Help! New to Truck-camper Camping
Hello, new to the forum and to trying to getting my family into truck camper camping (we are done with tents!). I have a 2001 Ford F250 SD 7.3 XLT 4x4 long bed (non-dually) with heavy duty overload sp...
Forum Discussion
DiverDan,
Welcome to Truck Camping.
What you have is a math problem. The math is, your truck weighs more than you think it does. Ditto the camper.
You will need to weigh your unloaded truck at a scale. I'm guessing it with come in right around 7,300-7,400 pounds. My 6.8L, Crew cab, long bed, 4X4 was 7000 pounds. The diesel is a heavier engine than my 6.8L gasser. You will also need to then weigh the truck and camper together.
With a GVWR of 8800, your Super Duty does not have a lot of payload capacity. As others have pointed out, you can carry more with appropriate suspension upgrades.
Most of the advice you are getting so far is very good. Once you have your truck and truck/camper weights, the folks on this forum can give you very specific, helpful advice. I have one thing I'd like to add:
With your truck, I would recommend staying with a 8 or 8-1/2 foot camper that weighs no more than 2700 pounds fully loaded with all your tanks, and gear and stuff. By the time you stiffen your springs, shocks, sway bar, etc. to take out the side-to-side sway, you end up with a kidney busting stiff ride that porpoises at highway speeds. It is far and away better to simply carry a smaller camper. You are already at a disadvantage by driving a heavier truck.
I have had four truck/camper combos the past 16 years and have been badly overloaded on two of my four set-ups. Properly loaded is a better way to go.
The Alpenlite on the F350 is the pic below was one of my overloaded set-ups. The truck weighed 7000 pounds empty and had a GVWR of 9900#. My Alpenlite had a 3000 pound "sticker" weight but actually weighed 4,400 fully loaded. The F350 and camper weighed 11,400 and drove like **** despite air bags, heavy duty sway bars, adjustable Rancho 9000 shocks, etc.
Welcome to Truck Camping.
What you have is a math problem. The math is, your truck weighs more than you think it does. Ditto the camper.
You will need to weigh your unloaded truck at a scale. I'm guessing it with come in right around 7,300-7,400 pounds. My 6.8L, Crew cab, long bed, 4X4 was 7000 pounds. The diesel is a heavier engine than my 6.8L gasser. You will also need to then weigh the truck and camper together.
With a GVWR of 8800, your Super Duty does not have a lot of payload capacity. As others have pointed out, you can carry more with appropriate suspension upgrades.
Most of the advice you are getting so far is very good. Once you have your truck and truck/camper weights, the folks on this forum can give you very specific, helpful advice. I have one thing I'd like to add:
With your truck, I would recommend staying with a 8 or 8-1/2 foot camper that weighs no more than 2700 pounds fully loaded with all your tanks, and gear and stuff. By the time you stiffen your springs, shocks, sway bar, etc. to take out the side-to-side sway, you end up with a kidney busting stiff ride that porpoises at highway speeds. It is far and away better to simply carry a smaller camper. You are already at a disadvantage by driving a heavier truck.
I have had four truck/camper combos the past 16 years and have been badly overloaded on two of my four set-ups. Properly loaded is a better way to go.
The Alpenlite on the F350 is the pic below was one of my overloaded set-ups. The truck weighed 7000 pounds empty and had a GVWR of 9900#. My Alpenlite had a 3000 pound "sticker" weight but actually weighed 4,400 fully loaded. The F350 and camper weighed 11,400 and drove like **** despite air bags, heavy duty sway bars, adjustable Rancho 9000 shocks, etc.
