mkirsch wrote:
805gregg wrote:
Why would you buy a heavy duty truck with a short bed? Afraid you can't handle the extra 1.5 feet?
Well, since they narrowed down their choices to SHORT BED campers, it only makes sense to buy a SHORT BED truck to match.
A long bed truck will work, sure. COG is not an issue. Mounting and hauling is a compromise, though, and they just don't look right on the truck, even if you tastefully fill in the 18" gap in the front of the bed with a storage compartment.
And Some "short bed" campers will fit all the way forward in a long bed truck with virtually 0 overhang which is nice especially pulling a trailer. No hitch extensions or spendy aftermarket hitches to buy or deal with.
On the AF 811 it can go all the way fwd in a long bed if the storage/ generator options on the back corners are not on the camper. Otherwise having a tool box in front of the camper on a long bed is nice for extra storage too. Looks a little goofy though.
Regarding weight, I've yet to weigh my AF 860 which isprettymuch the same as the 811 but I can guarantee its over 4000lbs without much added gear, etc.
Having the option to pick what was an ideal setup and throwing the dually out of the mix for your parking concerns, I'd get an ec/lb truck. Same length as a cc/sb truck and not an issue to park most anywhere. I have a Ford ec/lb as well as the Dodge mega and it fits in every parking garage I been in just fine.
Long bed truck with a sb camper is the ideal setup for towing.
A srw truck of any flavor will be over its legal weight limit likely but it's very do able. Not ideal but I've had no problems for thousands of miles now with my 2500 short bed diesel. Gotta put 70 lbs in the bags to bring the ride height back up though and it could really use a sway bar and or extra leafs.
FWIW your gas mileage will suck big time with the Ford 6.2 both loaded and unloaded. My 2013 Ford 6.2 averages a little over 12mpg commuting, mostly hiway and just over 8 mpg on a slowwww trip last year with 1k lb in the bed and a 4k lb enclosed trailer in tow.
If you do a lot of miles with the camper on you won't pass any gas stations!
By comparison, my diesel does 18mpg avg on summer fuel commuting, 12+ with the camper on if I keep it under 70mph and 11mpg with camper and same trailer.
Just food for thought.
