2014 Ram 2500 4x4 First Pull

[Titan Guy]

550 miles, Norman, Ok to Des Moines, Ia. Very surprised at how well this handles. This has the new Ram rear coil springs. I don't see/feel any difference in the 2011 DRW D3500.

Need to get this set up to pull level. Biggest issue is this is 59" to top of tailgate vs. 3500 56".
Need to lower the truck or raise the trailer. Considering Kelderman Air Suspension for the truck, main concern is that this tows extremely well now and I don't want to mess that up by making a change.

I am calling Ram on Monday to see if the new OEM Air Suspension can be added aftermarket.
Talked to Mor/Ryde about IS, this would raise the trailer 2".

Will need to put the redwood on a diet. Pin weight is 4065 lbs. this puts me 500 lbs over rear axle weight rating.
Trailer axles weigh 12920. GCW 25,020.

[Titan Guy]

Got rid of Safety Hitch. Some very positive experiences.
Maneuverability is outstanding because this is a steering axle.
Clearing the bed of the hitch was great.

Braking should be substantially better by adding a truck axle with disc brakes. This did not prove to be the case. Trailer must be equipped with disc brakes as the in cab controller does not work with Safety Hitch Elect/Hyd system with electric on the trailer. Trying to run 2 different systems off the same controller will not work.

The huge drawback is traction. When you basically move to a bumper pull and remove the weight from the rear axle, you generate a traction problem. On the DRW 3500 on wet pavement I would spin the rear tires.
If you lose traction under acceleration, you are also losing traction under braking and this proved to be an extremely dangerous situation on wet pavement. Truck anti-lock braking kicks in while safety hitch locks up!

I represent Titan Tire Corp. at RV Rallies & Shows displaying Electric/Hydraulic Disc Brake Systems and Safety Hitch uses our actuator in the hitch. Because of this relationship I did not pay for the Safety Hitch and was to represent them at RV shows. As they are a customer I felt I needed to try to make this work.
This is how I ended up with a 2500

[Dave&Ginny]

The kelderman air ride that I have allows me to raise or lower the rear of my truck while traveling down the road. I didn't pay the extra money to do the same on the front axle. On the front axle, there are ports for inflation like a tire. They do put 6-way adjustable shocks on the front so you can adjust as you see fit.

With this system, Ginny can read a magazine(which she does all day) while going down the highway with the Redwood hooked up.

[Rick and Mindy]

Ron, glad to hear you made it but sorry to hear about all the difficulties. The picture you show of your rig makes everything look fairly level. Is that just an illusion? Can you tell us what type of MPGs you got with that first long pull?

[Titan Guy]

Got 9.9 mpg running 65-70 mph. Very little wind.

I have the Curt/Ram Hitch in the bed and can lower it 2". I will be changing this before next pull to Denver. This should take the trailer to level but the truck is squatting about 2". So, if I can lower the truck front and rear 2" with the air suspension, I should be just about right. Then I can re-weigh and see where I am at.

Thinking about adding some tool/box storage around the receiver hitch to move weight from the front compartment to the rear. Thought about a custom armoire for my wife but didn't have the guts to suggest it.

[Rick and Mindy]

Hopefully that mpg will increase as the engine gets broke in!

[atom ant]

Very interesting on that Safety Hitch - I would have never thought of the weight issue being removed from the rear! I had on overloaded SUV pulling a 30' TT and if I raised the equalizers to level, there was so little weight on the rear axle of the SUV it couldn't pull away from a stop sign if there was any sand on the road, it would just spin the tires and I had to switch to 4WD to leave the intersection. I ended up with a regular 3/4 ton pickup.

[lwg]

Dave,
Have you had any issues with the Kelderman air ride? How long have you had it and how many miles? I find this setup vey intriguing, just hard to find any first hand reviews of it.

Titan Guy,
Nice setup. When will you be in Denver? We're in Fruita, CO now for a month. Will be passing through Denver at the end of June on our way back to OK for a few months.

[Titan Guy]

I am heading for Denver in a week. Need to be in Nephi, UT by 6/10 and may stay in Grand Junction area. Friday I have an appointment at Kelderman in Oskaloosa to have the Rear Air Suspension installed.

[atom ant]

Titan,

The Fruita State Park there in Grand Junction is a nice stay if you haven't already picked somewhere! That's my signature pic.

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by lwg

Dave,
Have you had any issues with the Kelderman air ride? How long have you had it and how many miles? I find this setup vey intriguing, just hard to find any first hand reviews of it.

Titan Guy,
Nice setup. When will you be in Denver? We're in Fruita, CO now for a month. Will be passing through Denver at the end of June on our way back to OK for a few months.

I've had mine for 1.5 years so far and I like it. I have the 2 stage in the rear and air bags in place of the springs in the front with 6 way adjustable shocks. I believe installed it was around 4k. They do have a better system that is called a "4 link" but it was out of my price range.

I did have a problem with a modulator valve for the rear bags and the company sent me a new complete system and told me to ship back what I didn't need. My front axle air ride is not hooked up to a compressor, it's manual feed.

With the Redwood hooked up, Ginny can read all day long without a problem. We first installed the Tri-Glide and then went with the Kelderman. The combination really smooths things out.

Call me if you have any questions (309)303-3969

[lwg]

Originally Posted by atom ant

Titan,

The Fruita State Park there in Grand Junction is a nice stay if you haven't already picked somewhere! That's my signature pic.

We're literally right across the street. Would have stayed there but with Memorial Day being next weekend we were a little late with the reservations. Also there's a 14 day limit and for this trip we wanted to stay a month.

Dave,
Thanks for the info. If we continue Fulltiming for another year or so I might consider it. Sometimes the chucking from the Redwood is maddening! The rear bags definitely help as does the tri-glide but it just seems like it could be better.

[Dave&Ginny]

lwg,

I can honestly say that chucking is now an oddity when it happens and really catches us off guard. If you're planing on being at the rally, I'll be happy to let you hook my truck up to your trailer and take it for a ride.

[lwg]

Won't make it to the rally unfortunately. Also that ride pulling my trailer would probably end up costing me $4k after I end up getting your setup!

The biggest thing I've found thus far that's seems to help with chucking is pin weight. Yesterday I towed with a virtually empty fresh water tank and it was noticeably worse than a few days prior when I had probably 1/2 tank of water. It's possible it was all in my imagination though...

[Dave&Ginny]

I believe.....the more stressed or compressed your springs are the more you'll get the chucking. Point in case.....when the air lift bags are put on these trucks the chucking is greatly reduced. Then when I put the kelderman on mine it practically eliminated the chucking because I believe the springs are no longer a factor.

[Titan Guy]

Kelderman Air Suspension done. Lowered 5th wheel hitch 2" done. This is about as level as this combination will get. Stop tomorrow and get weighed.
Pulling across I-80 on the way to Denver today in a cross wind, Johnboytoo is right a sway bar addition would be beneficial/