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Old 02-07-2019, 09:10 AM   #21
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It has not come in yet.
I’m also interested in info once you get it installed and tested. You’ve done a lot of upgrades/repairs to your I5 so I’m anticipating your feedback. I went on the company website and it didn’t look that difficult to install. Right now I’m in AZ without tools or a shop so I have been quoted about $300 for installation (in Phoenix).
Does Kelderman stock the kit to ship out quickly?
Thanks, Greg
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Old 02-07-2019, 09:29 AM   #22
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No, it’s taking 4 to 5 weeks as they are built to order. I ordered mine Jan. 8th and it still has not arrived.
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Old 02-07-2019, 01:12 PM   #23
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I’m also interested in info once you get it installed and tested. You’ve done a lot of upgrades/repairs to your I5 so I’m anticipating your feedback. I went on the company website and it didn’t look that difficult to install. Right now I’m in AZ without tools or a shop so I have been quoted about $300 for installation (in Phoenix).
Does Kelderman stock the kit to ship out quickly?
Thanks, Greg
I posted install instructions in the original evalution thread. Need a floor jack, jack stands and basic tools. No spring compressor is needed.
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Old 02-07-2019, 06:27 PM   #24
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Brian,
can you please find out which "model" of Michelin tire her got?
thank you
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Old 02-07-2019, 07:17 PM   #25
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Brian,
can you please find out which "model" of Michelin tire her got?
thank you

Read post #4 of this Thread: Update: front air ride upgrade Ram 5500. Isata 5 DS
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Old 02-07-2019, 11:28 PM   #26
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Brian,
can you please find out which "model" of Michelin tire her got?
thank you
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dick Skeers View Post
Brian,
can you please find out which "model" of Michelin tire her got?
thank you
So Dick - by the way, nice meeting you today- here’s my thoughts on this tire swap thing:

