2005 Lance 845

[Rhodesia]

I just bought a 2005 Lance Camper with extended cab for the queen bed and it has the rear bumper. The manual says it's dry weight is 2,190 lbs and wet weight is 2522 Lbs. I have a 2016 Ford F250 Super Duty Power Stroke Turbo diesel 3/4 ton truck 6.7L it came with Air lite air springs 5000 series and a tow rating of 15,500 pounds (Trailers). I have a short bed truck due to having a crew cab and this 845 is a short bed label says Lance 845 lite 8' 6". before I bought it I had Ford dealership make sure I can carry this camper on the back weight wise that is and they conformed yes I can and the Lance dealership also said yes due to it coming off of an older Ford F250 Super Duty. To get a third opinion I took the truck down to the RV suspension shop that only deals with Motorhomes and Trucks undercarriage. They found that in order to carry this they recommended the air springs which I have already installed and Super springs Overload Leaf's, and a Rear Sway Bar since Ford does not install these on their trucks. anything else anyone out there would recommend? Because the RV Suspension Shop said if I add anything else would be an over kill for the undercarriage. Thanks for any input. as a note I have seen these Lance model 845 on a Ford F150 on a 1/2 ton truck. Lance does not specify saying what trucks this will fit.

[Grit_dog]

Glad to help Rhodesia.
I still wouldn’t do the super springs either though unless you’re wanting to get rid of the airbags.
But again, drive it first before moving further with more mods.
Admittedly, that generation of F250 has fairly compliant rear springs. Based on the 2012 and 2015 models I had. You could lob the camper on there now and drive away and not be sitting on the bump stops. But the springs have a softer initial spring rate compared to what one would traditionally think of a HD truck.
You have more than enough tire (and rim if OE rims or at least not some cheap aftermarket ones) for the camper to sit on the truck for a day or 5 years. 19.5s would be overkill.

For frame of reference, we had Arctic Fox 860s sitting on a 2007 Dodge 2500 short bed.
4000lbs + ready to camp. Yes it needed airbags, sway bar and home made spring wedges. And with that it handled decent. But first trip out of the Gates with the first camper was camper loaded down heavy and a 7klb trailer on a 2’ hitch extension from Seattle to Anchorage. Just airbags and some 4000lb rated Toyos.
Took all 748 frost heaves between here and there like a champ!

[d3500ram]

You'll need a F450 or F500 to haul the TC.

(J/K .... LOL)
🙂


Just kidding... Grit has some good comments.

[Rhodesia]

Grit dog wrote:
All that said, you ha e the truck, you have the camper. How does it drive in your opinion?
All you need to do is fine tune the ride now. Nothing major needed.

PS don’t fall into the rvnet trap of counting calories with your setup. You will have folks micro analyzing your “ratings” who know not much about trucks but pretend to be experts. $20 says someone tells you you need a F350 before this thread is over! Lol

Thank you for your recommendations and your input greatly appreciated.

[Rhodesia]

Grit dog wrote:
All that said, you ha e the truck, you have the camper. How does it drive in your opinion?
All you need to do is fine tune the ride now. Nothing major needed.

PS don’t fall into the rvnet trap of counting calories with your setup. You will have folks micro analyzing your “ratings” who know not much about trucks but pretend to be experts. $20 says someone tells you you need a F350 before this thread is over! Lol

Yes you are correct you win the $20.00. I'm already having people telling me to get a F450. This camper came off of a Older F250 super duty without any mods, but I have a 2016 F250 super duty 6.7 Diesel crew cab power stroke turbo the older F250 that it was on did not have this. I have the air bags already installed. the only thing the RV suspension shop that only works on Trucks and motorhomes undercarriage suspension upgrades only is recommending is a sway bar because Ford no longer puts them on their trucks anymore and SuperSprings Overload that sit on top of your leaf springs. I already upgraded the Tires but if I plan to leave the camper on for long periods of time then it was recommended to upgrade to 19 inch rims with a 14 ply tires with a rating of 4,000 lbs load instead on my 18 inch rims and a 10 ply tire with a max load of 3,640 lbs. I don't need to upgrade shocks I have had people telling me to add dual rear shocks in the back The RV shop said NO because all I would be doing is putting too much **** on it that won't make a difference it would only be an over kill plus the prior owners of the truck already installed heavy duty rear shocks because they were hauling 5th wheels. This trucks tow rating in 15,500 per the VIN but that does not mean anything on the max load you can carry in your truck bed.

