truck camper and towing a flat trailer advice
i have a 2001 f350 super duty diesel, 7.3L) 4wd 4 door SWR (single rear wheel) my gvwr is 9900 lb my front axle is 5200lb, my rear axle is 6830lb with my stock tires 265/70 r17, my rear axle i...
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If you don't have a dually I wouldn't try the "biggest one". Even a dually of 2001 vintage would be grossly overloaded by the largest truck campers. Some of the large triple slide units weigh around 5,000 pounds EMPTY. You can expect between 6,000 and 7,000 pounds when fully loaded with water, propane, batteries, food, clothing, etc. Many people that get these large campers use a 4500 or 5500 series truck with a custom flatbed to haul them.
As for length, you will need a Super Hitch and Super Truss extension, both made by Torklift. The 48" extension should be long enough to tow behind most any length camper out there. I used one behind my 11' camper to tow my 4,500 pound boat or utility trailer. The hitch extension is rated for 12,000 pounds of trailer weight but you have to use a weigh distributing hitch above 6,000 pounds which you would likely be with a 4 runner on a flatbed.
Lance, Eagle Cap, Host, and Arctic Fox are likely the brands you want to be looking at if you want a big camper. If you've got a SRW truck and want to tow a 4runner I would advise not going larger than a 9' or 10' camper. But really, weight is the question. You need to weigh your truck empty and pay attention to your rear axle weight. Subtract that from your RAWR on the door sticker and that's how much camper and tongue weight you can add to the truck. I think you'll be disappointed. If you're one of those people that things you can't go over the GVWR on the truck then your plan probably won't work unless you get a pop-up type camper. I'm not one of those people.
As for length, you will need a Super Hitch and Super Truss extension, both made by Torklift. The 48" extension should be long enough to tow behind most any length camper out there. I used one behind my 11' camper to tow my 4,500 pound boat or utility trailer. The hitch extension is rated for 12,000 pounds of trailer weight but you have to use a weigh distributing hitch above 6,000 pounds which you would likely be with a 4 runner on a flatbed.
Lance, Eagle Cap, Host, and Arctic Fox are likely the brands you want to be looking at if you want a big camper. If you've got a SRW truck and want to tow a 4runner I would advise not going larger than a 9' or 10' camper. But really, weight is the question. You need to weigh your truck empty and pay attention to your rear axle weight. Subtract that from your RAWR on the door sticker and that's how much camper and tongue weight you can add to the truck. I think you'll be disappointed. If you're one of those people that things you can't go over the GVWR on the truck then your plan probably won't work unless you get a pop-up type camper. I'm not one of those people.
