I am looking at ways to shed some weight on my Lance 830. One area I'm looking at is the stock queen innerspring mattress. I'm not sure of the weight, maybe around 75lbs. plus I have a pretty heavy 2" memory foam topper as well.I am looking at replacing the factory mattress with a 4" firm foam mattress with cover and placing the memory topper on top of that, or ditching the heavy memory foam for standard light egg crate foam topper. I think I can save 40-50lbs or more for not much cost/loss of comfort.Worthwhile or spitting in the wind?Gman

I don't have a TC but, weight reduction is the sane for all RV's.Carry less stuff and replace stuff with lighter stuff.Before you change the mattress, make sure it will be comfortable. Saving 50 lbs is not worth sleeping on a miserable mattress.And, if you reduce the total weight by 200-300 lbs, will it be worth the effort and expense?

Not knowing whether your rig is overweight by a lot or a little its hard to say if 40/50 lbs will make any difference in the big picture. Are you carrying any stuff that you really dont need or use that would be better off left home and have a more significant impact on weight? After several trips we have found a few things that we just dont need. My rig is underweight but maybe additional suspension/truck mods would make your rig feel less 'heavy'?

I agree...don't try and save weight on the mattress. Buy the most comfortable one you can for you, and don't worry about weight. A good night sleep is good for your health. :)

One easy way to lower weight is to travel with minimal water in the tanks. I believe the 830 has a 30 gallon fresh tank. If you hit the road with only 10 gallons you've saved 80 lbs right there.

> Ideas to Shed Weight in Truck Camper?Have you tried running in place?Maybe that hot yoga?How about cutting back on the bacon?Good luck.

Ideas to Shed Weight in Truck Camper | Good Sam Community

Vinsil
Explorer
Oct 19, 2015
Bedlam wrote:
Vinsil wrote:
Grodyman wrote:
My 17's are rated for 3195 each. 18's bump that to 3640. This give a little over 800lbs. of rated capacity. This with the add a leaf essentially make my truck equal to a F350 SRW. I can do this for about $1500. I can probably sell my 17's for $700 or so. But.......33" vs. 31" tire diameter takes my 3.73 ratio down...Truck certainly doesn't need this.

I'd be happy with 18's, 4.30 gears, and the add a leaf...about $4500 in modifications. Just shooting the bull, I'm probably fine on my weights if I am careful.

I want a dually:C

Gman

Did you find wheels rated more than 3400? I couldn't.

Just curious before you pop for tires. Maybe factory wheels are, Ram's did not in the research I did.

As Gman posted, the 17" rims are rated for 3195 lbs. However, the 18" and 20" rims are only rated for 3525 lbs each.

https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/topics/2011/2011_SD_Pickup_specs.pdf

Thanks, similar to what I found. He would only gain 600 lbs of capacity...lot of money for not much gain.
Bedlam
Moderator
Oct 19, 2015
Vinsil wrote:
Grodyman wrote:
My 17's are rated for 3195 each. 18's bump that to 3640. This give a little over 800lbs. of rated capacity. This with the add a leaf essentially make my truck equal to a F350 SRW. I can do this for about $1500. I can probably sell my 17's for $700 or so. But.......33" vs. 31" tire diameter takes my 3.73 ratio down...Truck certainly doesn't need this.

I'd be happy with 18's, 4.30 gears, and the add a leaf...about $4500 in modifications. Just shooting the bull, I'm probably fine on my weights if I am careful.

I want a dually:C

Gman

Did you find wheels rated more than 3400? I couldn't.

Just curious before you pop for tires. Maybe factory wheels are, Ram's did not in the research I did.

As Gman posted, the 17" rims are rated for 3195 lbs. However, the 18" and 20" rims are only rated for 3525 lbs each.

https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/topics/2011/2011_SD_Pickup_specs.pdf
mkirsch
Nomad II
Oct 19, 2015
Empty rear weight of an SRW pickup is generally 2800-3100lbs.
Johnnybgood
Explorer
Oct 19, 2015
You might try adding Snow performance methanol injection. Adds power, cleans the engine.
zcookiemonstar
Explorer
Oct 19, 2015
If you are not going to be taking the camper off the truck you would benefit more from removing your rear bumper and brackets (if you don't use the bumper for tie downs). Removing weight from behind the rear axle will help more then the mattress way up front.
Vinsil
Explorer
Oct 19, 2015
Bedlam wrote:
Grodyman wrote:
Bedlam wrote:
Unless you're towing behind your TC, I cannot imagine you are working that gasser so hard with just a TC on the back of the truck. My experience was with the 6.0 PSD, but I was over 19k lbs GCW with no issues crossing the Rockies over I-80 or I-90.

Ha, you might want to test drive a 6.2/3.73. Very sluggish, but gets the job done. Kind of tiring when driving across country really. I do like it however, but wish I had 4.30's.

Gman

Interesting. It must be frontal area wind resistance more than the weight causing the sluggishness.

405 lbs of torque at 4500 rpm is the reason.

Its why the gas guys need/like deep gearing. I'm making more than double that at 1600 rpm.
Bedlam
Moderator
Oct 19, 2015
Grodyman wrote:
Bedlam wrote:
Unless you're towing behind your TC, I cannot imagine you are working that gasser so hard with just a TC on the back of the truck. My experience was with the 6.0 PSD, but I was over 19k lbs GCW with no issues crossing the Rockies over I-80 or I-90.

Ha, you might want to test drive a 6.2/3.73. Very sluggish, but gets the job done. Kind of tiring when driving across country really. I do like it however, but wish I had 4.30's.

Gman

Interesting. It must be frontal area wind resistance more than the weight causing the sluggishness.
Vinsil
Explorer
Oct 19, 2015
Grodyman wrote:
My 17's are rated for 3195 each. 18's bump that to 3640. This give a little over 800lbs. of rated capacity. This with the add a leaf essentially make my truck equal to a F350 SRW. I can do this for about $1500. I can probably sell my 17's for $700 or so. But.......33" vs. 31" tire diameter takes my 3.73 ratio down...Truck certainly doesn't need this.

I'd be happy with 18's, 4.30 gears, and the add a leaf...about $4500 in modifications. Just shooting the bull, I'm probably fine on my weights if I am careful.

I want a dually:C

Gman

Did you find wheels rated more than 3400? I couldn't.

Just curious before you pop for tires. Maybe factory wheels are, Ram's did not in the research I did.
Grodyman
Explorer
Oct 19, 2015
Bedlam wrote:
Unless you're towing behind your TC, I cannot imagine you are working that gasser so hard with just a TC on the back of the truck. My experience was with the 6.0 PSD, but I was over 19k lbs GCW with no issues crossing the Rockies over I-80 or I-90.

Ha, you might want to test drive a 6.2/3.73. Very sluggish, but gets the job done. Kind of tiring when driving across country really. I do like it however, but wish I had 4.30's.

Gman
Bedlam
Moderator
Oct 19, 2015
Unless you're towing behind your TC, I cannot imagine you are working that gasser so hard with just a TC on the back of the truck. My experience was with the 6.0 PSD, but I was over 19k lbs GCW with no issues crossing the Rockies over I-80 or I-90.