Kelderman air system

[SRehberg]

I did a search for the Kelderman air ride system and there is some information, but is anyone running the system on their trucks? I'm looking to remove the road "harshness" while empty but I still need to carry a 11. 5ft Lance camper. Is Kelderman the system to use to make the ride smooth or is there something better or?

I use Tork Lift camper tie downs, so would they be reuseable on the Kelderman system?



Any comments are appreciated.

 

[DGerth]

Yeah pard!!!

I've got a rear syatem on my 01 3/4T and I cannot say enough good about it.

I usually haul a 30 ft TT Arctic Fox with about 900lbs tongue wt. The Kelderman sys is adjustable and I run about 48 -51 lbs of pressure to even things out. When empty, just drop pres. to whatever trips your trig. The ride is quite abit better than stock, plus you can adj. how heavy or light a ride is aceptable. cost, about 1k and instal is easy, takes about 3 hrs +- if Keystone is helping. I recommend it. Don't know about the camperstuff, but sure like the system! dg

 

[SRehberg]

Thanks for the reply. Did you order it through Kelderman directly or is there a better place to get it? I assume you installed it yourself and is the factory hitch still retained?



Thanks

 

[DGerth]

Yes, I went direct thru them in IA, Very helpful and polite with my dumb q"s. I'm not aware of any dealers of their stuff, but may be. Quality of product is VG and can be installed easily with the right tools and prep. The fac hitch will be replaced by their hitch which is just as good, depending on the type of sys you opt for. I've hauled the TT about 12K with this sys and am satisfied muchly with it. It takes the harsh out of the fact sys but you can run up to 100lbs of pres on the bags (per Kelderman) this gives you about 8" of lift at the rear bumper but will over load your truck susp. It's overkill at it's best! I don't think you could abuse, easily, this sys. Haqve them send you some info/DVD on their stuff. dg

 

[GAllen]

You could also look at Airlift. My friend is running their system on his DMAX, now three years old. IMHO a cleaner install.





www.airliftcompany.com/ROADTAMER/

 

[Todd T]

My question about the airlift system is how does the rear end articulate side to side. it looks like with those solid beams bolted directly to the rear housing then the housing beams, frame mounts etc would all be twisting for any side to side motion to take place.

 

[SHobbs]

Look at Air Ride Technologies they have a full four link as well as bags for the front. Their four link is half what Keldermans cost, no flame intended. I have been looking into putting one under my truck for a while now. Air Ride Tech's website says something about being able to lower the ride of the truck which can be misleading. I called them and they told me that it will maintain the factory ride height as well as provide a smoother ride.

 

[SRadke]

My 03 had a full Kelderman air ride under it with the 4link inthe rear. It was great system with excellent fit and finnish. The harshness was less than with springs in an empty truck but unlike springs the ride got better as you added weight. Where it really excelled was under load. I don't know how well it would do with a heavy camper though, sway might be an issue.



-Scott

 

[SRehberg]

Thank you for the replies, I'll call both companies to see what they have to say. I wanted to hear from actual owner's as the company hype can be misleading I need to smooth out the empty ride for sure and I appreciate the input.

 

[geusterman]

Srehberg... the air hitch Kelderman sells worked great on my 02 with a 4K BigFoot which I use on my 04. Considering doing it again. You load the camper and level the air bag arm off the hitch which sets the truck right back up where it is supposed to be. I used Ranchos for sway. Ran like a sports car with the camper. Empty ride in rear so much better the front gets irritating. Less than I grand if I recall. George

 

[SRehberg]

Thanks George, I need to call tomorrow and get the scoop for my truck. These trucks can haul a bunch, but the ride sure suffers!

 

[Todd T]

they ride perfectly until you load them onto the overloads then it gets harsh. the sway is taken care of by isolating the two bags from each other. if the air cant transfer side to side then sway is alot less.

 

[Turbo Thom]

SRehberg... ... ..... the stock hitch is not used with the Kelderman system. The new one from them is integral to there setup. I've been a dealer for them about 2 years and have not issues to now. Finish and workmanship is first class.



. . Preston. .

 

[BBarner]

so can you get any lift with the air system - i have been looking at a 3 to 4" lift and some say get an air system - do these systems do that?

 

[geusterman]

Not the one in the above... it is a hitch system for rear air ride. See Kelderman's full meal deal air ride or others. The whole truck is on air. George

 

[Turbo Thom]

Like George says, the Kelderman unit we speak of here is just the rear. They do have lift kits that go to 16". 3-4 " is a good lift, but the higher the truck goes, so does the price.



. . Preston. .

 

[RVPILOT]

air ride

been using Kelderman 750,000 miles, no problem except air pump replaced by older G M air pump. stormy