Top Drive air suspension on new vans

I have a 2011 Sussex Duo, similar to the Warwick. The Alko Air Suspension, that is fitted to my van, needs replacing and I am looking at my options. I have a booking with AS for the work. Has anyone any comment on the Top Drive system fitted to the vans now or the VB system that was mentioned to me by Marquis?

Thanks.

I have a 2010 Sussex Duo without Air suspension (I thought the spec of the Marquis specials Inc it but I ain't got it) so I'd be interested  as to cost (obviously  I've nothing to remove first), as the ride is so harsh even with camper tyres set to 65 rear.

Your comment about ride quality is interesting. I have toyed with idea of removing the Alko system and replacing the bump stops, however your comments would suggest that this would not be really sensible. I have been trying to solve my problem for a while now without really coming to a decision. I don't seem to be able to get definitive advice. AS fitted the Alko Air Top system to my van. I had an issue with the original fitting being incorrect leading to problems with the bellows. AS replaced the
 first set of bellows under warranty. One of the bellows has now developed a problem, which does not give me confidence in that system. AS vans now advertise a system called Top Drive. Contacting AS for information replacing my system they are talking about a system called Glide Rite. I have not worked out if they are the same system. I have tried to get the leaking bellow fitted but the fittings are all so corroded that it  could not be dismantled without resorting to angle grinders.
It has been suggested that I could change them myself and fit a kit from Marcle Leisure. Having scrabbled underneath my van I quickly realised that without the correct kit self fitting was, for me, a non starter.

Regarding prices; Marcle do have some interesting kits for self fitting
or if you have access to a good fitter. The VB system is, I think, around£800 fitted. Although I need to confirm that this includes VAT.
The system offered by AS will come in at about £1200. All these are basic kits, without a compressor. I imagine that you will now understand why I was just going to fit the bump stops.
Now, is there anybody out there who has gone through this recently and got some good advice, otherwise it is AS later in the year and a very minimalist Xmas. There again we might all be having one of those.

I've been happy with the ride of mine for the almost four years that we've had it but this year it seems harsh, maybe the  state of roads with so many potholes and rough surfaces is the problem. Also I have camper tyres on which I think don't absorb shocks well due to the stiffer sidewalls. They are due for replacement so may go to commercial tyres with softer sidewalls. I must admit I don't really want to pay out £800 or so on top of £500 for tyres.

I have the Top Drive system and there are a couple of annoyances. It loses a few PSI of pressure every now and then, so has to be topped up occasionally. And because of the location where the valves are fitted to the side of the passenger seat base, one of them is very difficult to get my air compressor hose onto, being too close to the pillar.

If you had a compressor built in, you could use it to help level the van in some circumstances I suppose, as it would be really easy to raise and lower the pressure. But otherwise once you’ve found the pressure you like, there’s not much benefit. If it didn’t leak, even more so.

I've got the Top Drive system on my Fairford Plus and after a bit of a learning curve for optimal pressures/loading I realised it makes a huge difference to comfort.  Can also heavily increase ride height if you get carried away!

I share the annoyances of the post above, however, one of the valves is poorly positioned and the system does need topping up on a fairly random basis.

Thanks for that.
Maybe I should just keep inflating mine very couple of days, if the new system causes problems anyway.

pootler wrote:Thanks for that.
Maybe I should just keep inflating mine very couple of days, if the new system causes problems anyway.

Just for info, I also have a 2011 Sussex Duo.  It had the original Alko, where the bolts rubbed on the bellows.  I had these changed to the new design Alko, where the bolts cannot rub.  I don’t have any problems with it, and only rarely top it up (perhaps once or twice a year).

I had the same problem with the original Alko fitments. This was dealt with by AS under warranty. I was negligent at the time as I did not check what exactly AS changed. I do not know if they changed just the bellows or the complete units. I suspect just the bellows. At the time I was just relieved not to have to pay anything. My problems only began earlier this year. On investigation the problem appears to be that there is a leak where the top plastic fixing ring meets the top fixing plate. On spraying with water I can see small bubbles appearing from the position.
I would be very interested to know who did your repair as I am not truly convinced what repair action to take at the moment. AS have mentioned a company called Glide Rite, who apparently supply the system that they fit at the present. I have being trying for days to get a response from this company, without success.
Thank you

pootler wrote:I had the same problem with the original Alko fitments. This was dealt with by AS under warranty. I was negligent at the time as I did not check what exactly AS changed. I do not know if they changed just the bellows or the complete units. I suspect just the bellows. At the time I was just relieved not to have to pay anything. My problems only began earlier this year. On investigation the problem appears to be that there is a leak where the top plastic fixing ring meets the top fixing plate. On spraying with water I can see small bubbles appearing from the position.
I would be very interested to know who did your repair as I am not truly convinced what repair action to take at the moment. AS have mentioned a company called Glide Rite, who apparently supply the system that they fit at the present. I have being trying for days to get a response from this company, without success.
Thank you

My brother purchased a new ALKO bellows set (everything but the gauge), then he took it to our local garage in Keighley West Yorkshire who works on our cars and van. He’s a small independent garage, not motorhome habitation, but does all our mechanical work on the van (mot, servicing, tyres etc). He replaced them and we just kept the original gauge in place. Would you like me to pm you with his details?

I don’t know about the Top Drive or VB system; ours was a straight swap from ALKO old design to ALKO new design bellows.

Thanks for this offer. 
My situation is that I took the van to a professional company for an exchange of the leaking bellows. They were able to undo the the four nuts holding the brackets but were unable to undo anything else due to rust and corrosion. The removal would have entailed grinding and pushing out some nuts, Then there would be the case of the total of twelve bots that hold the bellows to the brackets. If they all released then great but if just two were awkward then the fun would begin. In short the time taken to remove and replace the bellows units would most certainly have outweighed the costs of just replacing the whole system.
Therein lies my uncertainty. Remove or replace? Replace with which system?.
If I had the tools and the knowledge I would most probably just take my time and do it myself, but that is no longer the case.
So take the pain , pay the money, but what to to choose?