Optimised driving comfort on the front axle.

As popular as the Fiat Ducato is in the motorhome industry, the robust Italian is equally well known for its hard suspension characteristics. The same applies to its identical siblings. For this reason, we have developed special struts which, through innovative damping force adjustment combined with special coil springs, provide a significant increase in comfort on the front axle. Depending on the situation and road conditions, the damping force is automatically regulated and adjusted. With minor inputs, the damping force is reduced to provide greater rolling comfort. During intense body movements, a firmer setup ensures greater driving stability. The improvement is clearly noticeable. Where the rather uncompromising original strut can become irritating with vibrations, jolts or even harsh impacts, the optimised Goldschmitt struts promise a significantly better driving experience. Severe impacts are gently balanced out, while the soft setup ensures pleasant compression and rebound. The result is a quiet, comfortable driving experience – even on uneven or patched roads.

Innovative suspension combination for the rear axle.

Additional air springs from Goldschmitt are a proven way to help overloaded standard suspensions regain their performance. However, in lightweight vehicles with particularly stiff leaf springs, such reinforcement can result in even harsher handling. It was for precisely these cases that we expanded our RouteComfort series with an innovative solution for the Ducato rear axle. From an actual rear-axle load of 1,600 kg, it provides a significantly softer, more comfortable driving experience while also allowing the rear of the vehicle to be raised or lowered. The heart of the system is the combination of glass-fibre-reinforced leaf springs and 8-inch additional air suspension. It combines the advantages of a soft, comfortable spring rate with an individual raising and lowering function. The air suspension reliably compensates for differences in load distribution and optimally supports the leaf suspension without making the vehicle unnecessarily hard. Lightweight vehicles such as camper vans with oversized standard suspension benefit particularly from this harmonious handling. Depending on the standard leaf spring package, many vehicles remain weight-neutral despite the retrofitted air suspension. The additional weight of the air suspension system is offset by the significantly lighter GFRP spring package (15 kg / set). On models with double-layer leaf springs, this results in an effective weight advantage, while vehicles with a single-leaf spring also benefit from the lighter construction.

Like our standard additional air suspension systems, RouteComfort can also be controlled flexibly. Traditionally, the air suspension can be operated via an analogue pressure gauge control panel, with both air bellows able to be filled synchronously and vented separately to compensate for uneven weight distribution. The innovative RHC® control system provides maximum ease of use: Level sensors continuously detect the vehicle height, the control unit automatically adjusts the air pressure and keeps the defined driving level constant – regardless of the load. All functions can be operated quickly using an elegant control panel in the cab. The free smartphone app for iOS and Android provides additional convenience, for example by allowing separate pressure adjustment of the left and right air bellows or using the innovative weighing function, which displays the rear-axle load directly on the screen. This function is optional and only available on vehicles with sufficient suspension travel.

In addition to the actual suspension elements (left image), every Goldschmitt additional air suspension system is equipped either with a manually controlled pressure gauge control panel (centre image) or – depending on the vehicle type – with the innovative RHC control system. This features automatic level control and can be operated via the standard control panel or a smartphone app (right image). Every Goldschmitt air suspension system also comes equipped as standard with a powerful compressor.