Forum Discussion

big_camper's avatar
big_camper
Explorer
Aug 30, 2020

new tc owner...soon

1st time poster fellas so please be gentle.

I got a line on a 2001 fleetwood caribou model 11j with slide out . I cannot find any specs on this tc, nor can i find the weight.this is going on a 1997 dodge ram 2500 diesel 4x4 . with 2 inch suspension lift and heavy duty springs with 265/18 lt tires.

The camper comes at the right price so far but i will need to travel 5hrs way to get it and then do my maiden voyage home.

Is it too big for my truck?

moderator please move this to the proper forum topic
  • Since you haven't seen it, Look it over very good, looking for any water damage and delamination.
    Around here, when I was looking every Fleetwood camper I looked at had issues, so check it over closely.
    Also I would (just seat of the pants) say that camper will be a big load for your truck. Check your numbers closely, for me being overloaded is not fun.
  • I say it's too big for your truck. I owned a 2003 Fleetwood 11x which is the side entry model with NO SLIDE. It weighed a little over 4,000 pounds loaded for a trip. I carried it on a 2007 Chevy 3500 SRW first. The truck's GVWR was 9,900; with the camper on and my wife and dog in the cab we weighed about 11,100. I then started carrying it on a 2005 Chevy dually. That truck's GVWR was 11,400, with the camper on and my family in the cab it weighed about 13,000 pounds. I used both trucks to travel thousands of miles thru many states with no issues. I had air bags and heavy duty shocks on both trucks.
    Your camper will likely be heavier with the slide and your truck is only a 2500.
    As for specs, my camper had a 33 gallon fresh water tank, the gray and black tanks were both around 30 gallons. Had a 6 gallon water heater and 2 20 pound LP tanks. It only had room for 1 group 24 battery. I really like that camper. I used it for 9 years and sold it for 95% of what I bought it for.
  • Impossible to determine without your truck’s payload max.