'90 Chevy 1/2 Ton 305 V8

I had a 68 C10 sb 6cyl , 3sp that had coil springs.
I carried a lite 6 pack camper on it. It handled very badly. And then I added better shocks, sway bar, heavier tires, overload leaf springs and a 4sp with granny and it was much better. and I pulled a 5000 lb horse trailer behind it. It was probably less truck than yours and I used it for several years, Recommended? No! will it work? Yes!
Have fun and be careful.

Congratulations on the "new" camper.

As you can guess, we are all arm chair engineers.

I would like to know, as I'm sure others would, what you truck weighs unloaded, what it weighs with the camper, as well as the trucks GVWR. Please follow up with another post.

Again, congrats on the new camper and the new job. Good luck.

Thanks, everybody, for the replies and helpful information! I had the truck looked at and was told it should be okay to haul it- I have overload springs, and I found out the camper was only a little over 1,000 lbs.

I drove about 2 hours away and picked it up. Bringing it back was a bit scary (I definitely need mirror extensions!), but we made it over the bumpy roads in one piece. ;)

All the jacks worked great, they had the tie downs, and I checked the electric and everything powered up. It does need a water tank, but that shouldn't be a huge $ issue. There didn't appear to be any water damage, and it is in decent condition inside and out.

I am starting a new job next week, and when I have the finances, I'm going to do some rebuilding... maybe I'll start a thread- I have some cool ideas :)

Thanks again for explaining where to find information, for providing a lot of it, and for the general help/tips. I'm excited to be a part of the community, and when I dive into this thing, maybe I'll learn something so I can help some other newbie in the future!

Well yeah, if the camper's junk this may be a moot point.

mkirsch,
aka: Matt,
I like the way you think. You have an ocean of experience that shows in very fine way: no offending remarks to the unwashed; just some helpful hand holding.
Having been on here almost 10 years I see the same queries asked over and over, with the same cadre of efficient, helpful, experienced people answering those same questions, over and over, helping the Alpha neubies get over that bumpy road in one piece.
I'm more than a little sad that I won't be able to meet all you fine people in my lifetime.
jefe

I owned an 88 GMC 1500 4x4 SB, with the Auto & 350CI V8, only had a 5600 GVWR. Had no ability to carry any weight.

Every one here has commented about the truck, but what about the camper?
From those two pictures it looks as if the camper is a stripped model.
No AC on the roof.
Plenty of rust showing on the jacks, lots of dents which could allow water to get inside.
Broken lights outside (water going in)
Look this unit over very close. Look for water stains along the baseboard and under the beds.
You may have to spend lots of money to make it water tight!
Not sure of all above? Then bring a friend along to see what he says!!
Sorry for the negative remarks, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
Good Luck & Drive Safe!

There is also a camper loading information sticker inside the glove compartment. It will tell you the maximum weight of slide-in camper that GM recommends for the truck.

What I can tell you is that you will almost 100% for sure be overloaded. That in and of itself is not necessarily unsafe, though. Your truck can be VERY unsafe, completely empty, if driven recklessly, or if it has extremely worn tires, or rusty brake lines, or worn-out brakes, or sloppy steering linkages, or bad front wheel bearings, or broken springs, or, or, or...

Assuming that you are a safe driver with a good head on your shoulders, and the truck is kept in tip-top shape, you can decide for yourself to take the risk of running overloaded. It would be a good idea to get upgraded tires with a higher load rating, and some sort of suspension add-ons.

I have a '90 chevy truck brochure that has all the trucks specs.
The 305 has a whoppin' 175 hp and 275 ft lb torque.

Your trucks GVWR and FAWR and RAWR will be on the drivers side certification placard.

Those old short bed trucks were pretty light and payloads ran in the 1300-1600 lb range. As one poster mentioned using higher rated tires I would add the trucks wheels may need to be upgraded to take advantage of the D load range tire higher load and pressure rating. You may want to add air bags or Supersprings to the rear suspension "IF" it sags too much.

However much depends on the TC actual weight. We have lots of TC owners so maybe some one owns one and can help with its actual weight.

Your safety weights and information should be on the door plate on the DOT safety plate located there.
Good luck / Skip