Snowriver 810

We had a member here name George who since has gone to the big camping ground above. He had a 9.6 Snowriver on a Ford F250 4x4 but he had beefed up the springs & higher rated tires. George & his wife Vi had traveled all over the country with that set up with no problems. It can be done it all depends on how much money you want to spend to get your rig set up to handle the weight & how comfortable you are with being over GVWR.

I'll just give you the weights of our rig and everyone can decide what works for them.

We have a 2005 810 Snowriver and a 2010 3500 SRW Dodge RAM with 19.5 Rickson Wheels.

Here are the weights from the same certified scale:

Truck full of fuel - 7,660#

Truck full of fuel, camper with full water and LP, and ready to go camping ( food, clothes, etc.) - 12,400#

Thus the camper ready to go camping weighs 4,740#. I don't know the "dry weight", but to me the "ready to go" weight is what counts.

No need to tell me I'm over weight, need a DRW, etc..........it works for us, but you decide what's best for you.

Can I add a twist now to this thread. The snow river I am looking at is in Gunnison Colorado which is about 5 hrs away from me. I am on the road right now driving to Phoenix and then Bakersfield California and was going to swing through Gunnison to look at the camper on my way home.
I just found out my next door neighbor is selling his Lance 835 lite. I know he carries it on a long bed Dodge. The advertised weight of this camper is 2011 lbs and the COG is 68". What do you all think. I lose the slide but I can make do if this is a more reasonable match for my pick up and what I am doing. I know this will hang over my bed (same as the SR) but how is the COG in this instance?
Thanks again for the input.

The problem: You are limited with the truck you have. You lack payload . I think its not such a good idea to try to tow a 3800# boat and a hardside camper with your truck .
Just a thought : If you plan to use it in Colorado , are there any DMV restrictions with camper/trucks and weights , i don't know. If the DMV is involved, they might want you to be able to stop the rig while its still in Colorado and not Kansas. :E

The 835 is about 3000# plus and i think its a LB model.

By the time you spend the money on beefing it up with a spring pack and all the other mods, you would better off looking for a good used 350/3500 in a LB truck.

You'll widen your camper options . You can always put a SB camper on a LB truck, it does NOT change the COG, plus you gain room between the camper and cab to store things . It also will add some weight to the front axle, which is good.

If you keep the truck you have :
If it were me, i would be looking for a SB pop up camper. You have to add about 1000# to any posted dry weight, for camper options and your personal stuff.

As an example , look up pop up specs : the site shows weights of options too .
http://www.northstarcampers.com/

835 vs. 915 good info
I think the 835 was for a LB truck ?
If that is true , if you have a SB , the COG might be in a different place in the bed. You want the COG to be in front of the rear axle.

You are going to have add mods to your truck and that adds up to weight . The more mods you add the less payload you have .
Truck mods: air bags, sway bars, stable loads, rancho 9000 shocks, the list can go on .
The 835 does not have tail lights , it was made so you could tow directly to the hitch w/o using an extention, it was designed to sit flush with the rear truck bumper.
That posted weight is a dry weight . There is no industry standard regarding dry weights . Most of the time, the MFG. weighs a unit w/o any options. The 835 will tip the scale at 3000# plus .
Its a little tight on storage as well. Only has one 20# propane tank and i dont you have room for an extra battery unless you add in the trucks bed in front of the wheel well, then run heavy wire.

Weigh your truck and see what payload you have ! Then only you can decide whats best and how YOU are going to feel driving it . Its your safety as well the other people who are driving on the same public highway as you .

Likely once you see the SnowBird/SnowRiver you will just have to have it anyway, so just plan on getting a one ton truck with a long box.

I have had two Snowbirds and very little goes wrong with them.

Mike

Well my search will continue. I looked at the SR on my way home from California. The fiberglass siding was cracked on the lower front corner of the slide all the way into the compartment of the slide out motor. The glass was also bubbled in a couple of spots above this right at the overhead area. I think I will definitely pass on this one.
On the good side I might have a line on a 1 ton dually. This would sure seem to open up the possibilities of campers to me. Thanks for the input so far.

I am looking at a SnowRiver 810d from Yreka, California. Was that the one you looked at that had the defects? Many thanks.