Best Truck for New Camper?

kohldad wrote:
Don't forget, driving a dually with the camper isn't a problem because the camper is wider than the truck.

This part isn't true. There are many times the road is more narrow than any obstruction above. :) Still, DRWs aren't that bad.

Wet weights are for units without options so they will probably be heavier than those numbers. Then figure you will be adding a minimum of 500# of stuff in the camper. And finally, you have the weight of people and stuff you put in the truck. So you are looking more in the 5,368 and 5,774 pounds you need to be able to carry.

Even if I go to axle and tire limits with my gasser, the lighter of the two options would overload my rear tires. (My empty rear is 3,020#). So the first thing you would need to do is upgrade to 19.5" tires.

My father has a 4,500# camper he carried for a while on a SRW with upgraded tires. It worked and he never had a problem. But when he bought a new truck this year, with a lot of prodding from his children and others, we convinced him to upgrade to a dually for the camper. First drive with the camper on board and he was convinced the dually was the worth the inconvenience of the dual wheels.

I carry a 2,400# camper with my SRW Ram and don't really know it's there. We are also trying to upgrade a camper but keep passing on even those weighing 3,500# wet as we know they would make the truck a nightmare to drive on back roads.

Don't forget, driving a dually with the camper isn't a problem because the camper is wider than the truck.

The payload for my dually is 5,000 pounds. The 3500 pound hitch weight from my toy hauler levels the truck real nice. No air bags needed. Go with the dually.

You're over the payload of all the trucks you're looking at. That's before you add any truck accessories, pets, gear, or hitch up a trailer.
I carried a 4,000 pound camper on a 3500 reg. cab SRW for thousands of miles. I was about 1,200 pounds over the GVWR. Then I put it on a dually. By the time I drove down my driveway and onto the road I could tell there was a lot less bounce and sway on the dually. The dually, being a crew cab and also having a flatbed with tool boxes, is about 1,700 pounds over it's GVWR.
So yes, you can certainly run over the GVWR as long as you don't exceed tire and axle weights. But, there's no reason to start with a truck that you already know is too small for the job.

SoCalDesertRider wrote:
Get the DUALLY, in whatever brand you like. :)

Ditto. With a camper as heavy as you are looking at, I am pretty sure dually is mandatory.

Get the DUALLY, in whatever brand you like. :)

I've been there. Chevy gas extended cab SRW. added Rancho Shocks, air bags it was a 2500 Silverado. Felt very uneasy with all the sway. Changed two years later to DRW Chevy 3500 crew cab long bed, diesel. Never been happier. Everything stock, no more sway and lots of power. Don't really feel like I'm hauling anything.Even pass cars going over Snoquamie Pass. Getting 12-14 MPGs. Camper 10 ft OKANAGAN about 3500 dry weight. A 3/4 ton GVW IS 9200# a 1 ton SRW is 9900 GVW while a DRW 1ton is 11400 GVW. I was always at 9900 to 10000 pounds loaded ready to go. Even had to not carry water just fill up at Campground. Now I carry water, and every thing including firewood no problem. DRW IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO. Come by a see my rig. I live in KENT. PM me if you want. Dennis

All the big three dually's would work. Dodge does come with factory airbag option that levels the truck automatically when loaded. Mine has it and it works great. The tongue weight of my fifth wheel is over 4100 lbs. and I also have a 50 gallon aux tank in the bed. The hitch is another 150 lbs. Handles it no problem. My advise is to drive all three manufactures and see what you like. Options, payload, etc. Keep us posted. Good luck.

If you can make a DRW work, buy one. Sure, you can mod a SRW to haul a heavy camper and be really careful about what you haul ... I did, but the shorter more direct route is the DRW.