Question on 1/2 ton truck

Take a look at the sticker on the drivers side door pillar. It will tell you the carrying capacity of that truck. Its very doubtful that Ram has more than 1200 lbs, and I've seen some decked out 1/2T hemi Ram's with less than 1000 lbs.

I was quite surprised when my brother-in-law brought over his new-to-him 2015 F-150 last week. Its a XLT supercab with 6.5" bed and the 5.0 V-8, and not much anything else, basically a stripped XLT. The carrying capacity was over 2200 lbs. I've seen some 3/4T pickups with less than that. My 2011 F-150 is 1400-something.

A newer 1/2T Ram is not a good choice for a truck camper. You'll be over your GVWR, over your GAWR, over your stock passenger tires weight rating, and since the truck camper doesn't have its own brakes, your stopping power will be greatly diminished. Like others have suggested, a light travel trailer should work well for you though.

You are probably right and I agree with you about "real" TC's on 1/2T... I happen to read on the cabover-less units and they seem kinda' neat for the right person. I just assumed they would be light enough to possibly use.

d3500ram wrote:
If using a 1/2T pick-up, then maybe some of new cabover-less campers such as the Rayzor or the NorthStar Vista would be a better as far as weight concerns go.

Even those will put you over the rear axle rating on most 1500-series trucks unless you camp naked and hungry.

Sure you can add helper springs, airbags, heavier-duty wheels and tires, but all you've done is spend the difference between a 1500 and 2500 series truck.

There are people who have carried, and do carry campers that far exceed the weight rating of their 1500 series truck, without any issues that they will admit to. This is an online forum after all and you have to take everything that's said, even what I say, with a grain of salt. There is the distinct possibility that any or all of us could be misleading you either intentionally or unintentionally.

I personally cannot in good conscience recommend putting any truck camper on any 1500-series truck, simply based on the fact that it requires too many modifications to make it even workable. Others have a differing opinion. You have to figure out which you believe.

One can add all the popular suspension modifications to assist in weight carrying, but in the end, it is still a 1/2T vehicle. It still has inferior drivetrain components and brakes when compared to 34/T trucks and heavier.

This is a main reason why in my opinion the 150/1500 series are not well suited for CARRYING heavy loads. One does not want to break an axle on these limited duty vehicles... and braking (as in a panic situation) with heavy loads could be dangerous. JMHO.

If using a 1/2T pick-up, then maybe some of new cabover-less campers such as the Rayzor or the NorthStar Vista would be a better as far as weight concerns go.

What you need to do is buy a pickup that isn't labeled as a 1/2 or 3/4 ton pickup....like a Toyota Tundra double cab 4x4. Then you can put whatever you want on it and you're good to go!

That tongue-in-cheek comment is just that. I'm 500-700 lbs over the cargo capacity of my Tundra. Have been since 2004 and 110,000 miles ago. Guess that makes my Tundra a 1-ton pickup. :B

And I have a bathroom.

PM me if you want details.

Adventurer 80GS fits on a half ton and has a bathroom. There are others as well. You can always tweak the suspension a bit with air bags or helper springs and firmer shocks to level things out if needed.

As Kayteg1 says the trucks rear axle carries the load. The 1500 Ram has a very small 3900 RAWR.
These trucks may weigh around 2500 lbs on the rear axle leaving approx 1400 lbs for a payload before exceeding axle/tire and wheel and rear spring pack ratings. Actual scaled axle weight numbers work best.

I would look at TCs with a 700-800 lb dry weight. I would also upgrade to a LT tire and higher rated wheels and of course bags or other aftermarket rear suspension may be needed.

The picture of the Ford above is an good example of why you have to be careful- trucks vary substantially in payload. There is a variant of the F150 which does have a surprisingly high payload. Adding heavy stuff like diesel and 4x4 eats into that payload (your 4x2 therefore gives you a weight advantage).

As has been mentioned above, get your truck with you and passengers and a full tank of gas to a weigh bridge and work out what it really weighs. Then subtract that from the GVWR on the door pillar sticker. Simplistically that will give you the amount of remaining payload. Although as has been noted above, that isn't the full story because most (or even all) of the camper's weight will be on the rear axle alone, where-as the truck manufacturer will expect some of that payload (in the form of passengers) to be in the cab so shared with the front axle.

You'll want to get uprated tyres (e.g. load range E).

I rode in a Dodge 1500 once (owned by a member of this forum) and commented on how comfortable it was. Unlike my truck the ride from the rear suspension was really smooth. He pointed out it had nice soft coil springs on the rear. So nice to drive around unladen, but probably a real handful if fitted with a camper.

The discrepancy between the "dry weight" of a camper and how much it really weighs when you use it has been noted above. So look very closely at what the camper weight sticker says, and they aren't all reliable either. They may exclude optional extras, the contents of the water tank, maybe even batteries. They will definitely exclude all the kit you take with you when camping.

As a warning, my 25 year old Shadow Cruiser states a 1400 lb dry weight. I took it to a weighbridge for the first time in June. Subtracting the published weight of my model of truck (a weight the manufacturer publishes including an estimate for the driver and a full tank of diesel), gave me a total payload weight of 2800 lbs! OK, that isn't all the camper, that is me, Sally, batteries, tools, the solar panels, safe, heavy duty replacement roof, climbing gear, a full tank of water, a portapotty and a lot of food and clothes. But that just shows how much you can go over the dry weight of the camper in real life.

If this all looks like it isn't stacking up but you still really want a truck camper, step back and think about trading the truck for a 2500 HD truck. It would probably mean spending some more money now, but you could end up spending more than that if you have to go through a series of upgrades to get the 1500 to work with a camper and then find the light weight camper you selected is too much of an accommodation compromise. I.e. you could go through a lot of effort and money and then end up upgrading anyway.

Good luck on whatever you decided to do though.

Steve.

Basschaplain.. wish you were here before the truck...it is a gasser right? Well you might want to consider pulling a trailer (TT) and forget popups if you want to go hard side...unless you like tents in the back of your truck. A slide in camper with a 1500 is doable but very limited. Your going to have to make some tough decisions here... then there are the handling issues...this gets complicated because of the truck. Yours is going to be a better towing rig than a hauling rig by far. Even then there is modifications. What is your expectations?, Where are you camping, do you want to pull a trailer? Are you going back woods?...MMM.. well we are glad to have you. You will learn by the numbers we will give you all we got. Many will pitch in to help you...ask away and nothing with a front window!! You will regret that decision if even considered...trust this advice!!

Looks like Ford engineers don't read this forum.



Ford truck campers.