Good morning, I have a 2012 ram 3500 mega cab srw. I am looking at either a northern lite 8.11 or an arctic fox 865 both units 2023. I’m looking for advice on tow setups. Manufacturers don’t seem to list the overhang the campers have and I want to to my Nautique behind me. Tongue weight is about 350 boat and trailer probably 6200 lbs. anyone have any advice as to a good setup.

Piece of cake, although 2.5” hitch extensions are harder to find and iirc only come in about a 24” length, which is about perfect but could get by with shorter, maybe 18” total if the boat is a v nose and not a pickle fork. 2.5-2” reducer extensions are more plentiful and better selection of lengths. Had AF 860s on a 3rd gen 2500 Mega, same bed length and camper length as the 811 and I think the 865. Straight towing with the extension with a same boat. Slightly lighter overall and slightly heavier tongue weight. And a much lighter rated hitch than your truck. Thousands of miles towing like this with the boat and similar size trailers. You’ll have no problems either. Only thing out of the ordinary id do is slide a flat washer or 2 under the male ends of the extension and the drawbar to take up the slop so the hitch didn’t look “saggy.”

Wait yours is a ‘12 so it has a 2” receiver still I believe.

Most TCs list the overall length, My guess is you'll need about 18-24 inch extension. Where the ball is impacts the felt weight from the tongue. I'm assuming you have the short bed. From what I understand the Megacab is only offered in short beds.Fwiw, you are likely to be overloaded without the boa by the time you add water etc. You have to include the tongue weight in your payload which is probably 10-15% of the 6200. If this is a long term plan unless you only plan to short tow it, you'll likely need a DRW. Another option if close by is to take the TC to the campground drop it, and go back for the boat. Of course, you could do that with a TT as well.

Torque lift super truss is the best there is, probably overkill fir such a short overhang. I used one that was 48"with my 11' truck camper. Before that I used a Reese 48" extension. It worked fine but had much more plan than the tork lift set uo.A boat won't have 10 - 15% tongue weight. 5 - 8 will be more realistic. You will likely be over GVWR but as long as you don't exceed axle or tire weights you'll be fine.

And literally the second person to reply hit the “You need a dually” buzzer…..OP if you don’t listen to me, the rest of the contingent here will have you totally twisted around. The dumb suggestions are already pouring in from those who like to “share” their hypothetical knowledge, aka biased opinions about something they’ve never done….Good luck and you’d be better off leaving now, lol.

Truck camper and towing | Good Sam Community

Grit_dog
Navigator
Jun 24, 2023
Wait yours is a ‘12 so it has a 2” receiver still I believe.
Grit_dog
Navigator
Jun 24, 2023
Piece of cake, although 2.5” hitch extensions are harder to find and iirc only come in about a 24” length, which is about perfect but could get by with shorter, maybe 18” total if the boat is a v nose and not a pickle fork. 2.5-2” reducer extensions are more plentiful and better selection of lengths.
Had AF 860s on a 3rd gen 2500 Mega, same bed length and camper length as the 811 and I think the 865.
Straight towing with the extension with a same boat. Slightly lighter overall and slightly heavier tongue weight. And a much lighter rated hitch than your truck.
Thousands of miles towing like this with the boat and similar size trailers.
You’ll have no problems either.
Only thing out of the ordinary id do is slide a flat washer or 2 under the male ends of the extension and the drawbar to take up the slop so the hitch didn’t look “saggy.”

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