2002 Lance 1025 on new Ford F-250 with camper package?

I wouldn't pay extra for a truck you don't want. Try to get just the camper.
I currently have a 98 2500 Sierra, ext. cab, long bed. After market HD rims and E range tires, firestone air bags and Rancho 9000xl shocks. The camper is a 10.5ft Okanagan. Like others have mentioned we're at least 4k lbs, likely more. GMC trucks of this era have tapered beds. Narrower at the tailgate opening. A real PITA when loading. only about an 1.5" either side. Does the truck carry it. Yep. No squat what so ever with the bags. Straight down the smooth road, not bad. Cornering, not bad. Bumps, porpoises a lot. Seesaws side to side for a while when tight cornering or an off-side bump. Exhausting to drive. Quite.
I've never felt overly unsafe with it. If done 130km/h highway. Gets pretty pushy with any cross wind or big rig passing. Logging road, crawling along at 10km/h, it's a porpoising machine. It's like being on a slow motion bronco. Ranchos don't put up with that much action and get wrecked.
What would I do after owning this 3/4 ton truck with a 4000+ lb camper set-up you ask?
I would do exactly what I'm about to do very soon: Buy a 1 ton Dually, long bed, 7.3 gasser. And the new camper will be a fiberglass clamshell one, and will likely be close to, if not a bit heavier, 10.5 ft camper. What if it was a lighter 9.5 ft camper? I'd still buy the 1 ton dually.
I want to enjoy the drive and not be completely exhausted when I get where I'm going. The dually will relieve the single rear blowout worry that comes with an SRW. Plus the truck is designed to carry right out of the box. No forking around trying to figure out which rims, spacers, lift kit. Which airbags will fit, adding leaves or which doohickies to attach to the leaves. Sway bar or not. paying to replace yet another 4x set of Rancho's because they can't handle the load being air shocks and the adjustment knobs have broke and the seal have blown for the umpteenth time.....
With all the kit on my 2500 and the extras in working order, yep, it's carry a schinto ton of weight. But it ain't no fun and not worth the risk or blood pressure or endangering fellow road users.
Just get the 1 ton and be done. Even if you have to step back to a gently used one to keep to the budget or whatever. I'd settle for a base model 1 ton before doing a fully blinged out 3/4 ton any day having the first had experience I've had doing what you're considering doing.
And I say that absolutely loving my 98 2500 gaser. It's a legend of a truck and with be sad to let him go.
And yeah, don't buy a truck just to get a camper when the truck isn't wanted. Unless you're gonna sell it right away and make money doing so.
Good luck! Keep us posted!

Check the tailgate opening for clearance as well. In recent years truck manufacturers have narrowed the opening and sometimes even rounded the corners where they were square previously.

Or look at it this way. That camper probably saw a lot of miles on that 1995 gmc 3/4 ton. So assuming that truck isn’t broke in half, lol, the truck you’re proposing will be greatly more capable.

^ More false info.
Gvws are higher than what you posted on newer trucks, with the right options packages.

Most of the replies are speculation. OP, a 250 with camper package will carry that camper the same as a standard 350.
Dimensionally, 250/350 are the same so whether the camper fits is up to you to measure.

Anne11 wrote:
I thought that the F-250 with camper package had the same payload as the 350 - the camper package includes front springs, extra leaf on the rear and a stabilizer. How is the 350 better? Thank you for all of the advice!

As noted the Ford F250 and F350 SRW are basically the same truck with the latter having an extra leaf in the rear and higher rater tires. (maybe a sway bar?)

The "major" difference is the mostly useless GVWR which on the 250 tops out at 10,000 GVWR and the 350 at ~11,500 GVWR.

Door post 'pay load' is based on the mostly useless GVWR.

In any application, watch the rear tire weight ratings. In ether case a decent sized camper loaded ready for camping will weigh close to over the ratings of the stock OEM tires.

On my SRW the truck+camper+gear actual weight (rolled across scales) was within 100lbs of the maximum weight rating of the tires however the stock OEM tires had unexceptable sidewall flex causing unexceptable camper/truck sway so I upgraded to much better rated tires+rims.

YMMV.


- Mark0.

Just because it has the same payload doesn't mean all the components are equally rated. I don't know that package, maybe they are but I would find out for sure. Are the axles, springs, brakes, sway bars, etc. all the same or does the F350 have stronger, more capable components? You can't have too much truck with a TC as they are always heavier than they say and heavier than you think. After hauling the same camper on a SRW and then a dually I would absolutely get the dually; it was a huge difference.

I thought that the F-250 with camper package had the same payload as the 350 - the camper package includes front springs, extra leaf on the rear and a stabilizer. How is the 350 better? Thank you for all of the advice!

With a loaded and wet 4,000 pound TC, you are not wise to consider a 3/4 ton truck.

"or does every Lance camper fit all years of Ford trucks?" In the RV world everything does NOT fit all Fords or Chevys.

Don't know if fits, easy enough to check, A being the most common issue.

'A' from camper floor to underside of nose
=minimum from Truck bed to top of cab (or cab ID lights if equipped). Ford cab is a bit taller so this more often problem with older campers

'B' width of camper floor- rarely an issue

'C' width of bump-out if it has. Total of B & C is needed minimum width of tail gate opening. On ours I need to load with camper pretty close to
right wheel well for this bump-out to clear left tailgate pillar

'D' Front of camper rubber bumpers to back side of rear wall.
Minimum distance of trucks front bed wall to taillights. Again on ours, I had to add spacers behind campers rubber bumpers as camper was 1/4"
away from taillights, least crooked loading and camper would be against one of the taillights.

No reason for an F250 if you are ordering a new truck. An F350 is not much more in price but adds a lot more capability - yet unloaded, there's no appreciable difference in ride or driveability.

x2

It looks like the 2002 1025 weighs 2,467 lbs with a 10'6" length.

Figure closer to 3,000 lbs just for the camper. My 2004 Lance 815 has a listed weight of 1,800# with only option of AC. With my gear in my truck and camper packed for a long trip my stuff totals out to 3,900. So odds are your camper loaded and packed is going to be closer to 4,500 - 4,800# if there are only two folks. So why not get the F350 which would be better suited for the camper?