cargo weight rating

The dry weight on my 845 shows in the Lance brochure as 2412 lbs. plus any dealer additions (battery, AC, storm windows, roof rack, etc.) and actually came from the factory with a sticker on the rear showing a weight of nearly 2700 lbs. and when I picked it up and took it to the closest CAT scale the actualy weight was nearly 3200 lbs. and with solar panels and a second battery and a couple other modifications it weighs 3400 lbs. and fully loaded for a trip it weighs a total of 4,000 lbs.

The 865 compared to the 855 has half the LPG, half the battery capacity, a third less gray and black water capacity, 40% less fridge capacity, and a third less output from the furnace. Things to consider if you spend time at primative campsites without sewer hookups or in remote areas where fridge capacity is valuable, or off the grid where battery capacity is important.

The lighter weight of the 865 is good as it means you can carry more heavy stuff if you have the room inside. Another camper to consider in the same weight range is the Wolf Creek camper.

Be very sceptical of the decal/info stating the weight of as TC. The decal on my 11.5 foot Bigfoot TC says its weigh is only 1900 pounds, with standard equipment.

Wayne

I do not have a truck camper yet. The one I am looking at is a 2013 Lance 865. The dry weight is listed at 1818.

Jim what camper do you have and what is the LB's of it.

The tires that I have are Michelin LT 265/70 R18 and they are rated for 3525@80 psi. Front axles are 5200 and rear are 6200 gawr.

All the manufacturers calculate a payload capacity based on the expected passenger load (why as mentioned before that a regular cab truck will have a higher rating than an extended or crew cab truck that is otherwise identical) and the weakest link (suspension, frame, axle, rims, tires). With the heavy duty trucks the weakest link is the tires which is why there are DRW versions so there are twice as many tires to support the load in the bed. The rear axles used by Ford and GM on their heavy duty trucks are rated at 10,900 lbs. and subtracting the rear axle load from the truck when empty that leaves 8,000 lbs. of load capacity if only the axle and its wheel bearings the limiting factors.

Most likely your two rear tires have a total load capacity of less than 6500 lbs. and that is what is limiting your truck's payload capacity. There are GM heavy duty trucks with trick 20" "offroad" rims and tires that have stickers in the glove box stating that the trucks are not to be used with a camper. Same truck with different rims and tires have payload capacities up to 2800 lbs. as with my 2011 Chevrolet 2500HD extended cab short bed truck with the Duramax diesel engine.

I added a set of SuperSprings for $445 and replaced the stock tires with Nitto Terra Grappler 285/70R17 tires rated for 3750@80 PSI. The truck easily handles a 4,000 lb. fully loaded camper in the bed and the tires have a 500 lb. margin in terms of their load capacity. Any heavier and I would be looking at 19.5" rims and tires or going to a F-550 monster truck or Class B+ motorhome.

DITTO:

Francesca Knowles wrote:

cfortyfive wrote:
I have a 2011 sierra 2500 duramax extended cab 2500 4x4. My gvwr is 10000 lbs and my curb weight is roughly 7200 lbs. Quick math says that should leave me with about 2800 lbs for payload. The reason I am confused is because my truck camper sticker shows my cargo weight rating to be at 1704 lbs. Can anyone explain to me if this is correct or why would there be such a big difference between the two. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you, Jim.

Unless the above highlighted sentence is an error of terminology:

It's my understanding that the "truck camper sticker" is specific to the camper and has nothing to do with the weight rating of the truck.

cfortyfive wrote:
I have a 2011 sierra 2500 duramax extended cab 2500 4x4. My gvwr is 10000 lbs and my curb weight is roughly 7200 lbs. Quick math says that should leave me with about 2800 lbs for payload. The reason I am confused is because my truck camper sticker shows my cargo weight rating to be at 1704 lbs. Can anyone explain to me if this is correct or why would there be such a big difference between the two. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you, Jim.

Unless the above highlighted sentence is an error of terminology:

It's my understanding that the "truck camper sticker" is specific to the camper and has nothing to do with the weight rating of the truck.

mkirsch wrote:
The camper weight rating includes full passengers and fuel.

Six 150lb people is 900lbs.
34 gallons of fuel is ~200lbs.

There's your difference.

Nailed it!

By the way, 7200 sounds about right to me. My '07 3500 reg cab 4 x 4 diesel was 6,800 with me in it.

cfortyfive wrote:
... My gvwr is 10000 lbs and my curb weight is roughly 7200 lbs...

you say "roughly" for your curb weight. Best to fill up the tank, take off your tailgate and take it to a CAT scale and weigh the truck without any passengers or equipment to get an accurate standpoint basis for numbers.

I am not well versed on CG products, but 7,200 sounds like a too low of a number for a diesel long bed, 4WD pick up.