Forum Discussion

DarkSkySeeker's avatar
Oct 26, 2016

Ford F250 Super Duty

There I was test driving a 2016 Ford F250 Super Duty with 8 foot bed. My girlfriend looks in the glove box and finds a single sheet of paper, the heading of which says, "Not recommended for slide in campers".

Back at the dealership, we get the "it is just for legal protection" speech. When we looked at the weight capacity of this truck, we found also the Lance camper we intended to put on the truck overloads it, even at the camper's dry weight.

Is a dual rear tire F350 or equivalent the only way to go? Are all/most 3/4 ton trucks overloaded and potentially top heavy with a 2500+ pound camper attached?

27 Replies

  • If you want to be 'safe' go with a dually.

    Check the Ford payload tables (goggle for them) and u can see the differences.

    I have a 3100 lb Citation. Love it. It weighs 3100 lbs on the sticker. If u read the fine print it weighs more than that because of the options which are excluded.

    The best test is to go to a weigh scale. They tell no lies.

    Ford does not warranty non 'camper' option trucks when they are carrying a rig. The dealership salesman is wrong. It is in his interest to promote Ford.

    However Ford would need to know about your transgression.

    :-}
  • The camper is a 1997 Lance 980. Yes, it is old, but fits my budget. Along that line, I do not have the money to step up to the 350/3500 class.

    The F250 weight rating is ~2540 and the Lance is ~2700 dry (according to published specs).
  • I run an F350 crew-cab, dually with the Boss Towing package to carry a Northern-Lite 10'2."

    I highly suggest the dually for stability and load. If you haven't bought the Lance yet, consider Northern-Lite - they're probably at least 1000 lbs lighter and extremely well-built.

    I also tow a RAV4 with this setup and barely notice the camper or car.

    Bill
  • 250 is still a very viable truck, and for those of us that do not want to pay the extra fees from the MVA for a 1 ton it still gets the job done.

    I will say though, if campers keep getting heavier we will have to get DOT numbers ;)
  • Production of the 250/2500 trucks should just be eliminated ....just a history note of days gone by
  • I would definitely move up to the F350. Friends of mine who have Lances say they generally run heavier than advertised.
  • Hi DarkSkySeeker,
    I think you'll find that most of the newer 3500/F350 single rear wheel trucks have the capacity to haul some of the hard side campers that don't have slides. We'll need to know what Lance camper you are looking at to be sure.
    My older Lance 1030 has a sticker that claims the weight is 2600lbs. However when I weighed it at the local farm store it was closer to 3600lbs. I'm am overweight for my truck and we are looking at upgrading trucks soon.