brophy tie downs vs others?

burningman wrote:
First of all, where did you get the idea your 11' camper weighs 1895 pounds? That's got to be about HALF the actual weight.
The movement you're seeing is normal. That's why truck cabs and beds are separate rather than one piece. (OK except for those '61-'63 Ford "Unibody" trucks... and those didn't work out!) Trucks flex.
I carried 4000+ pound campers for years with Brophys. They work fine. There are lots of guys on here who think you need Torklift tiedowns, but as mentioned, show me an example of a camper held on with Brophy-style tiedowns that came off. It's all just a bunch of sky-is-falling speculation. The older the truck, the better Brophy style tiedowns work, because the beds were stronger and stiffer. I dare say that on my old '67 Chevy with clamp on camper brackets, the camper would be torn apart before you pulled those things off.
Having said that, Torklifts are very excellent tie downs.
The only reason I quit using the Brophy style tiedowns is they're an extra chore to install and remove every time I want to load my camper, and they're ugly if I just leave 'em on.
I actually like "belly bar" tiedown mounts.

Weigh your rig with and without that camper... if it's an 11-footer, it weighs around 4000-ish.
I guarantee you it doesn't weigh anything close to 1895!

Actually, the plate bolted right on the camper AND the original dealer sales receipt both say 1895 lbs. It's part fiberglass part aluminum. The shadow cruisers were made light. But it realky is 11.5' It hangs off the back of my 8ft bed by a yard when I measured. It has a very large wet/dry bath and storage in the back.

There's NO sag at all, up front or in the rear. It's perfectly level. No air bags. And I was wondering about those too, but they were not recommended based on how well the camper fit the truck. Said I didnt need them, but do I?

Your post raises my spirit about those brophys, very much, but what is a "belly bar?"

Technically my Gvwr is 8800lbs. I figure the truck itself weighs 7000? Would that be a good guess? If youre right, Im screwed. Except everyone I ask seems to tell me the tires just did me a world of good, and I dont know what to believe...axle weight or total gvwr?

Ford themselves told me the axle weight is set based on the tires, and that payload can be increased by getting better tires. And they told me that the rear axle and spring in the 1992 f250 was the same as the 350, (I have not looked up the validity of that however), and that my free floating, 4.1, limited slip was an excellent axle/suspension.
He said those numbers on the door sticker, are based on studies, and laws, and overall life safety and endurance of the truck. He did say that trucks can be overweight and be fine for years provided the weight per axle never exceeds the tires combined weight rating on that axle. Change your tires and the sticker inside the door means nothing. I did go read my sticker and it DOES say,

Rear GAWR : 6084 lbs w LT235/85R16E tires, 16X7K rims @ 80 psi cold
Front GAWR: 3965 lbs w LT235/85R16E tires, 16X7K rims @ 51 psi cold

So...I put Hercules H-901 tires on my truck whose weight rating each is over 4000 pounds, and can be filled to 110 cold psi

As you can see, I want everything to be safe, and perfect. I plan on going full time starting April 2018. I want to go back roading and live outdoors, and have a blast! I want to have fun, I dont want to be worrying.

Watch...I'll be that person that you see going down the road, with brophys, TLs, AND happyjacks. Just honk and wave when you see me. :D

Any advice you give is appreciated, and I am grateful! Im not one of those types who asks for help then argues with the people who took time out of their day to write a helpful message. (I always wonder why those people ask questions in the first place.) At this point, I don't know cr*p. I dont even know what I dont know, so EVERY piece of advice given to me is getting printed off and read over in detail.

I hope I give enough information so you all know what I have, and the things Ive been told which has led to confusion. I agree im going to have to bite the bullet and go weigh everything. I truly hope that sticker plate is accurate.

But if youre accurate...what then? My truck doesnt think he's overweight.:D

Off topic: have you BEEN to burningman?