Thank you for the well conceived and detailed posting. As a fellow F-53 owner, I certainly sympathize. Even though your coach is new, you are right to believe that age will not improve things. Trading in a new RV is a very expensive option, so I totally understand your desire to fix the things you can!
I can add a few of comments:
1. Buy a TPMS. My experience is consistent with yours: Running at lower PSI does improve ride but it is now possible to become underinflated as temperatures drop or as minor leaks occur. I think a TPMS is a good investment for us low PSI fans who drive on the edge.
2. Secure the windows. I found adding wood shims to our coach windows "improved the ride" - or at least the "perception of the ride". Rattling windows seem to reinforce the F-53's harshness. Silence the windows, and everyone seems happier.
3. Drifting in the wind. Oddly enough, it goes away . I have struggled with the same issue but realized that It finally disappeared after 3 seasons of driving our MH. That's right: I learned how to 'sail my F-53'. I am not sure it is a skill I ever intended to acquire, but I have somehow managed to learn how to make 20 steering corrections a second and keep my coach on the straight and narrow. It shouldn't be that way - but at least you can look forward to things getting better (and hopefully faster than I did).
Best of luck!
----
Happy Ford F-53 Class A Owner (2008 Gulf Stream)
2010 Ford Fusion Toad (with 6 speed manual transmission - the only way to tow)
Brake Buddy Vantage, Blue Ox Aladdin Tow Bar,
TST RV 507 TPMS, Power Master Voltage Controller
Great post holstein13. I have a 2011 F-53 22K, 242” wheel base. On our first trip, I knew I had to do something about the ride as well although I must say that handling was not an issue. My research educated me to adjust my tire pressure according to the Goodyear weight chart and that helped a lot. I came across several other suggested improvements but the Kelderman system seemed to be the gold standard for ride improvement and of course carried a gold standard price tag along with it. I opted for the Kelderman system and I love it. In all likelihood, I would not have kept my current RV without the ride improvement I now have. There is a Kelderman authorized installer 100 miles from home but I elected to take mine right to Kelderman even though it meant a 1,000 mile roundtrip. Oskaloosa, IA is a nice place to visit in the spring. Kelderman offered to let us stay in the RV in their shop for the 2 days it took them to do the front and rear installation but we preferred to stay in a local motel. It was an expensive fix but it worked as advertised and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
1. Buy a TPMS. My experience is consistent with yours: Running at lower PSI does improve ride but it is now possible to become underinflated as temperatures drop or as minor leaks occur. I think a TPMS is a good investment for us low PSI fans who drive on the edge.
2. Secure the windows. I found adding wood shims to our coach windows "improved the ride" - or at least the "perception of the ride". Rattling windows seem to reinforce the F-53's harshness. Silence the windows, and everyone seems happier.
3. Drifting in the wind. Oddly enough, it goes away . I have struggled with the same issue but realized that It finally disappeared after 3 seasons of driving our MH. That's right: I learned how to 'sail my F-53'. I am not sure it is a skill I ever intended to acquire, but I have somehow managed to learn how to make 20 steering corrections a second and keep my coach on the straight and narrow. It shouldn't be that way - but at least you can look forward to things getting better (and hopefully faster than I did).
Geek,
Good advice. I've owned truck systems TPMS almost since the beginning. I didn't want to make the writeup any longer than it was, but I agree it's a good idea for keeping the optimal pressure. My only problem with the system is that it is a PITA to remove the TPMS every time I need to top off. Additionally, I need to remove the front hubcaps to get the TPMS off when I want to access the valve stem.
I don't have rattling windows and never had. My problem was that the cabinets shook so violently that the contents all collided. Also, the oven grills rattled. I added paper towels in the oven to try to quite those, but now it looks as if those are not needed anymore with the improved ride.
As for drifting. That's a thing of the past. My coach no longer drifts at all. I can take my hands off the steering wheel easily. In the past, I couldn't even drink a bottle of water while driving, now it's no issue at all.
Thank you so much for all the info on the Kelderman. It sounds wonderful. My 2009 Chassis was bad, perhaps not as bad as yours. I installed Koni FSD's, Mor/ryde in the rear and trac bars as well as safe t plus steering stabilizer. It helped a lot. My 2011 chassis (2012 Winnebago Vista T) is much better stock. I am not certain I will do anything to it but I am sure that will not last. From what you and others have provided. Kelderman is the ultimate solution to great ride.
I continue to contest that a track bar is the single most significant fix for most motorhome handling problems. Everything else is just a Bandaid. Seems so many people just want to throw money at the problem, rather than assessing what is actually wrong. When I drove my parents W22, I paid attention to what was actually happening. When you turn the wheel back and forth, the motorhome would not make any directional change, however if you turned the wheel and held it, it would eventually change direction. This delay in response would suggest spring action between turning the wheel, and the actual vehicle changing direction. Yes, and infact, that is what happens. The leaf springs twist sideways, absorbing input from the steering wheel. That is where the delay comes from. So a track bar is an obvious fix. It is a direct correction of an existing problem.
By the same token, with my coach when ever I towed the Grand Cherokee, it suffered from significant understeer - made it scary to drive on 2 lane roads. This only happened with towing. Not towing, it drove great. One day while laying underneath, I pushed the coach sideways. I could not believe how much side movement there was. SO I built a track bar. Now I have no problem towing the GC. It was a direct fix for the problem.
Dave
The Flying Fortress
FMCA F298817
'83 Revcon Prince 31' FWD
502 w/Howell/GM 16197427 ECM/Edelbrock MPFI,Thorley's & Magnaflows,
4L85E 4 speed, KoniFSD,
6% grade = wanna drag? MISC photos Revconeers Forum
holstein13 wrote: My post was a bit ambiguous on this point. The softer springs that come with the Kelderman system are, in fact, replacements for the existing springs. Therefore, the front system has new soft leaf springs assisted by the air bags.
. I have struggled with the same issue but realized that It finally disappeared after 3 seasons of driving our MH. That's right: I learned how to 'sail my F-53'. I am not sure it is a skill I ever intended to acquire, but I have somehow managed to learn how to make 20 steering corrections a second and keep my coach on the straight and narrow. It shouldn't be that way - but at least you can look forward to things getting better (and hopefully faster than I did). 
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