What would you do?

Well, I have a dilemma on my hands. After buying a 2017 XD Titan last year only to find out I severely underestimated my research as to actual payload capacity of the truck. I decided I’d do even more research this time, then find a truck with lots of actual payload capacity! Voila, I found a Ram 3500 Mega Cab, SRW, 4x4 with an actual capacity of 4069 lbs, traded in Nissan and bought the truck! Then the search was on for a camper to put on it. After much consternation, I decided to buy a used 2012 Ascent S85RS with lots of bells and whistles from truck camper warehouse! While not perfect, everything worked, it had everything we wanted, with a good floor plan for our needs, and was half the price of a new Arctic Fox 811 and listed listed wet weight was 3200lbs. I figured water and propane and did the best I could to get a ready to travel weight figured out, and came up with roughly 4200 lb travel weight. Long story short, I drive 1400 miles to New Hampshire start driving home and get to the 1st Cat Scale only to find this hulk weighs 4000lbs dry with full propane! OUCH. Anyway, in dismay, I drive Home without incident. Then me and the fiance fill it full of water, groceries and gear jump in the truck and head to the scales to see just how fat this pig can get! Truck and camper fully wet and ready for travel, 13,100lb Gross weight with a truck that's rated for 11400, with 8,700 on the rear axle that's only rated to 7000 YIKES!The Camper with an advertised wet weight of 3200 is actually an elephant at 5000lbs ready to go! And that’s with the spare tire on a front mounted carrier. Well it was worrisome to say the least. We safely made a 5700 mile trip to California and back home this Summer with a bone stock Truck with the factory air suspension then did a 500 mile stretch last month. Which leads to my question what would you do? With that in mind we do boon-dock a lot as we can carry 50 gallons of fresh water and have an Onan Generator on board, so there’s really no weight to cut. Would you go to 19.5 wheels and call it good? Would you bite the bullet and get a dually with 6000lbs of payload capacity 9750 lb rear axle capacity? Would you get mad and torch it (kidding)! The thing that worries me most is blowouts (tires rated for 3600 each)followed by bending the axle housing! Love my set up but question it’s ability to hold up over time. What say you?

Truck Campers

joerg68
Nomad III
Nov 13, 2018
The overloaded rear tires worry me more than anything else.

Obviously, the rig drives well enough for you to enjoy it.

The weight police will tell you that you are overweight. Which is true. Eventually, only you can decide if you can live with that.

Someone with more knowledge may be able to tell how much the individual components are rated for (rims, rear axle, frame, etc.).

Can you go to 19.5 wheels?

Nothing you do to the truck will make the fact go away that the truck was not sold for that load. It may well be up to the task, I do not know.

Putting the camper on a dually will give you peace of mind.
So would getting a lighter camper.

Decisions, you got to make them for yourself...
valhalla360
Navigator
Nov 13, 2018
I would look at changing truck or camper.

You aren't over by a couple hundred pounds. You are almost a ton.
Optimistic_Para
Explorer
Nov 13, 2018
I'm not going to tell you what to do, either, except to say that IF you keep it, you absolutely MUST do something about the tires. They are the weak link here and you run a real risk of having a blowout while driving overloaded like that.

Everything else, you are PROBABLY just shortening the lifespan of the mechanical components, but the overloaded tires are a catastrophe waiting to happen.
eHoefler
Explorer II
Nov 13, 2018
With the cost of purchasing new tires and wheels, you could pay the difference going to a dually
bwlyon
Explorer
Nov 13, 2018
Optimistic Paranoid wrote:
I'm not going to tell you what to do, either, except to say that IF you keep it, you absolutely MUST do something about the tires. They are the weak link here and you run a real risk of having a blowout while driving overloaded like that.

Everything else, you are PROBABLY just shortening the lifespan of the mechanical components, but the overloaded tires are a catastrophe waiting to happen.

I agree the tires are the weakest link in this set up, and going to 19.5s will cure that problem. With that said, for the cost of the tires and some patients I could just move up to a dually. Which would give some safety margin. The OEM Firestone tires on it have done a good job, but how long it will take to blow one is the $50,000 question!
bwlyon
Explorer
Nov 13, 2018
valhalla360 wrote:
I would look at changing truck or camper.

You aren't over by a couple hundred pounds. You are almost a ton.

Getting rid of camper is a definite no. We love the floor plan of this camper. I'm seriously considering a new Ram 3500 long bed dually, and building a wooden bulkhead/platform to sit in front of camper to stop foward movement. Then use the approximate 18" of space for a fuel tank and extra storage space. I went to our local Ram dealer to look at how the frame rails are designed to see how I could make a custom set of front camper tie down brackets. Our plan is maybe in the next 5 years or so to move up to a Lance 1062 or Arctic Fox 990 and would need a long bed truck.
Optimistic_Para
Explorer
Nov 13, 2018
The problem with putting a short bed camper on a long bed truck is that you might be shifting the camper's center of gravity back too far. The camper's center of gravity MUST be forward of - or at worst, directly above - the truck's rear axle.

If it falls BEHIND the rear axle, the rear axle acts like the center of one of those playground teeter-totters and actually takes weight OFF the front axle, which can cause steering and handling safety issues.

See This:
jimh406
Explorer III
Nov 13, 2018
If you can live with the draw, trade the SRW. Sounds like you may be going larger in the future. A DRW gives you room to grow.
DutchmenSport
Explorer
Nov 13, 2018
bwlyon wrote:
valhalla360 wrote:

Getting rid of camper is a definite no. ... I'm seriously considering a new Ram 3500 long bed dually, and building a wooden bulkhead/platform to sit in front of camper to stop foward movement. ...Our plan is maybe in the next 5 years or so to move up to a Lance 1062 or Arctic Fox 990 and would need a long bed truck.

I think you have just answered your own question. I think this is the wisest choice. I'm positive, you'll be much happier with the dually carrying that weight! (But my opinion is biased anyway).

Do one thing though, compare the 3 big manufacturers and get the truck that has the most payload capacity for the dually. You won't regret it.
jaycocreek
Explorer II
Nov 13, 2018
With the price they want for new or slightly used dually's,there is always the option for a F-350 SRW to DRW conversion...I almost bought an F-250 that had been converted to a dually..

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