Palomino Bronco B-600 may NOT be for your Tacoma!

After a lengthy and expensive legal battle, we were finally able to make the RV dealer take the Palomino camper back, plus pay for our damages to our vehicle due to the improper installation (tie downs too loose and no rubber mat between camper and bed damaged the sides of our bed, plus overload caused damage to our suspension). We are now carrying a FWC Eagle shell with minimal gear with no difficulties on steep, FWD roads, and are completely happy with it.

When we went back to weigh our truck without the camper, we were able to calculate that the actual weight of the camper turned out to be 1380#, not the 1056# advertised, but then again, we did add a couple of options (solar panel and awning), but that does not explain why the actual weight was so wildly over the listed weight on the back of the camper.

One thing that the RV dealer either continues to fail to grasp or is in denial about is that load capacity must include all the weight the truck is carrying, not just the load in the bed. This includes the weight of the passengers! Even if the camper's actual weight was 1056#, with our load capacity of 1140# for our Tacoma TRD, we could not use the camper unless it was completely unloaded and only had an 84# driver to stay within the truck's load capacity.

Even Palomino's owner's manual (that we did not receive until delivery) states that the fully loaded camper and truck must NOT exceed the vehicle's GVWR. If you choose to load your vehicle beyond that, and accept the consequences, then that's your choice, I suppose. Of course, there would be no way we could even make that determination until after the camper was already loaded on our truck, so we had to rely on the dealer to tell us that the camper matched our truck.

These numbers are important because load capacity and GVWR translate to more than just what the body of the truck will support. Overloading affects braking and steering as well, and if you are grossly over those recommended numbers and are involved in an accident, you could be held liable for the consequences. I don't want to have to go to a truck scale every time I cross a state line either, and I don't want the government oversight, and I agree that until enough people die as a result of overloaded vehicles, no one is going to take notice. But if you care for yourself, your family, and other people on the road, you should at least think about how much you are carrying and whether it is truly safe, or just "ok".

I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to throw my two cents worth of opinion into it before it dies.
I have a Ford Ranger with an older Coachmen tc that I was told had a dry weight of 904 lbs. After my first trip to the scales reality slapped me in the face :E !
I became proactive and was able to shave off close to 300lbs without sacrificing too much comfort. For example, I dumped my 40lb bed mat for a sheet of foam board. I 1/2 tank it on the fuel, Replaced my heavy dinette table with a small plastic one. Since I rarely use my a/c I removed the 10 gauge umbilical cord, installed a female inlet plug, so now I have the option of using what ever size/weight cord I feel I need for the occasion. I removed my factory hitch. The list goes on and on and yes, I'm still over weight, but only by a couple hundred pounds loaded. I'm getting 17 mpg and we are zipping all over the country.
I'm only trying to encourage to OP to have an open mind here and look at all the possibilities available. You may not have all the wiggle room i did, but at least you know you tried.
Victory

mkirsch wrote:

If you want more than a basic bed cap/topper with an air mattress, you are going to *HAVE* to buy a bigger truck.

This is the bottom line. Posts above have explained how little payload this pickup actually has. A cab full of passengers would put it overweight. Just because a truck has a bed doesn't mean you can fill it without overloading the truck.



Back to other comments, it is a ridiculous proposition to say that you didn't want to buy a "monster truck" to have to drive unloaded. If the goal was to haul a decently sized camper with a small host vehicle, the solution is not a truck camper--it is a towable camper. ALL trucks, no matter what size, can tow much more than they can carry. While I don't think it's a good idea to tow any trailer of significant weight with a compact pickup, it's far safer--and far easier on the vehicle itself--to tow a small, 16-19' travel trailer than it is to carry any truck camper on such a vehicle.

Truck campers are a versatile, useful little camper, but if there's one thing that they aren't, it's light. They cannot be purchased as an afterthought for an inadequate truck. The resulting combination will never be safe. Therein lies the problem with this entire idea--thinking that a compact pickup that was just "a little overloaded" would be prepared for a task for which it was never designed.

mkirsch wrote:

If you want more than a basic bed cap/topper with an air mattress, you are going to *HAVE* to buy a bigger truck.

