2018 RAM 2500 with Adventurer 910DB

Kayteg1 wrote:

specta wrote:

Grit dog wrote:

That said, if I already had the truck, I would be pretty motivated to make it work. The truck will handle 2 tons riding in the bed, all day, every day, with some upgrades to the suspension (not unlike most srw trucks hauling slide in campers).

I have to agree with Grit dog.

That all depends on COG.
When I loaded my 12' winterized camper on F250, I went to the scales to find close to 8000 lb on rear axle.

And 2 tons in the bed would be around 7500lbs ish on the axle.
OPs setup, 8' bed and a 10' camper will likely be CoG slightly in front of the axle CL, but the axle is still seeing all the camper weight more or less, like 99% of the campers out there.

I think your idea of a second truck is a good one. It would also give you the ability to go bigger if you want. 11 1/2 campers give you a lot more floor space with more potential floorplans and usually larger bathrooms.

I’m not sure why you are looking at TCs, but consider shorter Class Cs as well if you at all will consider a dedicated truck to a TC.

specta wrote:

Grit dog wrote:

That said, if I already had the truck, I would be pretty motivated to make it work. The truck will handle 2 tons riding in the bed, all day, every day, with some upgrades to the suspension (not unlike most srw trucks hauling slide in campers).

I have to agree with Grit dog.

That all depends on COG.
When I loaded my 12' winterized camper on F250, I went to the scales to find close to 8000 lb on rear axle.

I would look at a Northstar TC, they are a non-basement TC, well made, offer the bunk over the dinette and their weights are realistic. Definitely install Timbrens and possibly a rear swaybar.

Regarding truck brands, the Ford F-250 diesel is also limited to approximately to 2000 pounds carrying capacity, like the Ram 2500 it’s limited to keep the GVWR bellow 10200 pounds. I think G.M. now rates their’s with a higher GVWR, breaking an unwritten standard the big 3 has had for a while.

Grit dog wrote:

That said, if I already had the truck, I would be pretty motivated to make it work. The truck will handle 2 tons riding in the bed, all day, every day, with some upgrades to the suspension (not unlike most srw trucks hauling slide in campers).

I have to agree with Grit dog.

Thanks for that Jaycocreek! Good read.

Here is a short article of a guy taking his Wolf Creek 850 to the scale with a 3/4 ton truck..

Taking my Wolf Creek TC to the scales

SidecarFlip wrote:

kohldad wrote:
IMO - NO! Dry weight of 3373 and that is without any options such as battery, AC, etc. Add water and necessities and you will be looking at a camper weighing over 4500# when ready for a trip. I wouldn't even try to carry that on my 3500 SRW.

You will need to stay with a very light camper, preferably non-basement. First your diesel eats up a lot of payload. Second is you have coil springs which is a double strike because it has coil springs AND they are mounted inside the frame rails. Neither of which work well for carrying a high COG item like a truck camper.

What would be a better thing to do is upgrade to a DRW 35000 and then get the 910DB if that is the camper you think suits you.

Never understood why Fiat-Chrysler went to coils on the medium duty trucks for one and why on earth did they mount them INBOARD, inside the frame rails. Makes zero sense to me. If you desire a Cadillac ride, buy a caddy, not a truck.

My other issue with coils is they have no inherent dampening like a leaf spring pack does so they are hell on shocks.

Must be less expensive to manufacture is all I can think of.

Without getting into the GVW and axle ratings and whether they're legal, safe, made up, whatever, IMO, the only downside of your 2500 WY4x4, is the coil springs. I don't have firsthand knowledge, but others do and it makes sense that the coil sprung suspension is not ideal with high center of gravity loads like a big TC.
That said, if I already had the truck, I would be pretty motivated to make it work. The truck will handle 2 tons riding in the bed, all day, every day, with some upgrades to the suspension (not unlike most srw trucks hauling slide in campers).
A big part of the equation is how "comfortable" you feel with a vehicle that doesn't corner like it used to when empty.
I hauled our (4000lb +) camper on our 2500 short bed with only airbags added to the truck, for alot of miles. Namely WA to AK and all around AK for a summer. I imagine it drove similar to a coil sprung truck. It had a good deal of body roll with the camper on. Again, something that took a bit to get used to.
Adding a rear sway bar and wedging the bottom leaf spring tight made for improved cornering "feel."

I wouldn't throw out the idea of a TC with that truck, even a full size TC.
I would consider what can be done to not only increase weight carrying capability (common to do on most trucks hauling a TC), but which modifications also contribute to less body roll.
1. Biggest sway bar made, for sure. Consider a heavy front sway bar too.
2. Added suspension capacity. Not alot of options for the coil trucks. Standard air bags and Timbren/Sumo springs are about the only options I think. I would be more inclined to use Timbrens, set tight, than air bags. Greater resistance to body roll, IMO.
3. Shocks. This is one application that I could see some large capacity, very stiffly valved shocks being a big benefit. Like Fox/King/Carli type remote reservoir shocks, valved like a brick.

Heavier replacement coil springs would be great, however I haven't seen them on the market. If you could spring the truck like a dually, that would be my first choice, if it's possible.

Just a few thoughts.

Wy4x4 wrote:

I found one for sale relatively close. It has the Onan generator and a few other goodies. The salesman is going to get me a wet weight here shortly.

The built in generator was the biggest reason I bought my current camper.

My last camper I had a divorced generator. Its amazing how much we'll pay for a single "luxury".

I like just pushing a button on the control panel for instant electricity.