Cab over struts not made for MegaCabs

I stopped at Lance on the way out of town on our last trip, (about 8 blocks out of the way) and was told they don't make them for our Quad Cab 2003 Dodge, it seems the truck cab is so long, the camper struts wouldn't work because of the angle between the camper and the truck cowling

I have struts on my Ram 1500 with Lance 825 and they work great! It made a huge difference in the ride. Pretty much eliminated any porpoising. I also put on Bilstein shocks. The struts work so good that I don't think I would buy another brand camper because they are not set up they say for struts. The struts do not support anything. They just damp the front to back jiggling .

mkirsch wrote:
AFAIK the only manufacturer that makes cabover struts is Lance.
I suspect they don't make them, mostly because they haven't had any call for them. You don't see many Megacabs to begin with, let along Megacabs hauling TCs, let alone Megacabs hauling LANCE TCs, let alone Megacabs hauling Lance TCs large enough for cabover struts. IIRC, Dodge/RAM does not recommend hauling a slide-in TC with a Megacab. On top of that you don't see many cabover struts either.

Lance doesn't manufacturer them, they just sell them. I couldn't get an answer from them as to why they don't have a setup for my truck.

The new RAM is recommended to haul slide in campers. I'm just a little over the recommended weight.

My issue is porpoising. Its not bad but annoying.

Is it possible that when adding water to my holding tank that the ride is better?

I'm also going to look into shocks (Rancho 7000) and maybe some front Timbrens to stop the front from bouncing.

Maybe you could try some front Timbrens? SheriffDoug comments on them here.

AFAIK the only manufacturer that makes cabover struts is Lance.

Since they don't make them for the Dodge Megacab, you're out of luck.

I suspect they don't make them, mostly because they haven't had any call for them. You don't see many Megacabs to begin with, let along Megacabs hauling TCs, let alone Megacabs hauling LANCE TCs, let alone Megacabs hauling Lance TCs large enough for cabover struts. IIRC, Dodge/RAM does not recommend hauling a slide-in TC with a Megacab. On top of that you don't see many cabover struts either.

From a technical standpoint, a Megacab is longer, a LOT longer than even a normal crew cab. It may not be possible to get a good angle to properly support the camper. The angle may be too flat due to the distance, so the struts won't do any good and may actually do more harm than good.

What specific problem are you trying to address? Or, do you just think you "need" them?

Maybe there is another way to address your issue, rather than drilling holes in your nice truck.

I am carrying a Northern Lite 811 on a 2006 3500 Mega Cab. I am not having any difficulties with bouncing. The ride is extremely smooth.

I sold mine on EBAY. AS_IS used. I got tired of the rust streaks and paint coming off of the mounts on the truck. Then they started to feel a bit worn out and since mine were the older style "crimped ends" they could not be serviced. I bought mine from a dealer and they were used when I got them.
I would not bye new ones WAY TOO MUCH MONEY for the little bit of reuslts one may see. I often felt that it was more mental results than anything.

Here was a video that Truck Camper Magazine did on them. Looks like they make the ride a little more comfortable.

Video

Those are old, outdated things of the past. The design and stress loads of today's TC's aren't meant to, or need to, have those.

Just ponder this - when was the last time you saw them on a modern TC?
and...
When was the last time you heard of some sort of TC structural failure that those could have prevented?

I personally think with all the flexing and twisting of the truck they would cause more problems than they solve. Especially mine....