This is the bottom line. Posts above have explained how little payload this pickup actually has. A cab full of passengers would put it overweight. Just because a truck has a bed doesn't mean you can fill it without overloading the truck.



Back to other comments, it is a ridiculous proposition to say that you didn't want to buy a "monster truck" to have to drive unloaded. If the goal was to haul a decently sized camper with a small host vehicle, the solution is not a truck camper--it is a towable camper. ALL trucks, no matter what size, can tow much more than they can carry. While I don't think it's a good idea to tow any trailer of significant weight with a compact pickup, it's far safer--and far easier on the vehicle itself--to tow a small, 16-19' travel trailer than it is to carry any truck camper on such a vehicle.

Truck campers are a versatile, useful little camper, but if there's one thing that they aren't, it's light. They cannot be purchased as an afterthought for an inadequate truck. The resulting combination will never be safe. Therein lies the problem with this entire idea--thinking that a compact pickup that was just "a little overloaded" would be prepared for a task for which it was never designed.

My old 2200cc Perkins diesel Mazda had great mileage but the 2600cc FI gas engine would get single digits when towing a boat over the Cascades. 3500 lbs in tow with the diesel over the Sierras would get me low to mid 20's for MPG. Low first gears in both and 4x4 in my second is what really made them able to tow or haul more than they should have.

I'm still disappointed at the Toyota performance in hauling that camper. I always wanted one and could not afford the extra they were asking compared to the Mazdas.

The stories about the Mazda are legendary and usually involve much heavier loads and steeper grades. Fuel mileage was extraordinary also.

My '89 Mazda B2600i was rated for 1500 lbs and weighed 3500 lbs (5000 lb GVWR), so it surprises me that the Tacoma with a 5500 lb GVWR is less capable. I hauled 2000 lbs of bricks while towing an additional 2000 lbs on a utility trailer when building out a retaining wall with 10 pallets. My Mazda also carried all the concrete footings for a 10x20 deck while towing the lumber to build this deck. The only issue I had was a clutch replacement at 100K miles due to the fact that I was towing 3500+ lb boats over mountain passes...

mkirsch wrote:


Sure 10% is 10%, but he is 50% overweight. Hence the discussion is about a discrete number, 560lbs.

Regardless, 1 ton and 3/4 ton trucks are designed to haul their rated capacities day in and day out, for the life of the truck.

1/2 tons and compacts are designed to haul their rated capacities from Home Depot to home.

Load a 1 ton to its GVWR and take a look at its stance. It is barely squatting.

Load a compact truck to its GVWR, and take a look at its stance. It is sagging badly with a nose-high attitude.

What options does the OP have? He has already rejected all of the options. He is overweight by 50%. He hates how it handles. A new truck is not an option. The dealer won't take the camper back. Suspension modifications have been rejected wholesale.

I don't see where the OP posted axle/tire/wheel ratings anywhere yet?

In any case, it appears that this is someone with severe buyers remorse who has rejected every recommendation so far...

It is unlikely any of us will help resolve their issue.

mkirsch wrote:

It would be great if we could just squeeze and poop out a product that met our needs perfectly, but life is a compromise.

Quoted for impact.

Great way to sum it up.

wytwtr wrote:
If you want to drive a tank (and feed it), that's fine, but not everyone should have to just to carry a camper top.

A Bronco 600 is not a "camper top."

Regardless, no product exists that will satisfy your requirements. Nobody makes one because there is no perceived market for such a camper.

EDIT: I should not say "no perceived market" but not a large enough market to make such a camper in enough volume to bring the cost down to where people would actually buy it. There have been attempts in the past to bring such a camper to market but they have all failed because the price point was much too high.

You want some sort of lightweight exotic material unit at a chipboard Palomino price... Not gonna happen.

Even your most basic "Four Wheel" camper will be 750-800lbs, and that's going to put you over.

If you want more than a basic bed cap/topper with an air mattress, you are going to *HAVE* to buy a bigger truck.

It would be great if we could just squeeze and poop out a product that met our needs perfectly, but life is a compromise.