We all just paid a truck load of money for these Isata 5’s and one of my questions is; did anyone at Dynamax ever test drive these things on a normal road? And by normal, I mean the roads with the uneven expansion joints, potholes etc because at least 75% of the roads I’ve driven on have been rough or at minimum very rough sections (meaning miles long).
These Isata 5’s ride like, well, a Dodge 5500 outfitted with a dump body and a snow plow. They ride like crap. Try I 95 in South Carolina. Or across I 10 through FL panhandle, Louisiana, MS etc. The roads are rough and the suspension will let you know it. You become so aggravated after only a few hours of this that you don’t even want to be in the coach anymore. The coach rattles and shakes and things break (bath mirrors)
Now bc is saying to swap out the tires for Michelins. Great idea and I know Michelin tires ride great because I’ve done it on dump trucks and pick ups. They definitely help with the ride quality. Why the heck doesn’t Dynamax give us credit on our tires as we got the unit from Dynamax so we can all go purchase 2 tires at $435 each plus sales tax, install and balancing? So, almost $1,000 for a little better ride.
Honestly, I’m pretty tired of constantly putting money into this coach for things that were either missed at the factory or (to give Dynamax the benefit of the doubt) maybe the dealer was supposed to find this stuff. Now I have caulked seams between the main coach body and the front radiused corner piece that are separating from each other. I don’t mean a little slight crack. I mean a 1/8” gap on a section over 12” long. Jack, Dynamax Warranty go to guy, told me to re-caulk it and use the touch up paint to color the caulk. Really? I mean seriously? I’ll post pictures on this later. First thing that comes to mind is that these units are painted and clear coated so even if I did caulk it myself, even if I used the correct auto body preferred caulk or seam sealer, touching it up with the touch up paint that came with the unit will look like crap after a short time plus it won’t have a sprayed on clear coat and anyway, why the hell should I have to do it and if I take it to a Forest River dealer I won’t see the coach back for months -and that’s only if a dealer near me can actually perform the paint work correctly.
I could go on a rant about all these stupid problems -and I think I will- that just shouldn’t be and if people cared about their work- wouldn’t be. After the first 4000 mile trip I finally got a chance to crawl around under the unit and found the drivers side rear shock had no top bolt in it and was just dangling in the air. For how long, I don’t know but only had 4,134 miles on when I was able to look closer at things. 7 way plug - inside the heat shrunk casing covering the terminals I found 1 wire not connected and 1 with a bit of insulation missing. Trailer hitch draw bar where it bolts to frame rails - one side had the correct 3 bolts in it and the other side had 1 bolt (one bolt missing completely and the other dangling with no nut on it. I had just towed my car 4000 miles with it like that. Do you think it’s my responsibility to crawl around on my back inspecting your product before I use it. Obviously neither Dynamax nor the dealer caught it. That could have been a disaster on the highway. 3 broken vanity mirrors that I have replaced myself. Again, why should I have to do the work on this just so it’s not parked at some dealer lot waiting for repairs. I didn’t buy this so I could have a project to work on. I thought I’d be enjoying myself. Not happening. Water heater stops working in the middle of the day for no apparent reason. Regardless of what I do or how I try to get it going (following Truma procedures which I now know by heart) nothing will get it going again. Then, all of a sudden, in the middle of the night, it starts working again. All by itself. Maybe it’s possessed. I finally got a chance to weigh the thing on a Cat scale. Just myself and my wife and together we weigh 275 lbs. Wife who was sitting at the dinette at the time, absolutely no water in fresh tank, had just filled the fuel tank and DEF, minimal weight in storage areas in front of rear axle, All heavier items like some tools and tow equipment in the far rear compartments, full propane (behind the rear axle), car disconnected but tow bar on the hitch. Front axle was 7380. That’s just a tad over max for that axle AND NO WATER ON BOARD! Add if I added even 1/2 tank of water the weigh ticket would have been 7708. Not a safe scenario for that front axle. Seems to me to be part of the reason these things ride like crap. Front springs and tires are maxed out on load. I run 100 psi in the fronts and 95 on the rears. I check the air every morning before driving and adjust for temperature variations as we go from cold to warm and back to cold.
The window over the drivers door in the bunk area and the emergency exit window- coming across Texas we ran into 8 hours of a 30-40 mph cross wind. These 2 windows rattled so badly I pulled over to have someone else drive while I witnessed what was happening. Driving at a speed of 55 mph the glass on both of these windows was actually bowing out in the middle so that there was a gap I estimated at about 3/16 of an inch. Doesn’t sound like much, right? Until you realize that the small window is about 22” tall and approx the same width. So a gap that big is significant. I took a video of what the glass was doing. The wind noise was so loud we had to shout at each other. I really thought that piece of glass was going to fly right off and land on someone else’s car. The rattling caused the latch mechanism to loosen up and the window popped open by itself 3 times. Someone had to keep twisting the latch. Did I mention that it rides like crap?
Dick, I apologize for hijacking the tire thread. I guess I’ve had about enough of the fixing and replacing and repairs to an expensive RV with just 10,000 miles on it.
By the way, the Michelin tires will help with the ride but I haven’t invested in them yet. Just my experience with other similar trucks.
Greg
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Old 02-08-2019, 12:03 AM   #27
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So Dick - by the way, nice meeting you today- here’s my thoughts on this tire swap thing:

Now bc is saying to swap out the tires for Michelins.
Greg
1. If you would like to PM me your VIN I would gladly look into your issues.

2. I personally test drove the Ram 5500. In addition to locally, I put over 1,000 miles on it going to the rally in TN. Across roads with expansion joints, around the midwest with pot holes and heaves. If you have seen my video, I felt like it drove great. I had zero issues.

3. Lastly, if you are going to quote me, please do it accurately. Not one time did I tell anyone to swap out the tires. I simply gave anecdotal information about someone who did and "they said" it was a softer ride. Post #4 of this thread http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ds-177943.html I give the tire info and add "I make no personal claims on this. This was the feedback from another 5 series customer"
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Old 02-08-2019, 12:14 AM   #28
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I really like the ride on mine. I run 110 lbs in all tires and the ride can be a bit harsh on really rough highways but even the buses I’ve owned did that. For a Class 5 truck I think we have the best chassis out there. Sorry to hear you are having problems.
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Old 02-08-2019, 08:09 AM   #29
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Mr Jiggles,
With respect to the window in the over the cab bunk area I had the same problem when driving in a high cross wind. Dealer installed a thicker window seal which fixed the wind noise problem. This was covered under warranty.

I agree with the harsh ride on the front which is why I did research and swamped out the springs for air bags. Rides much smoother. Overall my opinion is the Ram chassis is good unit and would not swap it for another manufacturer.
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Old 02-08-2019, 12:05 PM   #30
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Response to B.C.

1.
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1. If you would like to PM me your VIN I would gladly look into your issues.

