Every now and then we get enquiries about the “old shape” Ducato/Boxer/Relay AL-KO chassis kits, that is, motorhomes with a chassis number that starts with X230/X244. Our AL-KO kit only fits the X250/X290/X295 chassis.
The changeover year was 2006, however, new motorhomes can take a long while to build (especially A class motorhomes) and even when built often remain unsold at a dealership for some time. Therefore, if your motorhome was first registered in 2006/2007 it could still be the older shape. The chassis number will tell you which variant it is. If you cannot access it, you’re welcome to send us some photos showing the front of the vehicle, although this does not help on A-class's.
With some of the 1990s motorhomes now being a quarter of a century old and early 2000s vehicles not being much younger (where did the time go?!), many are starting to show their age and are in need of a suspension upgrade. We appreciate that people have become very attached to their motorhomes over the years, having fond memories of the trips taken, and want to keep them for as long as possible, however, we have bad news: we cannot supply an AL-KO kit for the pre-2006 chassis.
This is due to the difference in dimensions. The new shape AL-KO chassis has much more space for the airbags, meaning that the airbags will be able to properly lift the vehicle up and improve ride quality. We use Firestone 9000 bags in our kit, they’re the same bags that are used on ambulances and other heavy vehicles. The Firestone 9000 are great, versatile bags but they need enough room to be able to do the job: airbags can expand quite significantly and need at least one inch clearance all the way round, something that isn’t possible on the old shape AL-KO chassis. We did experiment with kits for older vehicles but the tiny 3 inch bags used don't offer any real noticeable improvement and the insignificant lift provided does not help with ferries.
It is also the reason why we don’t sell any AL-KO kits by other manufacturers, which use these tiny bags. There is a kit on the market but it’s too lightweight to make a real difference. Since we strive to provide the best air suspension products possible for each vehicle, we cannot supply something that we know isn’t going to work, and offers very poor value for money.
On a positive note, the kit we do offer for post 2006 vehicles offer better support for a better ride, and can lift vehicles to overcome grounding issues on ferries and some of the more rural sites.