Lighter weight camper options
I've been thinking about getting a light weight camper for my Ram 2500 with 8' box and have considered the Grandby in the link below. I'd like to be able to get off the beaten path and this would fit ...
Forum Discussion
Rex,
There are lighter hardsides. My Lance Lite is lighter than what you quoted. I was on the Sacramento Cr. List. just today and saw (3) used campers that are lighter than your quote.
My truck too is an 8800 pound max. In the case of the Dodge it all has to do with tires. Now there are two schools of thought on where to go from here.
1. You are stuck with you payload and GVWR, according to the weight police. It's true that the 8800 is the Official GVWR of your truck as originally outfitted with those skimpy little tires.
2. You can upgrade individual parts of your suspension/tires/wheels/. I checked a long time ago when my '01 Dodge was new and found part for part the 2500 was exactly the same as the 3500 except for:
a. 3500 tires had a higher rating and/or dual rear wheels/tires to increase load capacity. Also, the 3500 had a higher load rating wheel than the 2500 with a lot of backspacing. The 2500's were usually aluminum and the 3500 typically steel.
b. The rear axle was slightly narrower (or was it wider?) on a 3500 dualie to make room for the big back spacing of the dualie wheels. It also had a longer hub and lugs to fit the the two wheels back-to-back.
c. The front axle on a 4x4 had hub extensions to get the WMS out farther to match the rear axle and allow the huge back spacing to not rub and get the wheel more centered on the wheel bearings.
d. The 3500 may have come with upper secondary (overload) springs to gain load capacity. This might be one thick or two thinner leaves to help hold up the load. Both the 3500 and 2500 had the thick lower actual overload spring. My 'Camper Package' 2500 came with the upper secondaries making it a 2001 defacto one-ton SRW suspension truck before there was such a thing.
e. everything else is the same: brakes/frame/shocks/. Just upgrading the tires to a 3750, 3900, or 4100 pound load rating will give you a boost in load capacity, not to mention the safety factor.
My advice is to go with a light weight hardside with small tanks. This will give you the lightest you can get. Then you will start the inexorable grind of upfitting your truck to carry the load.
The other thing is don't trust the dealer or seller's assertion that it will fit on a 1500 just fine.
regards,as always, jefe
There are lighter hardsides. My Lance Lite is lighter than what you quoted. I was on the Sacramento Cr. List. just today and saw (3) used campers that are lighter than your quote.
My truck too is an 8800 pound max. In the case of the Dodge it all has to do with tires. Now there are two schools of thought on where to go from here.
1. You are stuck with you payload and GVWR, according to the weight police. It's true that the 8800 is the Official GVWR of your truck as originally outfitted with those skimpy little tires.
2. You can upgrade individual parts of your suspension/tires/wheels/. I checked a long time ago when my '01 Dodge was new and found part for part the 2500 was exactly the same as the 3500 except for:
a. 3500 tires had a higher rating and/or dual rear wheels/tires to increase load capacity. Also, the 3500 had a higher load rating wheel than the 2500 with a lot of backspacing. The 2500's were usually aluminum and the 3500 typically steel.
b. The rear axle was slightly narrower (or was it wider?) on a 3500 dualie to make room for the big back spacing of the dualie wheels. It also had a longer hub and lugs to fit the the two wheels back-to-back.
c. The front axle on a 4x4 had hub extensions to get the WMS out farther to match the rear axle and allow the huge back spacing to not rub and get the wheel more centered on the wheel bearings.
d. The 3500 may have come with upper secondary (overload) springs to gain load capacity. This might be one thick or two thinner leaves to help hold up the load. Both the 3500 and 2500 had the thick lower actual overload spring. My 'Camper Package' 2500 came with the upper secondaries making it a 2001 defacto one-ton SRW suspension truck before there was such a thing.
e. everything else is the same: brakes/frame/shocks/. Just upgrading the tires to a 3750, 3900, or 4100 pound load rating will give you a boost in load capacity, not to mention the safety factor.
My advice is to go with a light weight hardside with small tanks. This will give you the lightest you can get. Then you will start the inexorable grind of upfitting your truck to carry the load.
The other thing is don't trust the dealer or seller's assertion that it will fit on a 1500 just fine.
regards,as always, jefe
