Want info on this Kodiak with a Lance 1181
Anyone know details on this Kodiak with a lance 1181. I want to do the same things but would like to ask the owner a few details... http://i42.tinypic.com/23uoppg.jpg
Forum Discussion
Hey guys, I can fill you in on both the history and specifics of the rig in the picture as well as my own combination. I really have a tough time posting via my cell phone but now that we live in our Lancr 1191/Chevy Kodiak combination I mostly read these days. This is one of those questions that begs me to post a number of pictures and fill in more than necessary perhaps....but I'll keep it short for the moment and forgive no pictures.
The rig above appeared here on Rv.net way back before I ever owned mine and I will have to go do a quick search in a minute because I think one of my very first long soapbox posts was about this rig. I even got an "amen" from a senior poster who believed in big trucks carrying big campers (and owned one of my favorite combos.). Anyway, the pictures appeared from pictures posted on Kelderman Suspensions web page, I think around 2005 or 2006 or so. Some years later I was referred to a Craig's List add for this very same camper being sold, and right down I76 from me in Colorado. This was now after I owned my rig but was thinking about air suspensions and this one had a Kelderman air system on it and it was owned by a friendly and talkative farmer. He hD it listed for awhile, and so I decided to make a trip out east driving our rig to go take a look at his.
I believe it was a 5500 with an older (late 90's?) rear door metal sided Lance. The 5500 has a 19,500 GVWR in 4x4 trim but can go up to 26K in 2x4 trim. Fred, are you seriously concerned about weight distribution? Tthese trucks are normally used for cranes, railroad trucks, tree trimming moving vans...tow trucks etc. Often these applications are ALL rear loads with little to nothing in the front. I digress.
Anyway, This older farmer put this rig together for his fishing trips, whereas his wife had a small Class C she took in her trips with her friends. It was built with fishing in mind....so he had a Honda 3000 on a sliding drawer that comes out from that space in front if the TC in one side, on the other side, also in a giant drawer, was a huge flash freezer that he could load full of huge fish and flash freeze. He could run the genny while driving down the road, controlled by the remote starter, and bring back a load of fish from BC or MT all the way back to CO without issue. He had a plan for what he wanted, got the utility body setup just so, and it worked very well for him though he was selling it. He was doing fewer fishing trips and wanted to unload it. I do not know if he sold it but I know he had it on the market for awhile. What you are looking at is a very customized rig built for specific purposes and for the right person it is perfect and for many it would be terrible. We were lucky to find something set up nearly perfectly for us.
The Front part of the Kelderman suspension he wasn't sure worked that well and was just an add-on bag like typical air bags between the spring and frame, but I did end up buying the rear setup and have been pleased with it.
I'd be happy to answer more specific questions about Kodiak/Topkicks carrying TCs, and certainly questions about mine if you have any. We are traveling full time in ours now after owning it around 6.5 years and maybe 375 nights or so in the camper. About 90 straight nights now. Prior to us owning the rig, it went to South America and back from Maryland (shipped by boat Panama to Peru)....120,000+ miles, 8 years, and around 900 nights if camping has been done in this 2005 Kodiak 4500 and 2006 Lance 1191. Yep, a Kodial/TopKick can work very well as a TC hauler, and our Lance 1191 has been a great camper!
The rig above appeared here on Rv.net way back before I ever owned mine and I will have to go do a quick search in a minute because I think one of my very first long soapbox posts was about this rig. I even got an "amen" from a senior poster who believed in big trucks carrying big campers (and owned one of my favorite combos.). Anyway, the pictures appeared from pictures posted on Kelderman Suspensions web page, I think around 2005 or 2006 or so. Some years later I was referred to a Craig's List add for this very same camper being sold, and right down I76 from me in Colorado. This was now after I owned my rig but was thinking about air suspensions and this one had a Kelderman air system on it and it was owned by a friendly and talkative farmer. He hD it listed for awhile, and so I decided to make a trip out east driving our rig to go take a look at his.
I believe it was a 5500 with an older (late 90's?) rear door metal sided Lance. The 5500 has a 19,500 GVWR in 4x4 trim but can go up to 26K in 2x4 trim. Fred, are you seriously concerned about weight distribution? Tthese trucks are normally used for cranes, railroad trucks, tree trimming moving vans...tow trucks etc. Often these applications are ALL rear loads with little to nothing in the front. I digress.
Anyway, This older farmer put this rig together for his fishing trips, whereas his wife had a small Class C she took in her trips with her friends. It was built with fishing in mind....so he had a Honda 3000 on a sliding drawer that comes out from that space in front if the TC in one side, on the other side, also in a giant drawer, was a huge flash freezer that he could load full of huge fish and flash freeze. He could run the genny while driving down the road, controlled by the remote starter, and bring back a load of fish from BC or MT all the way back to CO without issue. He had a plan for what he wanted, got the utility body setup just so, and it worked very well for him though he was selling it. He was doing fewer fishing trips and wanted to unload it. I do not know if he sold it but I know he had it on the market for awhile. What you are looking at is a very customized rig built for specific purposes and for the right person it is perfect and for many it would be terrible. We were lucky to find something set up nearly perfectly for us.
The Front part of the Kelderman suspension he wasn't sure worked that well and was just an add-on bag like typical air bags between the spring and frame, but I did end up buying the rear setup and have been pleased with it.
I'd be happy to answer more specific questions about Kodiak/Topkicks carrying TCs, and certainly questions about mine if you have any. We are traveling full time in ours now after owning it around 6.5 years and maybe 375 nights or so in the camper. About 90 straight nights now. Prior to us owning the rig, it went to South America and back from Maryland (shipped by boat Panama to Peru)....120,000+ miles, 8 years, and around 900 nights if camping has been done in this 2005 Kodiak 4500 and 2006 Lance 1191. Yep, a Kodial/TopKick can work very well as a TC hauler, and our Lance 1191 has been a great camper!