[Grit_dog]

All that said, you ha e the truck, you have the camper. How does it drive in your opinion?
All you need to do is fine tune the ride now. Nothing major needed.

PS don’t fall into the rvnet trap of counting calories with your setup. You will have folks micro analyzing your “ratings” who know not much about trucks but pretend to be experts. $20 says someone tells you you need a F350 before this thread is over! Lol

[Grit_dog]

No need to calculate anything with that truck and camper.
The standard questions you’re being asked are just the typical generic questions some folks ask everytime a thread like this comes up.
Truck will haul that camper beautifully with minimal help needed from the airbags.
Put fully loaded camper on, it will be around 3klbs. Air up until basically “level”. IE let the suspension take enough weight to sag a couple inches from unloaded height.
Drive away.
Worst case you may think it still has too much body roll and a stout sway bar would be IMO the best solution for that. Presuming you want the compliant unloaded ride still.
Another option in lieu of sway bar which is a super easy experiment is make your own temporary lower stable loads. Put wedges or wood blocks or hockey pucks in between your lower overload spring and spring pack when the truck is unloaded. This so the springs get into the overloads immediately when you load the rear axle.
See if that reduces body roll enough. It will also lower the air pressure needed to level up which will add to a more stable ride. If you like that you can make

Bottom line, don’t buy a bunch more suspension gadgets before doing a couple simple tests. The truck itself doesn’t need anything other than standard F250 springs are little too compliant to handle a 3klb camper on their own.

[Rhodesia]

Lwiddis wrote:
What’s the payload of your truck?

What’s the tire rims max weight?

“it's dry weight is 2,190 lbs and wet weight is 2522 Lbs.” Probably water, propane and batteries. Your stuff will add another 500 pounds minimum. Now you are 3,000 pounds.

My tires are LT275/70R18 Load Range "E" 3640 lbs at 550 kpa 80 psi (cold) not sure of the rims max weight is The RV Suspension shop did not see any issues with the tires or rims they did look at them or they would have said something. the GVWR of the Truck is 10,000 Lbs. front is 5200 lbs and the rear is 6100 lbs. This Camper came off of a Ford F250 Super Duty so it had a crew cab as well I assume the older truck held more weight than the new Ford trucks can today. I have seen this camper on a F150 Ford 1/2 ton so interesting how they got away with the weight?

[Lwiddis]

What’s the payload of your truck?

What’s the tire rims max weight?

“it's dry weight is 2,190 lbs and wet weight is 2522 Lbs.” Probably water, propane and batteries. Your stuff will add another 500 pounds minimum. Now you are 3,000 pounds.

[Rhodesia]

jimh425 wrote:
Make sure your tires are rated to haul the weight you will have in the back and inflated to that pressure. I would consider adding Torklift lower stableloads instead of the Supersprings if either is actually needed. Also, make sure your airbags have only the pressure you need. Too much will cause sway as the leaf springs are unloaded. You may find 20-40 is more than enough pressure in the air bags.

The rear sway bar is definitely going to be helpful.

I’m not sure what they are calling Super springs Overload Leaf’s. If they are the ones that I’m thinking of, they have a similar purpose as air bags which you already have. Some say Supersprings will sway less, but I can’t imagine having both on it.

Finally, are you planning on towing?

No I'm not going to be towing anything on the back I think I'm more worried about weight. I replaced the factory tires for LT275/70R18 Load Range "E" 3640 lbs at 550 kpa 80 psi (cold) My Truck is a 4X4 but as for the super springs I think the RV suspensions shop was referring to the Super Springs overload truck springs here is the you tube link. https://youtu.be/iPjrFJ6st6A

[jimh406]

Make sure your tires are rated to haul the weight you will have in the back and inflated to that pressure. I would consider adding Torklift lower stableloads instead of the Supersprings if either is actually needed. Also, make sure your airbags have only the pressure you need. Too much will cause sway as the leaf springs are unloaded. You may find 20-40 is more than enough pressure in the air bags.

The rear sway bar is definitely going to be helpful.

I’m not sure what they are calling Super springs Overload Leaf’s. If they are the ones that I’m thinking of, they have a similar purpose as air bags which you already have. Some say Supersprings will sway less, but I can’t imagine having both on it.

Finally, are you planning on towing?

[Lwiddis]

What is the truck’s payload?

Air bags level the truck. They don’t increase payload. In fact nothing increases your payload. The “real” weight of any RV is wet, loaded and ready to camp...with any passengers. Are those two within payload?