I will. Maybe this time something will be done by Dynamax because last September when I purposely drove to Elkhart to have a few critical things fixed I was sent to Challenger who did a half ass job on only 1 thing on my list - fix the main cabin door which they did by bending the door itself to accommodate the bulge in the frame that was preventing it from being dead bolted -ask Brian Meeks. Wasted 4 days in Elkhart trying to get just a few things resolved and only got 1 partially fixed.

2. I personally test drove the Ram 5500. In addition to locally, I put over 1,000 miles on it going to the rally in TN. Across roads with expansion joints, around the midwest with pot holes and heaves. If you have seen my video, I felt like it drove great. I had zero issues.

Why should we have to install a $2000 front air ride system to have a decent ride. I’m not exaggerating here and I’m not the only one. Someone in CA traded his in after 5000 miles because his wife refused to ride in it anymore due to the ride quality. I have well over a million miles in the seat of many many tractor trailers, dump trucks, etc and have driven every brand of truck out there with many different suspensions and I know when a vehicle rides crappy. I guess only a few of these Dynamax units rides like that even though they are identical. Like I said, I will get the pictures posted of the body seams that opened up after going through S. Carolina, FL, TX etc.

3. Lastly, if you are going to quote me, please do it accurately. Not one time did I tell anyone to swap out the tires. I simply gave anecdotal information about someone who did and "they said" it was a softer ride. Post #4 of this thread http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ds-177943.html I give the tire info and add "I make no personal claims on this. This was the feedback from another 5 series customer"
Didn’t think I was quoting. Just restated that you thought it might be a good idea to follow the advice of the race guy who got free tires and loved the ride. I agreed that the Michelin’s would improve the ride because I have first hand experience swapping out factory tires on several trucks and getting a much better ride. My point was, why do I have to pay fo better tires? Why would you leave snow plow tires on a “luxury RV “?

