how much weight can we have?

Based on truck weight estimates of others it's pretty likely that total going down the road weight will be 10k or more. Since it is an HD I'm thinking the brakes might be O.K. A weak point may be tires and rims. Are they "e" tires? What about rim ratings? You might also have to beef up the suspension. Maybe air bags or Supersprings.

It's a shock to a lot of us that this heavy duty 3/4 ton truck we have can't haul as many campers as we thought. Lots of good advice in this forum. Read it all and decide what your comfort level is.

Another thing you can do is try to find the camper's base wt, then add each "extra feature" that's on the TC, such as the genny, AC unit. Arctic Fox's website has the wts of each thing posted in their catalog, so add those wts together to get a dry estimate, then add the wt you think your "stuff" will weigh. That's how we started.

As it turns out, the tires are a lot of the limiting factor. Look as those too.

Is your head spinning yet? This is the hard part, after you find the right one, it will be easier. Happy hunting!

If I'm reading correctly, the TC's dry wt is 2200 lbs. Add another 800 for "stuff" and you'll be over by a lot more than 200 lbs. Typically, you cannot trust the weight written on the TC...it's usually more! It must be weighed to find out actual wts. There are some very interesting past posts where folks have been surprised on their wts. You cannot just guess or round up. Not safely anyway.

When we researched TCs, were learned so much about wts. We had a 3500 SRW and found it wouldn't handle the TCs that we wanted. We would have had to add a lot of expensive mods. We went up to a DRW. No mods, and we feel safer. You may find you need to go to a bigger truck or a smaller TC. It's an expensive lessen to buy before researching carefully.

I don't mean to be a downer, but TCs are a whole different animal. TCs are "payload", not pulling capability. BTW, you have add that in too if you plan to pull a trailer or boat, etc.

http://jackson.craigslist.org/rvs/4036070607.html

here is the one I'm interested in. generator is included and he built that cargo thing on the back.

I wish I knew how to put the link in here right! sorry!

It is a 4 door. Not sure if that's a quad. lol

Thanks for the help everyone!

I am waiting for more information on the tc.

Assuming you have a similar truck to mine (quad cab) then you curb weight is about 7000 lbs and you have about 2000 lbs of capacity. My 3500 has 900 lbs more.
There's no way it weighs only 6K.

Our 2002 F-250 PSD weighed in at 6966 lbs with two humans and two dogs, some tools in the supercab, fuel and our coffees.

Front axle was 4,232
Rear axle was 2,734

The 8' camper we purchased has a dry weight of 1,900 lbs.
Loaded for a trip I expect it weighs about 2,500 lbs. We haven't weighed it yet though.

Yup, I know ... we're over the truck's GVWR. Even so, the truck handles the weight well. We do a lot of off-road and gravel roads. Haven`t had any issues.

Interestingly the truck carries the camper better than it pulls our 25' fifth wheel. With just the fifth wheel the truck is under its GVWR by a couple hundred pounds. Burns less fuel with the camper than the fifth wheel too.
The truck manages the fifth wheel very nicely but it works harder with the fifth wheel, without a doubt.

You are rounding a lot of things off, I would not do that but look at actual amounts and don't trust guessing/assumptions. It is sort of like guessing what is in your checking account, without doing the actual math.

A few things. You mentioned your truck is a 2003, what tires do you have on the truck? Often, the weakest link will be your tires and rims.

Next, actual weights of your truck would answer your question. Often we have new Truck Camper owners arrive here to ask questions to receive affirmation to their needs. If so you have arrived at the wrong place. This group wants you to be safe, as well others that travel on the roads that you travel on, as well.

Another important factor is your estimated personal stuff weights. The figure that has been the approved amount, after many years of discussion here, is a firm #1,000 lbs.

Also, don't go by what an individual tells you what the camper weighs, especially if they are selling the camper.

Don't believe the sticker on the side of the camper, as that is often not even close to what the Truck Camper actually weighs. Go weigh the camper, if available, or if your margins are close with the available carrying capacity of your truck. Having a comfortable/safe truck laden with a Truck Camper is a wonderful feeling.

So;

What are the actual numbers on the door pillar tag?
What is the weight of your truck, from a recent scale weight?
What is the camper you are looking at (most of us can get you a better idea what the expected wet weight of that camper will be)?
What is the cargo capacity of the current tires you have on your truck?
Do you have the OEM Rims on your truck? (If not what is the capacity of the current rims?)

By all means, have fun!

b

This thread might offer some insight:

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27160562.cfm

I would stay around a 3,000lbs dry weight and no larger than a 9.5 length