Toyota pickup trucks for a truck camper?
I'm new to the RV/camper world & I'm in the market for a truck camper now because I plan on doing some camping trips with the guys in the near future. I'm currintly saving up for a pickup truck that c...
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The answer to your question is no, a compact pickup cannot carry twice its payload for long or safely. No hard size camper should be carried by anything less than a 1 ton single wheel truck. A pop up truck camper can go on the right 1/2 ton and most 3/4 tons.
I have a compact truck and even if it didn't have 250,000 miles on it, you'd be hard pressed to convince me that you could get better mileage out of it with a truck camper than my diesel truck. I've owned both over over 10 years and the few times I have pulled even a small trailer with the intent of saving fuel, I have been mistaken and found myself passing nothing and still hitting every gas station, and that's with a Ford Ranger with a V6. To say that a Toyota is underpowered for the task is an understatement.
My Lance 815 weighs nearly 3,000 pounds packed for a long weekend. You're kidding yourself if you think a truck with a 7.5" ring gear in the back and a semi-floating axle is going to support that kind of payload for long at all. I wouldn't even move my camper around my yard with a compact pickup, even if it would fit.
If I was poor and wanted to carry a truck camper, I'd find the rattiest old dually I could find. Even one that is 30 years old will carry all but the biggest truck campers just fine.
I have a compact truck and even if it didn't have 250,000 miles on it, you'd be hard pressed to convince me that you could get better mileage out of it with a truck camper than my diesel truck. I've owned both over over 10 years and the few times I have pulled even a small trailer with the intent of saving fuel, I have been mistaken and found myself passing nothing and still hitting every gas station, and that's with a Ford Ranger with a V6. To say that a Toyota is underpowered for the task is an understatement.
My Lance 815 weighs nearly 3,000 pounds packed for a long weekend. You're kidding yourself if you think a truck with a 7.5" ring gear in the back and a semi-floating axle is going to support that kind of payload for long at all. I wouldn't even move my camper around my yard with a compact pickup, even if it would fit.
If I was poor and wanted to carry a truck camper, I'd find the rattiest old dually I could find. Even one that is 30 years old will carry all but the biggest truck campers just fine.
