artic fox 811 on 2005 dodge ram 2500 diesel short bed??

[lizwood71]

Hi, we need some advice as we can not get a straight answer. We just bought an 811 Artic fox camper for our 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 quad cab diesel short bed truck. The artic fox dealer says it is a fine truck for this camper. But upon further research it seems to grossly exceed the GVWR weight capacity. Even if we upgraded to a 3500 Ram it seems to exceed this. How can this be possible? What part of the equation are we missing? What truck is capable of hauling this or do we listen to the dealer that our truck is fine? Just wanting to be safe. Thanks for the advice.

[jimh406]

lizwood71 wrote:
How do I show you a picture ?

Congrats!

You can find out how to post pictures here. http://www.rv.net/forum/Index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/15775751.cfm

First step is upload the picture to a photosharing site such as photobucket. That puts the photo where the website can reach it to display it. After that, you can use the photo tool in a normal reply.

[lizwood71]

Ok guys we finally have her on the new truck and my husband says it drives nice and steady. No problems w fit. How do I show you a picture ?

[GeoBoy]

OP, I would contact Torklift about your truck and TC combination and see what they recommend. They are great people to work with.

[d3500ram]

Will the MC work with the OP's TC? Most likely it will. It is a very capable truck. Will it need suspension upgrades? Perhaps. It seems that the OP is new and green to TC's (OP correct me if this assumption is wrong) and for her to expect that a DRW truck will solve all concerns right-out-of-the-box may not happen without soem upgrades.

Vinsil- appreciate you pointing out the specifics of that Palomino camper situation. The fact that it did happen on an odd camper should give pause to Mega cab owners to at least be aware of the occurrence to take that extra step to confirm there is not a conflict... especially when laying down the jack on a new truck. The new Mega's, especially on a short bed, have the taper of the fender wells back towards the bumper than compared to the original Mega cabs (or the current long bed Ford DRW long beds for example.) The flared DRW fenders as opposed to "tack-on" hip fenders are a new concern that TC owners will need to account for in terms of possible fitment comparability. Doubt it will be an issue, but certainly need to be educated about it.

The OP has gone through a lot of steps just to go camping... selling a low mileage awesome truck, buying a camper, buying a new truck... I would hate to have false expectations that a new truck will solve all issues without perhaps some upgrades let alone a major conflict.

To the OP... just pointing out others' experiences for you to be aware of. DYDD and keep us posted. We will want pictures of your set-up once you get it going.

[Bedlam]

I have the AF811S and see little of the wings overlapping my F250 with 6.75' bed. I doubt this will even be a an issue with a 6.4' bed.

[Vinsil]

It was a Palomino with an odd layout/floorplan. It was linked already in this thread.

[Grit_dog]

D3500 has a good point. Not to freak you out but I do recall seeing a write up about the overhang on a short bed camper interfering with the hips on 4th gen mega dually because they are so wide so far back towards the rear of the bed. It is worth checking out imo. I don't recall the brand of camper.

[Vinsil]

You have nothing to say sorry about, I feel for you fine folks as I found my truck needed help as well after I bought my camper and hit the scales. I'm glad you have made the choice you feel is right for you, just reminded some that this has been trying on you and to not get you worked up over nothing. There are some very nice and helpful people on this site...and some very cranky and negative ones that will down any dream!

Your new ordered truck will work perfect for your camper and be a dream going down the road. Rest easy.

[lizwood71]

:). Sorry about the stress.

[Vinsil]

billtex wrote:

jimh425 wrote:
I'm sure the megacabs on a DRW shortbed camper would be fine.

Yes...may be OK on dually. I think SRW with COG was the problem. A trip to the scales will confirm.

I'd love to see how a dually changes the COG. Please stop.

Their setup will work fine. Mine has the weight right on the rear axle. Just like any properly designed shortbed camper will. The cab configuration has nothing to do with it. It would act equally the same on the shorter wheelbase Ram with a quad cab.

There are a few of us on here who own megas and we have spoke many times on this subject. If you don't own one and don't know, stop "guessing". This poor lady is stressed out enough dealing with what she has in this thread to have someone who does not know jump in and give her false or misleading info on her setup.

[billtex]

jimh425 wrote:
I'm sure the megacabs on a DRW shortbed camper would be fine.

Yes...may be OK on dually. I think SRW with COG was the problem. A trip to the scales will confirm.

[lizwood71]

So the switch near the sink is on --still no power. He already checked fuses. The issue the man was discussing about probs fitting the 2016 3500 drw is more than I can even take. Seeing we just sold truck today and have a 60k truck ordered trying to do the right thing. It shouldn't be this complicated! The only 6.4 box in a dodge 3500 drw is a megacab. So I guess I'm just going to have faith the camper dealer can make it work and fix this fan problem.

[Vinsil]

I almost die each time when I use mine. The horror....



:S

[jimh406]

I'm sure the megacabs on a DRW shortbed camper would be fine.

[d3500ram]

Bill- I do not think that TC's on MC's are a no-no, but I recall some folks here were less than pleased with that combo.

It is essentially a long wheel base truck using a short bed and infilling the leftover space with "cab." it really should be not much different from my set-up... I just don't have "cab" but have extra bed space in front of the camper.