swaying or shifting center of gravity is phenominal ! No more white knuckle driving at speed, no more fighting rebound bouncing every time you hit a bump or uneven spot. The camper basically anchors and stabilizes the tow vehicle. Highly recommend everyone watches for this system coming out in next few years, it's going to revolutionize how we deal with towing campers or driving our "big rigs". Check out Baseair.com !

 

[RhumbleFish]

Interesting - great concept, esp if it can slot into existing suspension points without a lot of hassle, or be added as helpers. LOVE to see a suspension that's directly based on a high-travel bag... Australia is a little ahead of the US for airbag suspension on travel trailers, though it tends to be for leveling, additional clearance and true off-road capability.

Some great stuff out there:

The rise of caravan airbag suspension

Airbag Suspension | Air Tanks | Compressors

TA4TAJ - Trailer Air Conversion - Jayco Tandem (Mk1 Outback)

And the trailing arm suspensions I've seen on Black Series trailers looks to be a perfect match for air suspension:

 

[majbjb]

The secret sauce that Base Air has is their patented "real time" air bag valves. Makes changes in the microseconds to keep everything totally level. It's almost unsettling (but in a nice way !) to experience. Base owns the market in Australia for heavy truck/trailer applications and are getting into the SUV/light duty truck industry now. But for the big rigs they're showing savings in mpg, tire wear and failure rates of suspension componets but the biggest savings are in driver stress and fatigue. You can drive a big rig not with two hands gripped in a death grip on steering wheel but two fingers lightly resting on wheel. Which is how most Americans drive their cars on good roads....and of course that's very unsafe ! But hey, I'm hooked and in process of getting my Tundra outfitted with the system as both tow vehicle and trailer fitted gives you the best experience. There were some Forest River execs demo'd the system about a month ago and I'm thinking my little old E Pro is the first to have what many Forest Rivers will have in the future. Amazing stuff, to include the links you posted to other companies working the same issues.

 

[wlfclf2000]

I have the Curt Beastmode suspension on my 2023 R-pod from the factory. 1000 times better than any trailer I have had or towed in the past.

I don't go off roading but the American Highway system can be very rough and we bought this trailer to travel.
Besides towability, these suspensions will greatly improve the life of the trailer box and components; well worth the cost for anyone who is going to keep and use their trailer. No more arriving with the eggs already scrambled in the shell, I like over-easy once in a while.

 

[Boomerweps]

Simplicity and cost will keep solid axles with leaf springs as the trailer primary suspension system for a long time.
“Microseconds to make adjustments” is pure hyperbole, verbal fluff. Adjustments required can be computed in microseconds, air or liquid changes are still limited by flow times.

 

[mbutts-GSO]

Looks really cool. I hope it doesn't add $25,000 to the price like Liquid Springs does for gas motorhomes.

 

[corn18]

Maybe they should invest some time and money into their website. My spidey senses are tingling.

 

[wlfclf2000]

Looks really cool. I hope it doesn't add $25,000 to the price like Liquid Springs does for gas motorhomes.

The Beastmode system is affordable enough that Forest River is installing it on many of their products including the R-Pod 196 I purchased. The difference between
(Price listed) with and without Beastmode was $1000.

 

[corn18]

The Beastmode system is affordable enough that Forest River is installing it on many of their products including the R-Pod 196 I purchased. The difference between MSRP with and without Beastmode was $1000.

I'd gladly pay $1000 for that beastmode suspension. My shocks, springs, equalizer and wet bolts cost more that that. And mine is still inferior to that beastmode.

 

[wlfclf2000]

I changed MSRP to (price listed) in my post because MSRP was much higher for both RV's. You would pay $1000 more for the package in 2023.

 

[wlfclf2000]

I'd gladly pay $1000 for that beastmode suspension. My shocks, springs, equalizer and wet bolts cost more that that. And mine is still inferior to that beastmode.

Since you added an equalizer and wet bolts you probably have a dual axil. Mine is a single axil. I just did some "right now" price comparison at the dealer I bought my trailer from. The MSRP for Beastmode Dual Axil is about $3200 which puts the out the door price right now at about $2200, still worth it.
The best thing you did for your camper by far is adding the shocks.