Kelderman Air Ride

[Baithouse1]

After much discussion with Kelderman in Oskaloosa, Iowa, I arranged to have their deler in IL install the Kelderman system on a 2013 Winnebago Vista 30T. I drove the MH 3+ hours up there and drove the car back home. Today the installer told me that the system shipped to them does dot belong on the new 2013 Ford F53 chassis as Ford has apparently made some major changes to the 2013 model and the parts and directions sent by Kelderman are not adapted to the new chassis.

Any experience out there?

[Pirate1]

Baithouse1 wrote:
They put 30 and 60 in the fronts to level it and 71 in the rear. What an impressive operation they run. I did like Gary Kelderman's Prevost parked there. They told me he pulls a double decker trailer with two Harleys, a Lexus, and his helicopter.

That's a lot of toys. Does he pay for those from selling stuff to RV owners?

[Baithouse1]

They put 30 and 60 in the fronts to level it and 71 in the rear. What an impressive operation they run. I did like Gary Kelderman's Prevost parked there. They told me he pulls a double decker trailer with two Harleys, a Lexus, and his helicopter.

[Goldencrazy]

Congrats. I knew you would love it. I will be interested to learn what inflation levels work best for you. I play around with them but have found low 40's on front and mid to upper 50's in rear works very well. I also added a rear tiger trac bar and did the bolt change know as cheap handling fix. I think next spring it will be five star tuning mod for me.

[Baithouse1]

Bit the bullet and arranged for Kelderman to do the install on my Vista 30T. Great experience. The ride is amazingly better. We drove 350 miles in gusty winds yesterday after leaving Oskaloosa, and I wasn't the beat up wreck I would have been before. We installed both front and back as well as the Safe T Steer Plus. It has made driving the RV enjoyable. Believe me, it wasn't fun before.

[Baithouse1]

later this summer, methinks.

[Goldencrazy]

Baithouse1 wrote:
My chassis is a 2013. We did find out a couple other things unrelated to the attempted Kelderman install including the rear wiring harness riding on the generator exhaust pipe. The biggest thing right now is that the two brackets that stand off the hood at the top were not fastened on and fell down onto the frame allowing the hood to repeatedly contact the lower edge of the windshield. The result is two breaks in that huge windshield and cracks heading up the glass. Only 3800 miles! Seems as if there may be some severe quality control problems at Winnebago.

It would appear a trip to Iowa is in the picture with Oskaloosa and Forest City. Good luck.

[Baithouse1]

My chassis is a 2013. We did find out a couple other things unrelated to the attempted Kelderman install including the rear wiring harness riding on the generator exhaust pipe. The biggest thing right now is that the two brackets that stand off the hood at the top were not fastened on and fell down onto the frame allowing the hood to repeatedly contact the lower edge of the windshield. The result is two breaks in that huge windshield and cracks heading up the glass. Only 3800 miles! Seems as if there may be some severe quality control problems at Winnebago.

[bsinmich]

C-Leigh Racing wrote:
Fire up,
I would guess your probably right, about the MFG not caring.
As long as they can work half a day, ride around in their big Cadilac & dine & drink fine wine in the evenings, why should they care long as motorhomes are selling.

I don't think you will find Ford chassis builders riding around in Cadillacs. They use Lincolns there.

[kjbkjb]

viajante wrote:
What kind of price tag are we talking about ?

Without digging out my invoice, ballpark on my Kelderman system was $5,000. They offered an onboard compressor to auto inflate the bags but I elected to leave that off. It wasn’t that much additional cost but I preferred to check and adjust pressure manually. In fact adjusting pressure is a rare occurrence. In addition to the air bags, Kelderman detunes the front suspension with replacement leaf springs where the airbags support much of the weight rather than the firm factory leaf spring suspension supporting all of it. I would never tell anybody else how they should spend their money but for me Kelderman was well worth it and as mentioned, I am prepared to do it again when I get my 2014 if I feel it is necessary. The 2014 will have 22.5 inch tires as opposed to 19.5 on my 2011 and I’ve heard that may make a difference in ride quality. You can call Kelderman at 800-334-6150 for any information you desire. I found them great people to do business with.

[Z71_4x4]

moisheh wrote:
OMG!! Why are people buying or planning on buying a new unit then spending $6000 plus to make it useable?????


Moisheh

Because we want to, we feel its justified, and we can afford it. Any other questions?

I haven't spent 6 grand yet, but if I lived closer to Kelderman I probably would.
Me, about 3k so far for all the goodies I've added. Why?... Just because I can!!
It's my hobby and I enjoy it.

Enough said.

[Goldencrazy]

Damn I get tired of this question. Why? Because it is not an option I could buy from the dealer. The same reason people buy Cadillacs instead of Smart Cars, although I do have a Smart Car. The same reason some folks buy AWD instead of two wheel drive. You can drive all them but if you want something special you pay for the options and when options aren't available you go after market. I wanted this motorhome and I wanted gas. If they would have offered an air bag option I would have purchased it. The price was right. I have now exactly what I want that drives and rides great and a lot cheaper than a DP if I could get one at 31 feet which is the max I can handle and still park in my driveways at home and cottage. The original coach was drivable but not as comfortable as it is now. Now does that make sense? I think I have answered this question from you before? You got me.

[moisheh]

OMG!! Why are people buying or planning on buying a new unit then spending $6000 plus to make it useable?????


Moisheh

[Goldencrazy]

It costs about $6 grand. If you are generally willing to make this expenditure to improve the ride I would assume that installing a tear trac bar and doing the cheap fix would be on your list. I also added a steering stabilizer from road master for safety and handling. For me it was important to improve my handling and ride. I can now survive on the worst roads, drive in the wind with confidence and ride comfortably on normal roads without trouble. It was worth it for me and I had wasted money on other coaches I have owned seeking a solution to ride issues. You can improve by careful monitoring of tire pressure and better shocks but the Kelderman is the best..

Baithouse? Have you obtained any new info on the age of your coach/chassis and the install directly from calling Kelderman.

[C-Leigh_Racing]

Fire up,
I would guess your probably right, about the MFG not caring.
As long as they can work half a day, ride around in their big Cadilac & dine & drink fine wine in the evenings, why should they care long as motorhomes are selling.

I can bet you one thing, next RV show I go to, some will get an ear full when I ask out loud, have they done anything to the Ox cart ride of the F53 Ford chassis. If so, then maybe we can do business.
Neil