My consolidated Newbie Questions
I've been lurking quite awhile doing my research, and I think I've narrowed down my questions. I figured they are pretty basic to the veterans, so I'll leave it to one thread rather than spamming the board. Here it goes:
Background:
Looking at getting a DRW 1-ton for the camper and to tow our 4wd to the base camp of our adventures (currently we have a Land Rover Discovery 2 which is roughly 5700lbs).
My wife and I are partial to the looks/interior design of the GMC/Chevy, she wants a diesel (limits payload, but a significant gain in towing performance). This gives us roughly a 5205 payload considering a curb weight of 7989 and GVWR of 13025. Now for the questions:
1) It's looking like I'd be limited to wet camper weight of 3800lbs wet, assuming the 4wd trailer is no more than 7k loaded (700 lbs tongue). This would give me 750 lbs or so for the kids and extra gear not included in the 3800lb camper weight. (A nicely spec'd Lance 850 comes it at 2693 on their website, it's small but it could work if I needed to go light) Does this seem right or feasible?
As far as trucks go, an F-450 only gives me a couple of hundred extra pounds of payload. The best choice for camper flexibility is the 6.0L gas engine in the chev. With it, I gain an additional 760lbs of cushion (which could get me a nice camper with a slide). But with the gas engine, I'm wondering about how it would actually fare with a 7,000 lb trailer on the back! I don't want to start a diesel/gas debate here, I've read many, but for my particular need, what are your thoughts?
2) Assuming the truck works as described in question 1 works, how well is this thing going to tow with an extension? Or am I going to be limited to 9' or shorter campers to limit the extension length? Will I need a new hitch, or is the heavy duty 3" stock hitches good enough?
3) I'm noticing that most new campers have an "option" for slide-out jacks. I'm assuming this is required to get the jacks around the dually fenders. My question is, if I decide to buy a used camper and these jacks aren't installed, how does one go about installing them without getting the camper in the truck bed to get the weight off the jack? Probably a dumb question, I know, but since I don't have a camper to look at, I'm curious.
4) Speaking of used campers, with the newer trucks having higher bed-rails, how old of a camper can I slide in without dimensions becoming an issue? There are really good deals on late 90's and early 2000 Lances in my area, will these be an issue sliding into a 2010-2015 DRW?
Thanks everyone!
Background:
Looking at getting a DRW 1-ton for the camper and to tow our 4wd to the base camp of our adventures (currently we have a Land Rover Discovery 2 which is roughly 5700lbs).
My wife and I are partial to the looks/interior design of the GMC/Chevy, she wants a diesel (limits payload, but a significant gain in towing performance). This gives us roughly a 5205 payload considering a curb weight of 7989 and GVWR of 13025. Now for the questions:
1) It's looking like I'd be limited to wet camper weight of 3800lbs wet, assuming the 4wd trailer is no more than 7k loaded (700 lbs tongue). This would give me 750 lbs or so for the kids and extra gear not included in the 3800lb camper weight. (A nicely spec'd Lance 850 comes it at 2693 on their website, it's small but it could work if I needed to go light) Does this seem right or feasible?
As far as trucks go, an F-450 only gives me a couple of hundred extra pounds of payload. The best choice for camper flexibility is the 6.0L gas engine in the chev. With it, I gain an additional 760lbs of cushion (which could get me a nice camper with a slide). But with the gas engine, I'm wondering about how it would actually fare with a 7,000 lb trailer on the back! I don't want to start a diesel/gas debate here, I've read many, but for my particular need, what are your thoughts?
2) Assuming the truck works as described in question 1 works, how well is this thing going to tow with an extension? Or am I going to be limited to 9' or shorter campers to limit the extension length? Will I need a new hitch, or is the heavy duty 3" stock hitches good enough?
3) I'm noticing that most new campers have an "option" for slide-out jacks. I'm assuming this is required to get the jacks around the dually fenders. My question is, if I decide to buy a used camper and these jacks aren't installed, how does one go about installing them without getting the camper in the truck bed to get the weight off the jack? Probably a dumb question, I know, but since I don't have a camper to look at, I'm curious.
4) Speaking of used campers, with the newer trucks having higher bed-rails, how old of a camper can I slide in without dimensions becoming an issue? There are really good deals on late 90's and early 2000 Lances in my area, will these be an issue sliding into a 2010-2015 DRW?
Thanks everyone!
