Mexstan

This is a report on the suspension mods that I have recently done to my truck. As all of you know, when empty, these trucks have an extremely rough ride. Yeah, I know, it's a truck and not a Caddy, but ...… Did everything I could think of to smooth the ride on the lousy roads here in Mexico. The majority of you drive on relatively good roads with only a few bad patches, or maybe some dirt and corrugated roads, but you have no idea what bad roads are like until you drive on the kind of roads that I drive on daily. Try driving for miles on these rough, broken up paved roads, cobblestone or interlocking brick roads and you will understand immediately. For those suspension mod manufacturers, forget Baja and other proving grounds, just drive around here for a while. If your suspension works here and lasts, then you have a winner.

In an attempt to smooth the rough ride on this truck I tried larger tires, changed to D rated (softer sidewalls) instead of E rated, installed Sulastic shackles on the rear, installed air suspension seats in the front and changed the entire suspension to Carli. Everything I did made a small difference, but the ride was still horrible on some types of bumps. When I was considering the Carli I also took a look at the expensive 4 link Kelderman, but at the time Kelderman could not convince me that their suspension was any smoother than Carli, so went with the cheaper option.

Drove with the full Carli 2.0 system (front and back) for years, and while it was an improvement over the OEM, was never happy. Neither were my passengers or my wife. Recently took another look at Kelderman and noticed that they now sell what they call a 2 Stage air suspension for front and back. After many chats with Kelderman, I finally decided to bite the bullet and spend the extra money on this suspension. Already have on board air, so that part was not necessary.

Have now been driving with the Kelderman 2 stage system front and back for going on a month now and what a difference! At the rear have the Carli leaf springs, plus the Kelderman 2 stage air suspension. Probably the only truck that has this combination. Threw out the Bilstein 9000 shocks and now have Rancho 5000's front and back. Driving empty the truck is a LOT softer. Of course it does not ride like a Caddy, it is still a truck, but a lot softer riding truck now. Closer to a car than a truck in some ways. It is inevitable that here in Mexico that everybody sooner or later will hit an unmarked speed bump at speed – more than once! This new modification makes the landing from these airborne 'incidents' considerably smoother. In short, I now regret not going with the Kelderman suspension many years ago. So far I am very happy with this modification. Most importantly, this modification has wife approval as far as the improved empty ride goes.

Before the installation of the kit I took a very hard look the build as I was concerned about them falling apart quickly. Murphy's Law says probably just out of warranty. From what I could see, the design and the build in general is a very good quality, so hopefully will never experience any structural failures.

Another thing I did to this truck was add Centramatics to all 4 wheels. Even though I re-balance my tires regularly, adding the Centramatics made the truck ride incredibly smooth and a noticeable improvement to just re-balancing. I doubt if this truck rode smoother when it was brand new.

Also changed all 4 ball joints to the very pricey Carli ball joints. This truck now feels very solid in the front and even driving at speed on bad roads that in the past could induce the dreaded death wobble is so far a thing of the past. Have driven at 90 mph and hit some rough spots and the truck stayed true and solid.

Now to decide what to do with the Sulastics and Carli parts that were removed.

2-Stroke

Sounds pretty awesome. Thanks for that write up. I would love to see some pictures of the build and final outcome if you can post them up!

Mexstan

It's difficult to take pictures that adequately show the full installation. Next time I remove a front wheel will take a few pics. Take a look at https://kelderman.com/shop/?vehicle_...hicle_model=46 to give you an idea of what I have.

Yesterday I was driving on what used to be a 2 lane paved road which is presently being used by very heavy trucks and they have torn up road unbelievably. The road crew have filled in the larger holes with a type of soil and gravel mix. It's horrible. Pre Kendelman this road would have needed to be driven on very slowly. I found that I only needed to slow down a bit and it was not uncomfortable enough for my wife to complain. From there I drove about 2 kms up a hill where the so-called road is really just a dirt track full of rain washed out gullies. Have driven this road many times and it is usually idling in first gear. Even first gear at idle was too fast in some areas and used 4WD in low to slow the truck down. My wife used to say that after being on that section of road, she felt that she needed a chiropractor to put her bones back together. This time I drove up and own the hill in second gear and more than double the speed that I normally drive and my wife did not complain once. All she did say was that the truck rides so much nicer now.

johnh

if i had to drive on those kind of roads daily, i would have a load of some sort in the bed without those expensive mods!

Mexstan

I tried that and it did smooth the ride. Was forced to remove the load as it kept on being thrown up over some bumps and on landing it was denting the bed. Hmmmm, maybe I should have tried Hoss's concrete bed liner instead and bolted it down.

Mexstan

Here are some photos. Sorry that the parts are so dirty in the front and do not show that well, but was too lazy to drag out the pressure washer just for a couple of photos.

soulezoo

Glad you are liking it.
I've had a number of air suspended vehicles over the years (latest is Audi A8) and they've all been very good.

The irony I see is that with the old Range Rovers having electrical bugaboos, it was popular to remove the air and install Old Man Emu spring conversions... you went the other way.

Mexstan

Yes, so far I do like it. For the majority of you that drive on relatively decent roads, this expense cannot probably be justified, but for my type of driving it is. It took me a long time to decide to spend all this money, but now sorry that I did not do so years ago. Many of you probably think that I am nuts spending that amount of money, but I challenge you to come down here for a few days and walk in my shoes. Bet that you will change your mind in less than two hours.

Danderson

Concerning the bed,get a rubber bedmat. I've always used one in addition to a sprayed in one.

2-Stroke

Looks pretty sweet! I never knew they made the rear kit like you have... I was expecting something different. What did the Kelderman stuff cost you? It looks like your truck isnt all that tall either, which I like... I dont want mine lifted alot, but would prefer a smooth ride. I have mine lifted 2" front and rear and it allows for 37s, and to me a clean tall stance that i would try to keep.

Mexstan

Go back to post #3 and take a look at the link for prices. The truck is only a small amount over stock, but they can supply you with a stock height setup.

MikeyB

Hey Stan,

Off topic but where did you get the spare tire brace from?

Mexstan

That is not a brace. It is part of the rear suspension mod. Take a look at the link I posted and you will see it. At least, I think that is what you are talking about.

MikeyB

got it!

2-Stroke

Ah, I scrolled down and found the kits you have... I was looking at the wrong stuff initially on the site. Wow, thats really not all THAT bad. If I hadnt just spend a ton on my truck - I would seriously be looking into doing what you did!