Ram/Ford 45/5500 trucks for TC hauler

Sooo ridiculous but that's kali for you.
They actually come out and check for the sticker like st the Canadian border? Lame.....
Will be a great camper hauler though!

My 350 Ford is very emissions compliant.. It has none.lol

I can do one better. My car can recognize when it needs emissions. That's a smart car!

One comment... Glad I don't live on the west coast.

My 350 Ford is very emissions compliant.. It has none.lol

From what you wrote, it sounds to me that if you had purchased the truck from a California dealer or even through a California dealer from another out of state dealer you would have saved a lot of headaches. The dealer would have to ensure that the truck is California compliant to be able to sell it to you. And the sales tax issue in Indiana would be a moot point. But, we all live and learn. Hope it get sorted out for you.

Yes and if I had contracted with the dealership with the transportation I could have legal grounds to stand on. It has been a lesson however it's not a new road I'm navigating as many people purchase out of state without a dealer to dealer relationship. The sympathy I get is sincere (ever have 2 managers at DMV offer to send an appeal to State (or even see 2 managers at once))? In essence the truck was built without the decal being attached to the hood. I had Cummins send me the engine serial number certificate that matches the VIN however from that point it belongs to Chrysler. The certificate of origin states 50 state however fraudulent documents printed with this label have been seen too many times.
This has opened a new cottage business. A single sourced company that re-produces damaged or replacement decals certified by all 50 states. This is due to under hood fires or hood replacements/re-paint. For $5.00 I purchased a decal through a local dealer however it excludes the word Ca. What we learn when we have to....

I'm mentally committed and purchased the truck already. I've shared my "woes" about registration and will quickly update (not meaning to bogart the topic). My truck is 50 state emission compliant however Ca. will not accept all my documentation unless there is a label under the hood. I've put my utility bed on hold until this is resolved. It's gone to the highest authority of appeals and they are sympathetic and will accept a letter from the manufacturer stating the above. This was yesterday. It's a 2015 SLT 5500 crew cab 4X4 that now has 1,135 total miles on it mostly driven to dealerships and various agencies.
Insurance was not difficult however it's a different policy than my other vehicles.
So until I'm denied by the state to register this truck, I'm going down this road. The final burn to this....Indiana deposited my sales tax paid in their state and I'm now subject to pay all taxes again instead of the difference between states. That would be another 90 days for me to file my out of state claim.

From what you wrote, it sounds to me that if you had purchased the truck from a California dealer or even through a California dealer from another out of state dealer you would have saved a lot of headaches. The dealer would have to ensure that the truck is California compliant to be able to sell it to you. And the sales tax issue in Indiana would be a moot point. But, we all live and learn. Hope it get sorted out for you.

I'm mentally committed and purchased the truck already. I've shared my "woes" about registration and will quickly update (not meaning to bogart the topic). My truck is 50 state emission compliant however Ca. will not accept all my documentation unless there is a label under the hood. I've put my utility bed on hold until this is resolved. It's gone to the highest authority of appeals and they are sympathetic and will accept a letter from the manufacturer stating the above. This was yesterday. It's a 2015 SLT 5500 crew cab 4X4 that now has 1,135 total miles on it mostly driven to dealerships and various agencies.
Insurance was not difficult however it's a different policy than my other vehicles.
So until I'm denied by the state to register this truck, I'm going down this road. The final burn to this....Indiana deposited my sales tax paid in their state and I'm now subject to pay all taxes again instead of the difference between states. That would be another 90 days for me to file my out of state claim.

Do it.. you'll never look back.

Better handling, better brakes. And you can carry 'stuff'.. Did I mention better brakes?

No insurance issues.. some cover them, some don't, you just have to shop a bit.

Every state is a bit different on what is a 'truck', or is 'commercial' etc. These are usually not huge hurtles, just irritating.

I am looking at cab and chassis anyways, either 3500 or 5500. Right now the truck camper I have hasn't been off the bed of the truck in over a year and a half. I looking to upgrade to a flat bed camper camper. I expect it to be around 4000 lbs wet, but it could end up being more, I know a 3500 will handle it, but my experience with an older 2500 and 3000 lb wet weight camper in more demanding terrain like Baja and mexican roads has me thinking I should consider 5500. I am aware of the insurance issues, but I am going to see if I can register the whole thing as an RV.

The new 14,000 pound GVWR Ram 3500 duallys can now carry easily 5500-6000 pounds. The Ram 5500 I looked at comes with 4.88 axles, for a camper hauler the 3.73 axles that come on the 3500 would be more than enough. And the engine on the 5500 is detuned to accommodate a better duty cycle. It does not have the 900+ foot pounds torque that the 3500 comes with. Lots of things to think about for me. I contacted Highway Products in Medford Oregon to get an idea of price for a aluminum flat bed; about $7500 starting for a basic bed. I am confident steel beds are less.

I am not sure about Utah's laws, but in some places registering the truck as an RV means the camper has to stay on the truck. Taking it off for some work at the RV dealer or taking it off to get some service done on the truck and driving the truck can be technically illegal. Since I would likely not have the camper on the truck all the time I would need to register it as commercial. I definitely like flat beds and would like the 19,000 GVWR of the 5500. Plenty of capacity to also tow a trailer and carry lots of extra stuff.

Progressive would insure the 5500 truck as long as I sent in pics showing the camper on the truck and signed an assurance that the truck would not be used as a tow truck.

I have a 2008 Sterling 4500 (essentially a Dodge Ram 4500 with a better transmission) and carry a fully loaded 2012 AF 1150 which is HEAVY. The truck handles it beautifully, no porpoising, swaying, solid and stable. MUCH better than my 2007 Ram 3500 did. Only two drawbacks: The bed is a full foot longer than the 3500 so there is a gap between the truck bed wall and the front of the camper. I had to fill so that the bump stops were actually up against something ( you can't slide the camper in any further or you'll crush the tail lights). And the center of gravity is about 3 inched behind the rear axle, but with a 16900 lb GCWR I am not even slightly concerned. Oh, one other thing, when you go to the 4500/5500 size trucks, you will probably have 19.5 tires. Better handling on the weight end, BUT not so good to air down on a beach if you intended to do that.

I’ve carried my current camper my 2006 Host Dual Slide Rainier on two different trucks.

I originally bought a 2006 Ford F350 Supercab PSD 6.0 specifically to carry it, but also for my daily driver. I knew going in that I wouldn’t be able carry very much or carry a full water tank. That was the tradeoff to get the space. I drove it stock on a 1000 mile trip and it handled the camper just fine. Later, I updated to Rancho 9000s, airbags, and also updated to 19.5 G rated tires to give me more room for error with respect to overloading tires. When buying the truck, my goal was to be no more than 10% over at any point in time, which I was able to achieve. I was never over the rear axle rating in the 8 years I drove it.

When I no longer needed the SRW as my daily driver (technically forced since the F350 was also too big), I switched to my current truck a 2010 F450 Crew Cab Pickup type PSD 6.4 with stock 19.5 tires. The GVWR is just over 3000 lbs more but the truck is also heavier. As you might expect, it handles better, and with the improved brakes it stops much faster and turns tighter. I no longer also worry too much about how much I carry with me. On my heaviest trip, I was still under the GVWR. I've had it just over 3 years.

My wife enjoys driving the F450 much more. It is more comfortable with the crew cab, but the SRW was ok as well. It also got much better MPG as a much lighter vehicle.