Lance 855S on a F350 SRW?

You might need a Dodge...Just kidding.
My Lance 855s sits on a 2010 dodge 2500, 17" rims and 305 70r 17 Nitto terra grapplers. Yes, I know it's probably not the best rim/tire combination for that heavy of a camper, but it works for me...at least so far. I have a lot of sidewall flex which is also not ideal. I have driven from Seattle to Alaska with this set up and had no issues. I also have, PacBrake bags, Helwig sway bar, and Rancho 5000's. I owned a 2011 f-350 SRW that would have probably handled the camper better, but I like my Dodge better for towing.
Personally, I think you will be fine.

The tires support 7500 lbs. and subtracting the 3340 lb. weight of the truck that leaves a load capacity of 4160 lbs. for the camper. The rear axles can support at least 8900 lbs. on a Ford truck and newer model years can support even more weight.

The difference between the 4160 and the "payload" figure from Ford is due to the limitations of the leaf springs provided. Best way to augment the factory springs is with a set of Supersprings for $450.

Sumo Springs are not a good solution as they do not work like the factory springs and they are only warrantied to last for 2 years. Aftermarket suspension mods that limit the range of travel can work but the do not truly increase the load capacity of the truck. Only more leaf springs can do that without affecting the ride and handling of the truck.

Supersprings makes sets to provide 4,000 lbs. or 5,000 lbs. of total load capacity and I would go with the higher capacity. When turning on slopes more than 50% of the weight is on the "downhill" side of the truck and the leaf springs on that side.

My camper weighs up to 3700 lbs. when loaded for a trip and less than 200 lbs. is carried by the front wheels with more than 3500 lbs. being carried by the rear axle and wheels.

I had a 2005 F350 SD CCSB Diesel 4 wheel with a 2011 855 Lance camper and when I weighed it with 2 people in the cab, full diesel tank, full fresh water tank and hot water heater, full propane tanks, a few tools, a 20 ton bottle jack, torklift superhitch and 32"extension but nothing else in the camper my weight was 11,920 lbs. My truck GVWR was 11,400 lbs. and my empty truck weight was 8,000 lbs. Once we loaded up the camper with food and supplies we were well over 12,500 lbs. I had upgraded my tires to 285/75r18 Toyo AT II Extreme which have a max load of 4,080 lbs at 80 psi. These were mounted on the factory Ford Aluminum rims. I also installled the Sumo Springs and the Tork Lift Stable Load. With these additions my truck handled the weight fine but I believe the 855S is a heavier unit than mine since it has a slide out.

I just installed 295/70r18 Toyo AT II Extreme tires on my 3500 Ram SRW and these tires are load rated at 4080 lbs. I think you would be good with your load, if you have 18" wheels and you don't mind buying new tires for a new truck. There are other tires out there with high load ratings, but you have to search for them. Truck Camper Magazine.com had a 855S that they went into great detail on the weight of the it and their 855S weighed out loaded approximately 4,100 lbs, you might want to check out their article on that.

check out weights in the links...also check with Billtex . He researched this 855s vs EC and found some interesting info that you might be interested in.

When you load any tc into a truck, the rear axle carries most of the weight . I think the tires will be the limiting factor but a SRW 350 might be able to feel comfy carrying it .

http://forums.goodsamclub.com/Index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/26553703/page/3.cfm

Lance 855S: dry weight, 2,620 pounds + 30 gallons fresh, 250.2 pounds + 6 gallon full hot water heater, 50 pounds + 2x 20-pound full propane tanks, 40 pounds + 2 batteries, 130 pounds + stuff, 500 pounds = 3,590.2 pounds"

***dry weights do not incl. ANY mfg. options, ac,awnings etc .

(bobndot , my lance options w/o a/c are almost 500# , my non slide lance 845 is more than 3500# . 3600-3900# expect the 855s to be over 4000# )


http://forums.goodsamclub.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27877936/gotomsg/27878110.cfm

We have a Lance 1010 and 2009 F350 SRW 11.5k GRVW. I have the same Michelins. My total weight is 12.4k roughly evenly balanced between the 2 axles. We drove the camper from CA to Yellowstone no issues. Later in the summer headed up to Yosemite and had a blowout - thank goodness for Ford's tire pressure alert on the dash. the tires barely had 2,000 miles on them. I'm pretty cautious about making sure I have 80lbs in the tires.....I may have been closer to 70. This said, I really was surprise pd this happened. Really don't want the added expense of Alcoa rims and new tires. I purchased a real good tire inflator in the hopes that I can keep the tire pressure where it needs to be. I posted a topic a few months ago and the feedback indicated the tires should be sufficient. I'm driving the truck a bit easier.....especially on whoops. NEt-net, we are pushing the payload envelope, so we must be a bit more careful. Maybe in a few years upgrade to 19.5" rims at a cost of ~$2,500 I think that 3750 is the best for E rated. You can read this post for more feedback on the topic. Older/recent thread on Topic

How much does your truck weigh empty? I think you can probably put the 855S on and be close to your payload rating of ~4k pounds if your truck weighs about the same as mine.

Nevermind, I just read more carefully. Your truck weighs over 8300 pounds empty? So much for newer trucks having higher payload ratings. I'd pass on the slide camper.....although I have seen them on 3/4 tons at the campground.

Rick,
I'm not sure about load range E rated over 4k, but I can offer feedback based on our own experience.

We essentially have the same truck as you and running 18-in wheels with load range e tires and carry an 855S. Next month will be our 2-year mark with the set-up and we couldn't be happier with how the truck handles (and we're running stock).

You should be fine we have a Lance 1071 with and empty weight of 3200lbs, and SRW with 3750 capacity Nittos