1875# wet wt camper on dodge ram 1500?

Congrats, don't forget to air up the tires.

Thank you to everyone who helped me in a speed course -all about campers so that I could get my gear quick and get on vacation!

In the end I opted for a
$4995 - 2002 Lance 815 (wet weight 1879#) &
$9500 - 2002 Chevy Silverado 2500 SRW (payload per sticker = 2842#)(101k miles)

They are both in great shape and I found them on craigslist. The sellers were both wonderful people and I enjoyed purchasing from them a million times more than at a dealer. I feel like the camper and truck have everything I need and nothing I don't. The camper is tiny, but certainly larger than our tent and has a bathroom and shower. No AC, but we can ad later as needed. The truck has an 8.1L Vortec engine (Allison transmission) which may be more than I need, but I'm sure we'll enjoy it on the hills.

We are cleaning things up and packing and should be out of here in a couple of days.

I was bowled over by the wonderful help I received on the forums - some people even searched the camper/trucks ads and sent me their great finds!

If I meet more truck campers like you when I'm out traveling, I'm sure we'll be loving this sport for years to come.

Happy Camping!

My mirrors stick out farther than my tires, but my mirrors also don't make contact with the road or hit curbs. :)

homefor2 wrote:

ruthiebaby88 wrote:
Also I was trying to avoid dually because I like to drive down narrow curvy mountain dirt roads.

Dually fenders don't stick out any further than mirrors.

Our mirrors stick out further than the dually fenders. We seldom notice the fenders other than when we pull into a gas station. Granted, the DRWs are wider at the tires than the SRWs.

ruthiebaby88 wrote:
Also I was trying to avoid dually because I like to drive down narrow curvy mountain dirt roads.

Dually fenders don't stick out any further than mirrors.

The advertised weights can be very deceiving. My Lance 835 says 2200 loaded. The scales said 3000. Just be aware of that in your shopping, and good luck!!!

I went to see it - it smelled mildewy when I walked in the door and the salesman refused to let me open the slide to check for leaks. In his defense, I arrived about 10 min before closing (it's a 30-40 min drive from my house).
The camper weighed 3088 wet which I felt was a little big and heavy for my needs.
Also I was trying to avoid dually because I like to drive down narrow curvy mountain dirt roads.

Ok hedgehopper - not that light - just light compared to regular - it's the smallest Lance made with a dry weight of 1667#

I really don't care what type of truck Lance says the camper is designed for. They are wrong. Very few 15-series (i.e. "1/2 ton") trucks are capable of sustaining even the listed dry weight of a Lance 815 without heavy modification and many compromises.

It's one thing to tap into the combined axle ratings like you would with a 25-series or 35-series truck to haul more payload, but on a 15-series, you're blowing the combined axle ratings right out of the water with a Lance 815 in the bed.

That's not to say it hasn't been done or couldn't be done. Some people are even perfectly happy with what they have, too.

At that point, though, you've got nobody to blame but yourself for any dissatisfaction you may have with the performance and handling. You will then be faced with the decision to try bolting on more parts, or to take a hit on the truck you just bought and buy one with more payload capacity, a bigger engine, etc..

Ruthiebaby88

Just curious, but why did you not buy that 1992 F350 DRW Crew Cab with 43,000 miles & 2003 Summerwind camper, dealer asking price of $18,995 ??? :h