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HMS_Beagle's avatar
HMS_Beagle
Explorer
Jul 17, 2015

How much rear overhang is too much?

I have idly doodled over the last few years a plan to build a custom camper/truck. I would like to keep the wheelbase to the 60"CA of the standard chassis/cab, since it makes the rig without the camper shorter and the turning radius reasonable. On my drawings this results in a rear overhang of 7 1/2 feet, axle to end of camper. The breakover angle doesn't look too bad, but I am wondering how much is too much. CG would not be an issue. I had a class A with over 13' of rear overhang, and that was too much. What is the rear overhang on one of the big Host campers for example?

5 Replies

  • What I am contemplating would have a floor length of just over 12'. That must be about the same as the Host Mammoth. 2WD, off road limited to graded dirt.
  • I like 9.5 as a maximum floor length. I think it depends on how much you are an all on road guy or not. Some of the Class Cs are probably more like 15 ft and they seem to be ok. The biggest concern is the COG.
  • I think my 11.5 foot bigfoot is pretty close to 8-feet. I should add, at the end of the truck bed, the TC steps down about 12-inches for the gray water holding tank and related.

    I think it would make a difference between 2WD and 4WD when considering breakover angle. The kinds of roads you take it on is another consideration. My truck is 2WD, I do not go off road. I think I had a problem with breakover angle one time in the past ten years.

    Wayne
  • From truck bumper to the rear of the Host Mammoth is about 3ft. I use the curt 34" extension into a specially built receiver adapter, and it's more than long enough for everything.