Need Expert Suspension Advice

First money to spend would be at the scale after you are fully loaded with all provisions.

Thanks guys, I'm not doing anything to my truck until after I pick up my TC and drive it home. A 500 mile trip should enlighten me. Hopefully I'll be good to go. My main concern is the Kelderman system removes the overload springs. It's a very stout setup so I'm hoping I'm I'm finished spending money getting the truck ready. I'll let u know.

Don't you know we're all experts? ;)

Passin Thru wrote:
You'll likely not collect insurance if you wreck and you are over GVWR. It,s your call but I stay around 400 under gross and I've driven trucks 4 million miles in 48 years. I started driving truck when fuel was .19/gal

This may apply to a commercial vehicle but it NEVER applies to anything else. People screw with their vehicles all the time with lowered or raised suspensions or flashy rims and low profile tires and if they have an accident no officer is going to write them up for it. No officer is going to have you tow your truck to a certified weigh station to get weighed and it is stupid to suggest otherwise.

All the manufacturers calculate a GVWR based on how the truck is equipped and configured when it leaves the factory and it is based on the weakest link in the vehicle. When hauling that is going to be the frame, leaf springs, rear axles and wheel bearings, and the wheels.

Not to confuse matters with facts but Ford rates the rear axle of the current F-450 trucks at 12,000 lbs. and provides payload values of from 6563 up to 9977 lbs. depending upon the leaf packs and the rims and tires on the truck. Most are rated at over 8,000 lbs. of payload. Either way it is not terribly expensive to upgrade leaf springs if it is needed, though this is highly unlikely.

Two things matter with trucks, the Gross Combined Weight Rating when towing, and the weakest link of the axles and wheel bearings, the rims, and the tires when hauling a load in the bed. With SRW trucks the limiting factor is always going to be the two wheels as even 19.5 tires are going to limit the total of truck and load at the rear axle to 8800 lbs. With DRW even with E rated tires the total capacity is more than 12,000 lbs. and this is greater than the axle rating for 2500/3500 trucks.

Check the load capacity of the 4 rear tires at their DRW recommended pressure as that is the primary limitation for the payload. If they are OK then get the camper and when it is on the truck see if the bed sags in the rear. If it does then augment the factory leaf springs and while you are at it take the truck and camper to a CAT scale to get an exact load figure for the rear axle.

Mike@Asheville wrote:
Hi all, another post here trying to get my truck ready for my 1st Truck Camper. I have a 2004 F450 with the Kelderman Air Ride System which maintains the stock spring pack.

The truck has a GVWR of 15K, Front axle 6K and rear 11K. It weighs almost 10K fully fueled with me in it. The issue is my new TC is 4600 wet with options. So I'll likely be a few hundred lbs. over.

What would be the most effective mod to beef up my truck for the additional weight?

Your truck shares most of the components of the F550 and many of the F53 of the same year. The rear axle is the same in all of them except the 22K lb GVWR F53 which is modified for 22.5" wheels. Although your axle is rated at 11k lbs RAWR, the same axle is 13.5k lbs on the F550 and 14.5K on the F53 with larger wheels. The only limitation I see on your rear axle is the capacity of the Kelderman system that was installed since your rear tires should be good for 13.5K lbs. The same brakes are used all the way up to the 22K lb GVWR F53, so stopping should not be an issue. Examine this link to get more detail on your truck and others like it:

https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/non-html/2004/vs_pdf/fseriessd_04abb.pdf

You will get better answers in the truck camper forum.

My goodness your truck has a 11000 RAWR/tire load limit. It may have a 3500 lb unladen weight = 7500 lb payload. Actual separate axle weights are required

I've carried three different TC up to 4200 lbs years ago with one ton DRW trucks. I never did a thing with the rear suspension till I loaded up and make a short run. And yes you can have too much truck to do a job.

Passin Thru wrote:
You'll likely not collect insurance if you wreck and you are over GVWR. It,s your call but I stay around 400 under gross and I've driven trucks 4 million miles in 48 years. I started driving truck when fuel was .19/gal

This topic has been covered numerous times. Show us a case where an insurance payment was denied due to GVW overage when it was not a commercial load.

You'll likely not collect insurance if you wreck and you are over GVWR. It,s your call but I stay around 400 under gross and I've driven trucks 4 million miles in 48 years. I started driving truck when fuel was .19/gal

Just make sure the tires are rated for the load.