Maybe if my concerns were handled differently I wouldn’t be airing dirty laundry on the Forum. I recall another person on this forum asking for Dynamax to buy back his coach as he was so upset over issues. I’m still waiting (over 5 weeks now) for my reimbursement check for the 2nd broken vanity mirror. It’s a small amount of money but it’s the entire point I’m trying to make. If something goes wrong with these units that we can’t or don’t want to fix ourselves, we are forced to take it to a Forest River dealer and wait -and wait and wait for it to be worked on. I’ve called many dealers (not just Forest River. The problem seems to be industry wide) and be told, “we can’t even LOOK at your unit for at least 3 weeks” with some repair facilities stating months just to diagnose the issues. After that the real time waster starts while we spend days corresponding with the repair shop and other various people and companies while the coach sits on their lot and I lose time at work.
Not directed at you personally Brian but like it or not, you’re the face of the company on here. I’m not the only one having problems. At least I haven’t had gallons of raw sewage in my storage compartments or gotten stuck with a slide that won’t retract while you’re trying to leave a campground. So I guess a crappy ride and the ensuing parts failing is minor comparably.
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Old 02-08-2019, 04:54 PM   #31
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You had mentioned earlier (and I am paraphrasing) that you should build the Motorhome for what is right “for you” as everyone has different tastes. IF I remove the continentals and replace them with Michelin’s, then you are still paying for it. They’re not free, I would have to raise the price of the vehicle (for everyone) to do it. So why not build it with the stock tires, that the majority of people are ok with and let the others upgrade to whatever suits their tastes. Whether that be air ride, change just two tires, etc. I have no tire option from Ram.
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Old 02-10-2019, 11:37 AM   #32
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You had mentioned earlier (and I am paraphrasing) that you should build the Motorhome for what is right “for you” as everyone has different tastes. IF I remove the continentals and replace them with Michelin’s, then you are still paying for it. They’re not free, I would have to raise the price of the vehicle (for everyone) to do it. So why not build it with the stock tires, that the majority of people are ok with and let the others upgrade to whatever suits their tastes. Whether that be air ride, change just two tires, etc. I have no tire option from Ram.
I understand how business costing works and I see that you have no options from Dodge for changing tires but to basically say too bad, buy your own tires to improve your ride (not quoting you, just what I think I’m hearing) that’s like saying that just because only a few people have leaking showers or slides that won’t retract or whatever that it’s their problem? A complaint is a complaint and I have many issues with my coach that I haven’t even told you about yet. To discount my issue and say the harsh ride is my problem (still not quoting) isn’t fair.
NMIsata5 was actually offered all of his money back by his dealer less sales tax. WHAT A DEAL THAT WOULD BE. I’d gladly take that and eat the sales tax. I can’t unload this thing without taking a $45,000 hit. So, I’m stuck with a coach with many issues and no Dynamax dealer within hundreds of miles of my home. Honestly Brian, my wife refuses to ride in it more than a few hours and I don’t blame her. She would rather follow me in the car. I’m in AZ right now and how the heck am I gonna get this home? I don’t want to drive it 4200 miles. If I take it back to the dealer I bought it from they will absolutely work on it, great people and I trust them to work on it. However, they are in Spokane and we live in Massachusetts. What am I supposed to do? Drive it to Spokane (1000 miles from AZ) leave it there for how ever long it will take to correct all the problems, fly home and then fly back out to Spokane whenever the work is completed? I think I’ve lost enough money on this deal. I never should have drove out of the dealership with all the “little” issues that I found on the coach - too bad for me. And even if they do fix all the issues that should have been corrected before I drove off their lot, I will still have a lousy riding RV.
Some people say they don’t mind the ride. Everyone is different but I’ll make you an offer - if you’re willing to fly down here and take a ride in my RV over these bumpy roads (which are not even near as bad as I95 in SC) and you don’t agree that the ride is harsh, I will pay for your flight. If, however, while riding in it, you find I am correct then Dynamax will pay for my suspension upgrade or buy it back from me at current retail value allowing for mileage driven.
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Old 02-10-2019, 12:11 PM   #33
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Mr Jiggles,
I started this post/ thread to share my experience with a modification to improve, in my opinion, the ride quality on the RAM chassis.
You have interest in having the coach ride smoother and your posts have generally reflected this. However, you have brought in topics specific to issues you have that are not relevant to the purpose of this thread.
For issues you want to raise not relevant to discussing suspension issues/ modifications I recommend you start a separate topic thread.
Thanks
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Old 02-10-2019, 12:18 PM   #34
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Mr Jiggles,
I started this post/ thread to share my experience with a modification to improve, in my opinion, the ride quality on the RAM chassis.
You have interest in having the coach ride smoother and your posts have generally reflected this. However, you have brought in topics specific to issues you have that are not relevant to the purpose of this thread.
For issues you want to raise not relevant to discussing suspension issues/ modifications I recommend you start a separate topic thread.
Thanks
Sorry, thank you. I didnt understand the forum protocol. Got carried away discussing with bc . You are correct, he and I should have moved to possibly pm. Haven’t had time to read the rules let alone understand how a forum works.
Thanks
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Old 02-10-2019, 05:16 PM   #35
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I do believe the harsh ride was part of the workmanship falling apart in mine. Just saying as this section is about ride quality and improvement.
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Old 02-10-2019, 05:18 PM   #36
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Pat, let me ask since you did this upgrade, did you see the Bilstein shock presentation? Do you think these shocks would suffice in place of your air bag install? Not as good maybe but a less costly semi-fix?

Now I imagine if you added these Bilstein shocks to your setup would that make it better and help with that minor sway issue?
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Old 02-10-2019, 09:01 PM   #37
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i will never again use bilsteins. i had an appointment to have Hendersons in oregon to install Koni shocks on my 3500 Ram pickup which carries a large camper. when i picked it up it had konis on one axle and bilsteins on the other.
the bilsteins failed and my trusted local garage reported that bilstein would not honor their warranty w/o first having the shocks examined by them. am i supposed to tie up shop space and be w/o my truck for a few days waiting for their judgment?
ps: the Konis were still fine.
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Old 02-11-2019, 07:04 AM   #38
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Pat, let me ask since you did this upgrade, did you see the Bilstein shock presentation? Do you think these shocks would suffice in place of your air bag install? Not as good maybe but a less costly semi-fix?

Now I imagine if you added these Bilstein shocks to your setup would that make it better and help with that minor sway issue?
No, I haven't seen the Bilstein shock presentation. The kit comes with Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks.
Aftering trying heavy duty sway bar then going back to stock there is no noticable sway with the stock sway bar and air bag / shock set up.

I don't have experience with Bilsteins on the RAM chassis so can't comment on the ride effect of the change.
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Old 02-11-2019, 11:41 AM   #39
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oh ok, I am sure your Rancho's are similar to the Bilsteins. Wasn't aware you had upgraded shocks also.
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Old 02-11-2019, 12:06 PM   #40
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oh ok, I am sure your Rancho's are similar to the Bilsteins. Wasn't aware you had upgraded shocks also.
The Rancho shocks ( front only) are part of the Kelderman front air bag kit.
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