GVWR Exceded, Mechanical Issue?

You have a truck that was engineered to tow over 12,000 lbs. so your camper does not begin to stress the engine or drivetrain or braking capabilities of your truck. You do however have a problem with the rear wheels.

The 3750 load capacity tires provide in total maximum support for 7,500 lbs. and I would suspect your truck alone puts a load of more than 3,000 lbs. on the tires and add in the 4,000 lb. camper your are at 7,000 lbs. before you have added anything at all.

In your position I would either get a lighter camper, and 95% of the campers sold today weigh less than the one you were sold, or get 19.5 rims and tires to provide a rear wheel capacity of 8800 lbs. for the truck.

The tires are the weak point and if they are at 100% of their load capacity you will have more sidewall flexing so they will run hotter and poorer road handling and you have no reserve for hitting a pothole along the way. Add a generator or any other item becomes an added stress to the tires and something for you to worry about it.

My camper had a sticker weight from the factory of 2800 lbs. but after adding a roof rack, AC, second battery, and solar panels, the weight is now 3200 lbs. - it adds up quickly.

Take your truck with its new camper to a local CAT scale and for $10 you have proof of the weight and then you need to sit down with the dealer and insist on a refund for the camper they sold you. Then get one that has a sticker weight of 3,000 lbs. or less.

sleepy wrote:
Your wheels aren't part of the load... but they are part of the weight... 19.5 tires and wheels reduce your capacity

Do as Billix suggested... load up and go camping

weigh if you will

you notice the people that whine the most are towing house trailers between trailer parks... have never driven a truck with a truck camper loaded

For goodness sakes... pay attention to the responders experience... maybe pm a few trusted members that have set ups similar to yours.

Now, take a deeeep breath... load up.... try out you rig for 70,000 miles or so... it has worked for me.

sleepy

REDUCE your capacity? Say whaaaaaaat?

It has *NOT* worked for you. The OP has an SRW truck, and he's trying to haul a camper similar in size and weight to yours. Your sig clearly says "dually."

hanapaa 13 once you get your rig loaded, with all your gear, set off down the road. you may be overweight, but you will know right away if you feel safe driving it. this may not be what others want to hear, but its true. i, speak for myself only have owned tc's in the past that were over but i was never worried when driving or stopping. good luck whatever you decide, maybe theres a dually in the future.

hannapa13 you opened the same internet weight police argument that pops up about once a week here.
Yes your camper will be well over 4000lbs wet and fully loaded. Yes you will be a couple thou over the factory gvw. No your truck won't fall apart from hauling it. Actually you're pretty well set up but even sitting on the overloads with the stable loads you installed there may not be enough rear springs to keep the back end from sagging too much and you may need airbags too.
I've put about 5000 mountain mi on the setup in my signature which is likely only a few hundred lbs less than yours, and on a short bed truck.
I have 3950 lb cap tires and I'm sure I exceed the OE rim weight rating.
It's not as stable as a dually for sure but it does fairly well and I'm relying on airbags at 60-70 lbs because the camper will bury my 2500 springs.

Not advocating that you are within all or any of the factory limits but you're not any different than probably over half of the TCs out there.
Drive it and judge for yourself. The truck will handle it but you may or may not find it acceptable.

There is a reason Northwood recommends a duelly for this camper.

hanapaa13 wrote:
I called the dealer the other day and questioned his guidance on purchasing the 996, he stated I'll have no problems and has never heard anyone being ticketed with a TC for being over weight or mechanical issues from too heavy of a TC.
With this being said, should I worry about my truck failing on my scheduled trip in a few weeks?

Your biggest concern is having rims and tires that can handle the load. The drive train can handle the weight but you may also need so suspension aids reduce rear end sag or possible sway.

I think you will be somewhere between 8000-9000 lbs on the rear axle when loaded with people, gear and water. This will preclude you from towing anything heavy since that will start bringing you close to your axle capacity.

I suggest 245/70R19.5 tires on Vision rims to give you a 9000 lb RAWR (the rims are rated at 4500 lbs each).

Until you put the camper on the truck,I would hold off on suspension upgrades but I suspect your overload springs will not make contact until you are squatting too much. You will be able buy offset blocks for your upper overload springs and wedges for lower overload springs from Torklift or make your own. Most likely you will not need air bags.

If your truck does not have anti-sway bars, this will make the biggest improvement to reduce sway. If you already have OEM bars, look at better dampened shocks for additional reduction before spending money on aftermarket bars.

devildog1971 wrote:
Legally a straight truck is not over wight on axles until you exceed 22,000 lbs per axle and their is no way any truck camper can put a truck legally over weight you may exceed the recommended weight limits set from the factory but as far as being able to get a over weight ticket the aforementioned is pretty much the rule with a few max weights of length being approx 36,000 total and when dealing with weigh stations pickup trucks are exempt unless you are a commercial vehicle or are hauling produce for hire

I like your response...

Legally a straight truck is not over wight on axles until you exceed 22,000 lbs per axle and their is no way any truck camper can put a truck legally over weight you may exceed the recommended weight limits set from the factory but as far as being able to get a over weight ticket the aforementioned is pretty much the rule with a few max weights of length being approx 36,000 total and when dealing with weigh stations pickup trucks are exempt unless you are a commercial vehicle or are hauling produce for hire

Butch50 wrote:

hmknightnc wrote:



No way his SRW truck actually weighs 7800#, my fully loaded dully with all kinds of******on it and in it weighs 7800# empty. He's probably around 7000# in reality with about 3000# on rear axle. With 6900# rating that leaves 3900# load available for the axle. Even if his guess of 4000# TC is right not all of that goes on the rear, some goes on the front.

He needs to actually weigh it to find out. He might make it he might not. It's going to be close.

Be careful when you say that there is no way his SRW weighs 7800#. I had a 2011 F350 6.2 gasser 4X4 CC LB KR SRW and scaled that truck empty with nothing not even me in it weighed 7760#. If you added in a diesel on my 2011 it would have been even higher by probably 300 or more pounds. My Ram DRW weighs in empty without me in it at 8460#. Both weighed on CAT scales.

OK, that's strange. My 2012 F350 6.2 gasser 4X4 CC LB DRW empty weighed 7350 without the tailgate (or me) and with 7/8 fuel. It's a really basic XL though with almost zero options. That's within about 50 lbs of the published curb weight. Don't know what the "KR" stands for in your description. I'm not trying to start an argument, but something doesn't add up. Mine's a DRW so it should weigh a lot more. Looking up the stats online it looks like your truck should have weighed closer to 6,900.

Your wheels aren't part of the load... but they are part of the weight... 19.5 tires and wheels reduce your capacity

Do as Billix suggested... load up and go camping

weigh if you will

you notice the people that whine the most are towing house trailers between trailer parks... have never driven a truck with a truck camper loaded

For goodness sakes... pay attention to the responders experience... maybe pm a few trusted members that have set ups similar to yours.

Now, take a deeeep breath... load up.... try out you rig for 70,000 miles or so... it has worked for me.

sleepy