Kelderman 4-Link
Well, I'm back after a bit of a hiatus and starting to think about TC's again. Had a big 5th wheel for a while after selling the S&S back in 2010, then sold the 5'er to finance building a garage, but now I'm looking to get another TC.
Truck is an '07.5 Sierra 3500HD DRW D-max that we've had since new - currently with 85k on it. I've been quite happy with it, and although I wish it had the GVWR of the '11-up, I can't justify replacing it right now. Why would I even be considering replacing it? Well, I want a monster TC ... either Host Everest, Chalet TS-116, Eagle Cap 1160, or something similar.
I don't want to get into any debates about "to overload or not to overload" because I've been there before and I'm OK with some smart overloading with some carefully chosen mods. (My truck's limit is the stock steel wheels, which are 2440/per, and I'm OK blowing off the factory GVWR/GAWR) The truck has RS9000's and Firestone bags but is otherwise stock. I'm thinking about maybe just upgrading the front brakes with the SSBC "Tri-Power" calipers and some "Big Bite" rotors.
The biggest upgrade I was thinking of is the Kelderman 4-Link suspension and I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with it + a big TC. I did a bit of searching and can't find a whole lot of folks with direct experience on it. The reasons I think it would be good are 1) the truck is also our daily driver, and with how rough our roads are up here the stock rear suspension has a hard time keeping the back end under control. I don't care so much about "ride quality" so much, but it would be nice if the back end felt more under control over the bumps and 2) I like the idea of the automatic leveling system, because I have "level OCD" and am always wanting to mess with the pressure in the bags. I'm thinking if the whole thing is auto-controlled I won't feel the need to worry about it. I know I could just get a compressor and auto-leveler to work with the existing helper bags, but I like the idea of completely ditching the leaf springs.
So, three biggest questions are:
1) Is the 4-link durable enough to last for the next 80k miles (or more) that the truck will? I don't want to be having to rebuild the thing every 20 or 30k.
2) How does it handle the high CG of a TC load in the turns? I've got a decent amount of experience with the airbags and setting things up so the factory overloads help to handle the lean which I'm pretty happy with - wondering if it handles things at least as well, if not better.
3) How much extra load capacity is it really designed for? Their website says "increase carrying capacity" but doesn't say by how much. My stock rear GAWR is 8200# but I know the AAM 1150 axle is good over 10k, so I use the wheel limit of 2440x4 as the limit, so I assume it's at least rated to that if not double. Just wondering if anyone knows the "inside info" on what they've really designed it to handle.
My long-term plan would be to get probably a Dodge 5500 chassis cab so I could have monster TC + tow whatever I want, but in the meantime I think the GMC will do the trick ...
Truck is an '07.5 Sierra 3500HD DRW D-max that we've had since new - currently with 85k on it. I've been quite happy with it, and although I wish it had the GVWR of the '11-up, I can't justify replacing it right now. Why would I even be considering replacing it? Well, I want a monster TC ... either Host Everest, Chalet TS-116, Eagle Cap 1160, or something similar.
I don't want to get into any debates about "to overload or not to overload" because I've been there before and I'm OK with some smart overloading with some carefully chosen mods. (My truck's limit is the stock steel wheels, which are 2440/per, and I'm OK blowing off the factory GVWR/GAWR) The truck has RS9000's and Firestone bags but is otherwise stock. I'm thinking about maybe just upgrading the front brakes with the SSBC "Tri-Power" calipers and some "Big Bite" rotors.
The biggest upgrade I was thinking of is the Kelderman 4-Link suspension and I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with it + a big TC. I did a bit of searching and can't find a whole lot of folks with direct experience on it. The reasons I think it would be good are 1) the truck is also our daily driver, and with how rough our roads are up here the stock rear suspension has a hard time keeping the back end under control. I don't care so much about "ride quality" so much, but it would be nice if the back end felt more under control over the bumps and 2) I like the idea of the automatic leveling system, because I have "level OCD" and am always wanting to mess with the pressure in the bags. I'm thinking if the whole thing is auto-controlled I won't feel the need to worry about it. I know I could just get a compressor and auto-leveler to work with the existing helper bags, but I like the idea of completely ditching the leaf springs.
So, three biggest questions are:
1) Is the 4-link durable enough to last for the next 80k miles (or more) that the truck will? I don't want to be having to rebuild the thing every 20 or 30k.
2) How does it handle the high CG of a TC load in the turns? I've got a decent amount of experience with the airbags and setting things up so the factory overloads help to handle the lean which I'm pretty happy with - wondering if it handles things at least as well, if not better.
3) How much extra load capacity is it really designed for? Their website says "increase carrying capacity" but doesn't say by how much. My stock rear GAWR is 8200# but I know the AAM 1150 axle is good over 10k, so I use the wheel limit of 2440x4 as the limit, so I assume it's at least rated to that if not double. Just wondering if anyone knows the "inside info" on what they've really designed it to handle.
My long-term plan would be to get probably a Dodge 5500 chassis cab so I could have monster TC + tow whatever I want, but in the meantime I think the GMC will do the trick ...
