Need some immediate help - will my truck carry camper

I've been doing garbage overload myself more than once, but when you learn about tires - they can carry up to 5x rated load if you are just rolling.
It is the heat that kills the tire bond and that is why dual tires are derated as cooling is limited.
Bottom line, comparing slow driving for few miles to dump site v/s thousands miles with CC set to 65mph is not going to cut.
Other factor are consequences.
I did not worry too much about blown tire at 45 mph when I have 2 feet high load of gravel on my truck.
Blown tire at 65 mph with camper higher than 12' is different story.

burningman, that has been my experience also.

Wayne

Camper guys are kinda of chicken-little sky-is-falling sometimes.
Where I work, I see guys loading 4000 pounds into half-tons, OLD half tons that have been doing it for years. I see loads of stone and cement go into 3/4 and one tons that - from what I read on here - should make the truck fall apart in the first mile.
But they come back again and again, no problem.

In other walks of life, these same trucks work SO much harder and no one bats an eye.

hey mike sent you a PM requesting some history with the mammonth and the chevy hope you don't mind
mike

Anytime-

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1. Torklift StableLoads. Yes
2. Hellwig Big Wig Sway Bar 1 1/2 inch. Yes
3. Firestone Ride-Rite Air bags. Maybe

I also read Rancho shocks will help.

Might want to hold off with the Air bags until you try out the camper loaded to see how it sits. We have a heavy dual slide AF that needs side to side leveling, hence the Air bags. As far as flat towing, you'll have no appreciable tongue weight so you're good there. The StableLoads should help with the expansion joints on 99, as well as the sway bar on curvy roads or when avoiding the morons on 99!

mike/kellie wrote:
I have your truck (actually selling it) and a heavier camper. I would do the camper purchase and nurse the ride home with your stock set-up. I just have lower stable loads and anaftermarket sway bar. Towing is another conversation.

hey mike sent you a PM requesting some history with the mammonth and the chevy hope you don't mind
mike

Grit dog wrote:
Some responses are downright comical

My favorite is "what about the differences between the tires and wheels from a 3/4 ton to a 1 ton" like someone could look at a my tires and wheels without seeing the badge on the truck and tell me which one they came from.

bs49 wrote:


It is only a single slide but it is 11.5 ft long and has on board generator and dry bath.

My 11.5 ft dry bath single slide weight 4300 lb dry, but come to 5600 loaded.
Dually sure give you confidence, but don't get too confident.
My aluminum bed is pretty light, yet I have only about 300lb to spare for my rear axle rating.
300 lb when you carry some waste water in rear tanks go very, very fast.

This gets discussed ad nauseum on here and opinions vary as widely as they possibly could. Some responses are downright comical, like "where you're picking the camper up from" may determine the suitability of the truck. (Assuming you're not hauling it from the neighbor's driveway to yours!)
In short, 4500lbs is a walk in the park for your truck. With OE springs only, it may sag a bunch, but I doubt seriously if it will bottom it out.
After seeing what you want/need to add to the suspension, you shouldn't have any qualms with hauling that camper anywhere, or towing with it, with the proper hitch setup.

Heres where the weight cops will go nuts, but I've hauled my 4500lb camper on my short bed 2500 srw truck with as heavy or heavier trailers than you're proposing for thousands of miles, including the Alcan, which is rougher on the truck chassis then probably any long stretch of road in the L48.
Btw, my truck and yours, have the same frame, brakes and axles from 2500 thru 3500drw.
To make you feel better, go look up the payload cap for the same truck as yours but in a 2wd single cab gasser. Add another 500lbs onto your empty rear axle weight for your crew cab and you'll see that it's rated well over 2 tons.
That will tell you the chassis is rated for it. Additionally your rear axle is good for 10k and so are your rear tires. You'll be around 8-8.5klbs actual load.
Let rip.

Reddog1 wrote:
I have a 2004 Dodge 3500 DRW 4X4. My 11.5 foot Bigfoot weighs 4000 lbs. I flat tow a 3000 lb (modified) Samurai 4x4. I tow with a 2"x2"x1/4" square tube about 46" long. I do use side chains on the extension.

I bought my truck with the Stableloads installed by the previous owner. The Stableloads only make the overload springs engage about two inches sooner. They reduce the rear truck squat by about 3 inches.

I installed an anti sway bar. I was not uncomfortable without it, but it did reduce some sway. The wife says it really raised her comfort level.

I also installed airbags. The airbags were not needed to carry the TC, but when and if I tow a trailer they may be useful. You can change the ride smoothness and lift the rear of the truck to its stock height. I haven't measured, but I think I can raise the rear higher than stock.

My truck OEM tires 235/80R17 load range E (2835 lb as a dual). That is 11340 lb for the rear axle. The door decal says 9350 GWAR for rear axle. My truck rear axle, with the 4000 TC, is 7240 lb.


This "With the Dual does that give me 2635 x 4 = 10,540 load? My RR GAWR is 8200. Thanks for all your help here." is correct.

I would be comfortable with your truck as it is. I would run it and make improvements to suit my preferences.

Sway bars and me don't get along at all. I run a stock one front and rear and have broken links more than once because I run off road where suspension articulation (especially with a TC in the bed) becomes an issue. Sway bars which are actually a torsion bar work fine on the road, not so well off road.