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Vinsil's avatar
Vinsil
Explorer
Jul 27, 2015

WC840 on my megacab..questions

Hi all. In the never ending quest to buying another RV we keep going back to a TC like we had before. Some background first.

We (wife and three boys, 10, 7 and 5) have been in many RV's over the years. Both before the kids and as they have grown...TT's, TC, and our last was a toy hauler. We have been looking to replace the toy hauler since our toys have got to large for the last toy hauler...a polaris xp4 1000 and kid quads with a few dirtbikes for us.

Problem we are having is the type of toy hauler to haul all this junk is HUGE. 38-40 foot fivers.

1. My truck is too small for those TH's.2007 2500 4x4 megacab cummins.

2. We like to go other places that make a huge fiver impossible to get into.

We loved our last older TC and even though it is REALLY tight for our large family...we are considering it again. This allows us to pull a flatbed (already have it) and also to boondock like we like to do without the toys sometimes.

We know the Northwood line and really like the Wolf Creek 840 layout.

My questions are....is this too much for my truck? I have e rated toyo mt's on it (285's), 5100 bilstiens, but no other suspension mods. What would I need to make this a possibility with this truck? A new truck is out of the question right now.

What tie down system? Our last truck was a 95 F350 and had stake pocket mounts and turnbuckles...but that truck had a solid thick bed. I don't trust this rams bed for that mount system..

and how about towing the flatbed? 4-5k pounds....

Just need some knowledge before the dealer tries to sell me subpar equipment!


Here is what I'm looking at.

Also what would be a good "deal"? In the past I have done 30 percent off on RV's...is the TC market similar? Any opinions on that?

thanks all willing to listen to advice and opinions!
Truck Campers

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  • mkirsch's avatar
    mkirsch
    Nomad II
    Jul 29, 2015
    You guys missed that he's also looking to TOW.

    It's one thing to be 1000lbs overweight with the camper if that's all you're going to have, but he's also going to be ANOTHER 1000lbs over with the tongue weight of the trailer behind him.

    Dodge Megacabs are HEAVY HEAVY HEAVY right off the line, especially if it's a 4x4 Cummins Laramie with all the bells and whistles. Last empty weight I saw on one was over 8000lbs! They're so heavy even the 1500 series megacabs have heavy axles with 8-bolt hubs.

    Throw 700lbs of people in the cab (even a relatively fit family of five is going to exceed 500lbs, and it's only going to get worse as the kids grow), and now you're down to <1200lbs of payload on a 2500. Now you're going to throw 3000lbs+ worth of camper in the bed and another 800-1000lbs on the receiver.

    I guess if three times the truck's available payload capacity is ok with you, more power to ya.
  • TJMarc's avatar
    TJMarc
    Explorer
    Jul 29, 2015
    With trucks of our vintage you will be arguably overloaded with even a pop-up truck camper. As configured with the stock tires at xx psi, rated payload in the bed is going to somewhere around 1800# and with fully loaded pop-up campers coming in at 2000# or more. If you decided to go 1 ton SRW...you actually only get a few hundred more in payload because the tires remained the same (higher pressure on the door jam?) and you would be OK with a pop-up truck camper.

    With that said...because of the short bed expect to carry little to no weight on the front axle and maybe even lose some off the front axle...not a big deal considering the boat anchor of an engine we have. For your setup you will essentially carry all the weight on the rear axle...make sure you do something about your tires as they are the weakest link. Followed closely by the lack of overloads, so something like supersprings, timbrens, stableloads or airbags will likely be needed.

    Good luck and have fun.
  • towpro's avatar
    towpro
    Explorer
    Jul 29, 2015
    Here is some real numbers for a 2015 WC 840 on a 2006 Quad Cab, Cummins, SRW 8' bed.

    truck full of fuel, nobody in truck.
    Front 4080
    rear 2900

    Now with camper on, full of fuel, full of water, and food for weekend.
    2 full propane tanks. WC has AC on it.
    Front 4540
    Rear 5760

    Now my truck is an 8' bed and the Center of Gravity of camper added 450 lbs to front axle.
    on your megacab with the short bed I don't know how much that will change.

    This shows my camper weight was 3320 lbs.
    my Truck Gross weight was 10300, but I think the weight sticker on door said 9900 lbs max,so yes, I was over weight.
    And this was with nobody in the truck.
  • smooth1's avatar
    smooth1
    Explorer
    Jul 28, 2015
    Your truck will haul it. I would add Timbrens and upgrade the tires. I have a 2006 megacab cummins 2500, 3500lb camper lance 830, and the old boat was 4500lbs... with the new boat at 7-8K I am running 19.5 tires and wheels.
  • Grit_dog's avatar
    Grit_dog
    Navigator III
    Jul 28, 2015
    If the 840 is only around 3k wet, your truck will haul it with ease.
    See my sig. The 860 is a lot heavier than that and no issues.
    Last tires were 3950lb Toyos. Supported the camper up to and around Alaska for thousands of miles. I could use a sway bar and some stable loads as just the airbags I have make er a little bouncy.
    A couple suspension upgrades are in order, but any diesel Mega is as heavy duty as any other 1 ton.
    Just returned from a weekend trip towing my boat behind the camper. About 6klb trailer.
  • Vinsil's avatar
    Vinsil
    Explorer
    Jul 28, 2015
    Thanks for the response. I don't have enough payload, my truck is stickered for 9900, I would be almost 1000 pounds over.

    My tires are rated at 3195 lbs. Seems I don't have enough tire either.

    Boy it sure seems I made some wrong choices with this truck! Well, I guess that is that. Maybe Dodge will buy my truck back. lol.

    They might be pissed that all the emissions equipment fell off and its EFI Live tuned....hah!
  • MORSNOW's avatar
    MORSNOW
    Navigator III
    Jul 28, 2015
    The 840 will weigh around 3,000lbs wet, what is your available payload? For tie downs, the two most popular systems today is Torklift and Happijac, either will work fine. The next thing to look at is your tire load capacity, there is a pretty big variance in load range E tires from 3,100-4,000 lbs. After that you may be looking at suspension enhancements like Stableloads, Super springs, Timbrens, Air bags, etc to level your truck back out.
  • Vinsil's avatar
    Vinsil
    Explorer
    Jul 28, 2015
    Ok nothing in my glove box...and measured my bed, 6.5'. Had me sweating enough there I literally just ran outside!
  • Vinsil's avatar
    Vinsil
    Explorer
    Jul 28, 2015
    Thanks, I'll look in the glove box. Thought I had a 6.5' box, same as a short bed truck..hope your wrong, with all due respect! I love the truck and did not realize the limits when I bought it. I've done so much to it I'd hate to start over.
  • billtex's avatar
    billtex
    Explorer II
    Jul 28, 2015
    vins...welcome back to TC. Not sure, but I think the megacab bed are too short. Not rated for TC due to COG.
    Check the glove box...

    Good luck, be safe.

    Bill

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