Hardshell TC with low center of gravity?

raztec wrote:

jefe 4x4 wrote:
..Learn to play with the tie downs loosening them on bad roads, and retightening them to snug for the highway...

Very helpful info, thanks. Can you explain the reasoning behind this tie down advice?

Because the truck flexes, and the camper is not designed to flex nearly as much as the truck.

Keep the tiedowns tight, and watch the tiedown anchors get yanked from the structure, or worse, watch the camper's back get broken.

Raz,
The hardest treatment to a TC frame is the flexing of the truck frame on deep holes your wheels drop into. When the frame of the truck tweaks, the frame of the camper, if tied too tight wants to follow the truck frame putting an exorbitant amount of stress on one or diagonally opposed tie downs. Going uphill or downhill on terrible roads or trails, I loosen the rear tie downs (loose as in just hanging there with no tension) so each side of the back of the camper can lift slightly when the bed and frame of the truck try to pull away from the camper. In essence, the camper is more free to stay with the attitude of the front tie downs and pivot ever so slightly at the rear. Euro designed campers are on a three-point system, usually pivoting at the front of the camper box on what looks like a long, thin walking beam. But ours is front heavy so we pivot at the lighter back end of the TC.
In addition, side sway can put undue stress on your tie downs. If i'm on an undulating surface, I keep all the tie downs just a bit looser. It fits right in with my old dictum taken from the Cone Heads: "resistance is futile"
Probably the most important addition to the TC in off-road travel is the addition of camper guides. This keeps the base of the TC from moving side to side, further limiting the amount of stress on the tie downs. There are many posts on here that can edumacate you about guides.
regards, as always, jefe

raztec wrote:
Mines not a dually. I'm worried mostly about handling , especially for the occasional off road. Those who've had both notice a big difference? Also, any manufucterers make a hard shell that's robust enough with low centre of gravity to take off road?

A lot depends on how far off road, or how rough of off road. If it is severe off roading, no hard side camper is probably going to do what you want it to do. The old Avion was built about as tough and light as you are going to find (except for it' wood bottom) and it still weighs about 2550# wet. My theory is to go back as far as I reasonably can with the camper and take the quads the rest of the way so I don't destroy the truck and camper. That is how I do it.

jefe 4x4 wrote:
..Learn to play with the tie downs loosening them on bad roads, and retightening them to snug for the highway...

Very helpful info, thanks. Can you explain the reasoning behind this tie down advice?

Bigfoot 1500 series. 8 or 9.5 feet. Has to be the 1500 series though. The 2500 series are basement models. The 1500 series will go on the right 3/4 ton.

http://www.rosmanrv.com/RV/index.php/brands/bigfoot

To get back on topic, I would suggest looking at the newest Lance 825. No, I don't own one, but have it's predecessor the Lance Lite 165-s Xcab, which is the wood frame, less insulation, aluminum roof and siding version from 15 yrs. ago. They have essentially lowered the center of gravity and moved heavier components around to place the weight farther forward.
Look at it's:
dry weight: 1725 pounds, stripped. It's about the same as my old 165-s is 'wet'.
overall width.
height inside 6' 5" (if you are taller than about 6'3, all bets are off. Also, if you get ANY claustrophobia, get a big, tall, wide TC)
tank size.
Instead of Luan they use 2 membrane vapor barriers in the walls. This is a good mildew retardant as the moisture doesn't penetrate.
You can order the four season package, which I wish I had, and doesn't add a lot of weight, but adds a lot of comfort whatever the season.
I hard-core a hard-side, and there is a steep learning curve to avoid pulling the box apart.
I just spent the last 4 days on a rock-crawling jeep trip in the High Sierra (Swamp Lake Loop, Ershim, Red Lake, Coyote Lake, all class 5. Here we are just back home:


Only 3 FUBAR'd rigs along the way this trip) and spent the nights "in the box", back at camp. I looked around to ascertain what up-high weighed what. The cab over is mostly air. Glass Windows weigh a lot, but you've got to have windows. I wish I had no windows around the cabover area. To each person it's either cozy or a cave. After reading a nice piece on this forum about trading to Lexan on some windows, I'm going for it starting with that pesky front, useless window. The only weighty item left up-high is the refer.
Your SRW one ton is surely up to the job here. If not, take it an upgrade at a time on the suspension/tires/wheels. You have an opportunity to be in my favorite place: Over-trucked, and under Campered.
A lot of how your hardside works, off-road is tied to where you store your stuff. Always store heavy stuff down low and potato chips up high. Nothing on the roof. Resist the temptation to add air conditioning (not alternating current). Learn to play with the tie downs loosening them on bad roads, and retightening them to snug for the highway.
Other mfgrs. make something similar, but be sure to check the weight. Some are a lot heavier for the same size.
I would check into the Recycler for a used TC. That's were I found our Lance when we lived in greater L.A. in 2001.
regards, as always, jefe

The bulk of the storage area, the fridge, furnace, hot water tank, and cabover sleeping area are all going to raise the center of gravity. The popups I have seen lower the COG by having these elements reduced in size or eliminated.

The COG is more of a problem in terms of the truck's load capacity with the load leveraged and having a more pronounced effect on the frame and suspension and wheels. There are ways to mitigate these effects which is covered in depth on this forum.

If you currently have something like a Palomino 1200 or smaller, there isn't a hard side that will compare with it's low center of gravity and light weight.

I've been in situations where 1st gear low range at idle was almost too fast, going through ruts that would hang up the rear diff and require a different line of approach. Then the off camber angles that looked too much but worth attempting carefully accomplished with a strong pucker factor.

Haven't really been stopped yet because of my TC, but have been limited by the truck's break over angle, ground clearance, and turning radius.

The big question is how severe are the road conditions you are considering?

Mines not a dually. I'm worried mostly about handling , especially for the occasional off road. Those who've had both notice a big difference? Also, any manufucterers make a hard shell that's robust enough with low centre of gravity to take off road?

In a 1 ton CTD I dont think you have to worry much about going from pop up to hard side TC, I Bet it wont change mileage much if any, And It will handle about any TC. And it being a Dually as well. Wind shouldnt be a problem. I mean it can be, But if the winds that bad its going to get a pop up as well. In my f150 its a dang nightmare in strong winds around flag staff and further west. Its plain scary!