Is VB Air Suspension Worth It on a Campervan? Four Reasons One Owner Said Yes
Full air suspension is one of the most expensive individual components you can add to a campervan. So is it just an impressive party trick, or does it genuinely make campervanning easier?
I got to find out on a brand new Ecowagon Expo+ built on the VW T7 Transporter. The owners preferred not to speak on camera, but during their handover they gave me four clear reasons for choosing VB air suspension, and one of them has nothing to do with levelling.
First, the van
This is no ordinary T7. The 4Motion badge on the back tells you it's four-wheel drive, a popular option that plenty of T6 and T6.1 owners have specified over the years. It sits on 19-inch VW alloys with premium Goodyear tyres, has a trapezoid side bar and gloss-black canards on the front. That last detail is so simple, but it makes a huge difference to the look of the van.
Up top is a Reimo pop-top roof with the sprung bed system, so you've got proper comfort upstairs, and a Thule awning runs down the side. Ecowagon Expo+ graphics in black finish it off.
Open the door and the interior really impressed me. Tan leather throughout, embossed with the Expo+ logo on the seat backs and beautifully textured. The twin captain's chairs up front sit on RIB swivels, so with both turned round and the rear seat slid forward you can have four people eating around the table.
The sliding bed
The rear seat and bed run on rails that go almost to the front of the van. I'm seeing this system in more and more conversions, and it's easy to see why. Slide it forward and you open up a cavernous storage area at the back for travelling. Slide it back and you've got a bigger living space. It's really smooth to operate and makes the van far more versatile.
Kitchen and comfort
Vitrifrigo 50-litre fridge with freezer compartment
Double-burner induction hob
Dometic sink with a rather nice mixer tap that delivers hot and cold water
Hot water system that also feeds an external shower point at the rear, next to the water filler
Webasto diesel heater
Blinds on every window, including the sliding door, rear quarter and tailgate, plus a fly screen so you can leave the kitchen window open without the bugs joining you
Soft-close cupboard catches (I had to pause just to enjoy them)
Remote-controlled colour-changing lighting, which comes as standard with the Reimo roof
Storage runs along the top and across the back, and the deep cupboard that houses the inverter has adjustable shelves so you can make room for taller items.
Power to run an induction hob off-grid
Running an induction hob and 230-volt sockets away from hook-up takes a serious electrical system, and this van has one. Two 230Ah lithium iron phosphate batteries under the front seats give 460Ah of capacity, feeding a Victron MultiPlus 3000 inverter. A roof-mounted solar panel tops it up, and you can plug into mains as well.
Everything is monitored and controlled from a Simarine panel, which shows battery state and temperature and lets you switch lights, water pump and so on. There are 230-volt, USB-A and USB-C sockets in the rear, the front and even up in the pop top.
Sleeping comfort upstairs and down, plenty of storage, lots of power. It's another iteration of the Expo+ that Ecowagon has been building for years on the T6 and T6.1, now on the T7 platform.
Then there's the air suspension
Down by the driver's seat is the VB controller. Press a button and you can raise the van, lower it, set it to a driving mode or ask it to level itself.
The auto-levelling is the feature most people think of. You pull up on site, the weather might be awful, and instead of getting the ramps out, driving up and down them while someone watches a spirit level and you both get increasingly irritated, you press a button and you're level. That alone is a great benefit. But is it worth the money?
Four reasons the owners chose it
I was lucky enough to be standing at the van when the owners arrived for their handover. It was the first time they'd seen it in the metal and they were blown away, and before I'd asked a single question they were telling me why they'd specified it the way they had.
Their plan is a compact van they can live in for a few days at a time, take all over Europe and potentially tow a caravan with. They'd looked at much bigger campervans and even A-class motorhomes, but settled on this size for its versatility: underground car parks, tighter spaces, parking on the street. That thinking drove the suspension decision.
1. Getting under height barriers.
VB air suspension lets you change the ride height of the vehicle. Drop it down and a pop-top T7 can get under barriers and into car parks that would otherwise be off-limits. For a couple who want to use the van in towns and cities, that matters more than levelling.
2. Ride comfort.
The owner's view is that driving on VB air suspension is noticeably more comfortable than the standard Volkswagen set-up. On long European trips, that adds up.
3. Comfort when you arrive.
This is the one-button levelling. As his wife put it: get the drinks out, have a drink, and off you go. Your holiday starts on a positive note rather than with an argument about whether the van is level.
4. Up-plating for a bigger payload.
This one surprised me. The van is a T32, so it has a maximum weight of 3,200kg. With VB air suspension fitted it can be up-plated to 3,850kg. That gives them a much bigger payload, enough to carry a motorbike on the back when they head to Europe. They may only go as far as 3,500kg, but the option is there if they want it.
If you're considering the same route, do check what your driving licence allows before you commit. A standard car licence covers vehicles up to 3,500kg, so going above that has implications for who can drive the van.
So, gimmick or genuinely useful?
I know what my thoughts were before I spoke to these owners, and their four reasons made a strong case. Levelling on its own is a luxury. Levelling plus height-barrier access, a more comfortable drive and the ability to carry far more weight is a different proposition, particularly for a couple planning long trips abroad with a bike or a caravan behind.
It's still a lot of money, and if you spend most of your time on level pitches with hook-up, you may never feel you've had the value from it. But for the way these owners intend to use their van, it isn't a gimmick. It has a real purpose.
As I left, the Reimo roof was going up and the handover was in full swing. I'm sure they'll have many years of enjoyable holidays in that van.
What do you think of VB air suspension? Worth the money or an expensive party trick? Let me know in the comments below or on the YouTube video.
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