GM/Chevy 2020 fitment odyssey
In the fall of 2019 I started my quest to replace my 2000 Fleetwood and 2004 Chevy 2500HD combo with a new bigger truck and camper. I really wanted another Duramax so GM/Chevy was my first choice. I have a lot of information to convey so I'll just hit the high points here.
1) In 2020 GM completely re-designed the HD line. I ended up with a Chevy 3500, SRW, CC, 4x4, LB, Diesel, High Country trim. (Chevy was thousands less than GM for the same stuff.) I shopped and the 2020 GM/Chevy HDs beat Ford for payload although getting a "Camper Certification" is impossible for CC and worthless anyway. I bought the truck 12/8/19 and had many sleepless hours over camper choices, availability, weight and fitment.
2) I had Torklift tiedowns on my previous camper and wanted them again. Torklift did not have the 2020 model year ready yet so I patiently waited for a few weeks in January. Then I got a message from customer service that the first article was ready and if I wanted to be a guinea pig and take lots of pictures I could have it. I got the box on a Saturday and mounted the tiedowns (crawling under the truck) in about 4 hours taking lots of photos during the process. It went without any serious issues. I had kept my fastguns from the previous camper and now was ready for a new camper.
3) I made a detailed spread sheet of all my camper choices with model years in the last 7 years. I wanted slides and floor space and ended up choosing the 2014 Lance 992. Finding inventory was not easy and I ended having to drive 900 miles to get the camper. I bought the camper in January but couldn't pick it up for 8 agonizing weeks. The main reasons for the choice were overall weight, more forward CG, 2 slides, huge floor space, and cost. I also considered 2015 1050s, 2015 1052, and 2016-2019 1062, 975 and 995. The newer Lance campers are even heavier. If I had to get a new one today I would have to get a stripped down 995.
4) The 992 and the newer campers all have the camper box "kneewall" bumped out at the top. The Chevy tailgate opening is 59" wide but the top of the box kneewall is 58". I woke up in the middle of one night in a fit worried that I couldn't back the truck consistently to not scratch, ding and nick my truck every time. I almost called off the camper purchase but then I realized if I jacked the camper up a few more inches I would back in above the tailgate opening only having to lower one small section between that gap. This required an extra 2" of blocks under each jack to get the camper high enough. I made a ton of measurements of other things and needed to shim the front of the truck bed 1/2" for the tailgate opening (which is stupidly bumped out backwards at the top) to clear the camper and I used 3/4 plywood and 0.700 thick bed mat combo to raise the camper above the bed rails. Camper 20.5", truck 21". I'm going to reduce the plywood thickness next trip mostly to cut weight. There is no problem with the cab over clearance, but satellite radio doesn't work traveling north and sometimes spotty not going south.
5) The truck tailgate is powered and has the backup camera mounted inside. I went to a GM dealership to take the tailgate off the first time and they showed me how to disconnect the tricky electrical connectors. I bought some dummy connectors to plug the sockets while I drove around with no tailgate. I'm an electrical engineer and familiar with RF components so I bought the backup camera on the internet (from a 2019 equinox), built an enclosure for it, mounted it on the back of the camper and wired it to the connector on the truck. When I put the truck in reverse I see behind the camper on the truck's built-in screen.
6) Yes, I'm overweight. More than I budgeted. But on the 900 mile trip back home over 7 days, 4 state parks, 3 RV parks, dry and wet camping, the combo performed well with no hint of control problems.
I emailed Truck Camper magazine to offer to write a full article with lots of photos but haven't heard back from them. Their website does not have a link for article contributions.
1) In 2020 GM completely re-designed the HD line. I ended up with a Chevy 3500, SRW, CC, 4x4, LB, Diesel, High Country trim. (Chevy was thousands less than GM for the same stuff.) I shopped and the 2020 GM/Chevy HDs beat Ford for payload although getting a "Camper Certification" is impossible for CC and worthless anyway. I bought the truck 12/8/19 and had many sleepless hours over camper choices, availability, weight and fitment.
2) I had Torklift tiedowns on my previous camper and wanted them again. Torklift did not have the 2020 model year ready yet so I patiently waited for a few weeks in January. Then I got a message from customer service that the first article was ready and if I wanted to be a guinea pig and take lots of pictures I could have it. I got the box on a Saturday and mounted the tiedowns (crawling under the truck) in about 4 hours taking lots of photos during the process. It went without any serious issues. I had kept my fastguns from the previous camper and now was ready for a new camper.
3) I made a detailed spread sheet of all my camper choices with model years in the last 7 years. I wanted slides and floor space and ended up choosing the 2014 Lance 992. Finding inventory was not easy and I ended having to drive 900 miles to get the camper. I bought the camper in January but couldn't pick it up for 8 agonizing weeks. The main reasons for the choice were overall weight, more forward CG, 2 slides, huge floor space, and cost. I also considered 2015 1050s, 2015 1052, and 2016-2019 1062, 975 and 995. The newer Lance campers are even heavier. If I had to get a new one today I would have to get a stripped down 995.
4) The 992 and the newer campers all have the camper box "kneewall" bumped out at the top. The Chevy tailgate opening is 59" wide but the top of the box kneewall is 58". I woke up in the middle of one night in a fit worried that I couldn't back the truck consistently to not scratch, ding and nick my truck every time. I almost called off the camper purchase but then I realized if I jacked the camper up a few more inches I would back in above the tailgate opening only having to lower one small section between that gap. This required an extra 2" of blocks under each jack to get the camper high enough. I made a ton of measurements of other things and needed to shim the front of the truck bed 1/2" for the tailgate opening (which is stupidly bumped out backwards at the top) to clear the camper and I used 3/4 plywood and 0.700 thick bed mat combo to raise the camper above the bed rails. Camper 20.5", truck 21". I'm going to reduce the plywood thickness next trip mostly to cut weight. There is no problem with the cab over clearance, but satellite radio doesn't work traveling north and sometimes spotty not going south.
5) The truck tailgate is powered and has the backup camera mounted inside. I went to a GM dealership to take the tailgate off the first time and they showed me how to disconnect the tricky electrical connectors. I bought some dummy connectors to plug the sockets while I drove around with no tailgate. I'm an electrical engineer and familiar with RF components so I bought the backup camera on the internet (from a 2019 equinox), built an enclosure for it, mounted it on the back of the camper and wired it to the connector on the truck. When I put the truck in reverse I see behind the camper on the truck's built-in screen.
6) Yes, I'm overweight. More than I budgeted. But on the 900 mile trip back home over 7 days, 4 state parks, 3 RV parks, dry and wet camping, the combo performed well with no hint of control problems.
I emailed Truck Camper magazine to offer to write a full article with lots of photos but haven't heard back from them. Their website does not have a link for article contributions.
