2016 Cirrus 800 on 2016 Ram 2500HD 4X4
I picked up my 2016 Cirrus 800 on Thursday, and then carried it back 600 miles home. I weathered tornado spawning, severe thunderstorms for the first 200 miles, then the weather became more cooperative.
I weighed in at 10240 lbs, with 6120 of that on the rear axle. My GVWR is 10,000 lbs, and rear axle load is 6500 lbs (front axle is 5500 lbs). Tires are stock 20 inchers, rated at 3460 lbs each.
I was 240 lbs. over my GVWR, but I had about 250 lbs of "stuff" with me, that I did not need....lots of tools, in case something unexpected happened on the road, a full set of camper accessories (like sewer hose/attachments, water hose, brass water pressure regulator, a set of Anderson levelers, etc). But, the seller gave me all of their camper accessories, so I was carrying a double load of that stuff. I also had 15 gallons of water in the fresh tank. I had all of the normal "camper stuff" with me, like a few groceries, bedding, clothes, towels, wash cloths, bath and dish soaps, cleaning supplies, light dishes, laptop computer, etc. My truck has a 32 gallon gas tank, which was also full to the brim.
The fully loaded camper set my truck down 2 inches over the rear axle, and 1/2 inch up front. It road and drove very well, except for a little bit of side-to-side sway over certain sections of road. It didn't seem to be bothered by passing trucks or bumps in the road. There was no "porpoising"in a front to rear motion. The only motion was occasional rocking from side-to-side over sections of otherwise smooth looking road surface for a few hundred feet, then everything would level back out and feel rock-solid again. I drove 65-68 mph, and if I needed to pass a truck or a slow car, I had no trouble at speeds up to 73 mph. I never got any faster than that. I was on Interstate highways and four-lane State highways for 95% of the trip, so I didn't encounter much in the way of any real curvy, single lane roads. I never noticed any swaying at speeds of 62 mph and below.
I was really worried about my truck handling this camper, but I am cautiously more optimistic now. I am going to shop for a real good set of air bags and maybe some real heavy duty rear shocks. I have no doubt that the back and forth rocking is due to the coil springs on the newer Ram 2500 trucks, and their location reportedly being too far toward the center of the truck on either side. Without the 20 inch wheels and tires, I would be more skeptical of my set-up, for sure.
I am open to suggestions for my airbags and possible shock upgrades. I do think that I want an in-cab operating system with an air pump, for ease of use. Thanks for all the advice in my previous thread!
I weighed in at 10240 lbs, with 6120 of that on the rear axle. My GVWR is 10,000 lbs, and rear axle load is 6500 lbs (front axle is 5500 lbs). Tires are stock 20 inchers, rated at 3460 lbs each.
I was 240 lbs. over my GVWR, but I had about 250 lbs of "stuff" with me, that I did not need....lots of tools, in case something unexpected happened on the road, a full set of camper accessories (like sewer hose/attachments, water hose, brass water pressure regulator, a set of Anderson levelers, etc). But, the seller gave me all of their camper accessories, so I was carrying a double load of that stuff. I also had 15 gallons of water in the fresh tank. I had all of the normal "camper stuff" with me, like a few groceries, bedding, clothes, towels, wash cloths, bath and dish soaps, cleaning supplies, light dishes, laptop computer, etc. My truck has a 32 gallon gas tank, which was also full to the brim.
The fully loaded camper set my truck down 2 inches over the rear axle, and 1/2 inch up front. It road and drove very well, except for a little bit of side-to-side sway over certain sections of road. It didn't seem to be bothered by passing trucks or bumps in the road. There was no "porpoising"in a front to rear motion. The only motion was occasional rocking from side-to-side over sections of otherwise smooth looking road surface for a few hundred feet, then everything would level back out and feel rock-solid again. I drove 65-68 mph, and if I needed to pass a truck or a slow car, I had no trouble at speeds up to 73 mph. I never got any faster than that. I was on Interstate highways and four-lane State highways for 95% of the trip, so I didn't encounter much in the way of any real curvy, single lane roads. I never noticed any swaying at speeds of 62 mph and below.
I was really worried about my truck handling this camper, but I am cautiously more optimistic now. I am going to shop for a real good set of air bags and maybe some real heavy duty rear shocks. I have no doubt that the back and forth rocking is due to the coil springs on the newer Ram 2500 trucks, and their location reportedly being too far toward the center of the truck on either side. Without the 20 inch wheels and tires, I would be more skeptical of my set-up, for sure.
I am open to suggestions for my airbags and possible shock upgrades. I do think that I want an in-cab operating system with an air pump, for ease of use. Thanks for all the advice in my previous thread!
