F150 and a Camper

[karl1948]

I have a 2000 F150 4x4, I would like to put a Hallmark pop up camper on it, my questions are,
1. Should anything be done to the suspension on the rear?
2. is it okay to put the tailgate gate for the camper?
3. What needs to be done to the truck itself to attach a camper?

The Camper fully loaded with water, food and clothes would be about 2800 LBS

[DanoT]

I have a custom Phoenix popup camper built for the Canadian winter with 2" insulated walls, insulated cabinets for gen. set and 2 20lb propane tanks, lots of extra gear like tire chains, extra skis and clothing, shovels, tow chain, etc. and enough gear for a 3 to 4 week trip. It probably weighs 3300 lbs. wet.

Truck and camper wet weight with me and the dog on board is 8800lbs. This exceeds the GVWR of my 91 Dodge diesel 3/4 ton by 300lbs. but does not exceed axle load rating or E load rated tires.

Because of the very heavy Cummins engine the front axle weight is heavier than the rear. I have a Kelderman air bag suspension which includes front axle air bags.:B

The truck handles great, stopping distances are good.

[rickeoni]

mlts22 wrote:
I have two F-150s. My older one, a 1998, just doesn't have the braking power which would make me comfortable with that heavy a load, no matter how well the suspension system was rebuilt. My newer one with bigger rotors has a decent 60-0 stopping distance... but it has a 5.5' bed, which makes it worthless for a truck camper.

My solution is going to be a one ton, perhaps a dually with the Rickson DRW to SRW converion, since with any decent Lance or Arctic Fox rig, one is likely going to be overweight on a SRW once all the toys are packed in and the tanks filled.

Exactly my 99 f150 was unstoppable when carrying a heavy load. It didn't squat with the camper on, was able to keep up with traffic but when it came to stop, better plan ahead, way ahead!

[mlts22]

I have two F-150s. My older one, a 1998, just doesn't have the braking power which would make me comfortable with that heavy a load, no matter how well the suspension system was rebuilt. My newer one with bigger rotors has a decent 60-0 stopping distance... but it has a 5.5' bed, which makes it worthless for a truck camper.

My solution is going to be a one ton, perhaps a dually with the Rickson DRW to SRW converion, since with any decent Lance or Arctic Fox rig, one is likely going to be overweight on a SRW once all the toys are packed in and the tanks filled.

[twodownzero]

mkirsch wrote:
One person's definition of "work fine" is another person's "white knuckle drive." I've put (inadvertently) 2800lbs in the back of a 1/2 ton truck and it did "work fine" in that I got the pile of gravel to its destination with no lasting ill effects, but I still would not want to do it on a regular basis.

If I had it to do all over again I'd have a DRW truck. Compared to that, everything is a white knuckle drive.

[djg]

I have a northern lite on a chev 1500 camper dry weight is 1450, loaded on the deck is about 1000 over weight, added 2 leaf springs, and e rated tires rides well but I drove professionally all my life use caution I still think you need at least a 3/4 ton truck but this is how I bought it and just added the mods plan on a new truck in the future, in Ontario Canada I called the ministry of transportation they said all is fine just keep receipts in the truck as proof of upgrades an insurance said I was OK

[RichandLiz]

I have a '96 pop up I run on my 1/2 ton dakota. It was made for mini trucks 39" between wheel welsh. My dakota is 44". TC with water and propane is stated at 990 lbs. we try to pack light but I have not honestly had it weighed. Handles well, as far ras I have noticed. Upgrades are super springs (before camper so nothing to compare) and e-rated tires. Did run p- rated before replacing. When time came due, did because reading up seemed right. Feel more secure anyway and makes sense based on reading. I usually remove tailgate for weight and to keep it looking pretty. TC sticks out back, but COG is over wheels. Took me a while to findd the right TC to fit and for what I wanted to pay. 😉

[twodownzero]

CaveRun wrote:
How can a pop-up TC would weigh 2800lbs ??

Can someone please tell me ?? :B

Loaded or empty?

My 2300 lb hard side camper weighed 3100 lbs the last time I took it out. Surely an 1800 lb pop up can do the same?

[CaveRun]

How can a pop-up TC would weigh 2800lbs ??

Can someone please tell me ?? :B

[mkirsch]

One person's definition of "work fine" is another person's "white knuckle drive." I've put (inadvertently) 2800lbs in the back of a 1/2 ton truck and it did "work fine" in that I got the pile of gravel to its destination with no lasting ill effects, but I still would not want to do it on a regular basis.

[Geewizard]

.

[mkirsch]

I agree, 2800lbs is too much for any 5-lug or 6-lug F150 no matter what you do to it. You may not use it with the camper enough to adversely affect the truck's longevity. You may never get in an accident. It just won't be any fun to drive. You simply won't WANT to drive it, so it will be a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[rickeoni]

Geewizard wrote:

rickeoni wrote:
I bought my camper and used it on two short trips with my 1999 F150 7700 which had air bags, rancho 9000's, overload springs and "E" rated tires, which I installed to tow my popup trailer. After 2 trips I purchased my F450. The F150 with a 1700Lb camper was scary to drive and could not stop worth a poop. If you go with this combo you will not be happy.

My experience has been very different. I have a 2004 Toyota Tundra V8 with Firestone RideRite airbags, Rancho 9000 shocks on the rear, and E load tires to carry an Outfitter Apex 8 TC. I have many miles on my setup with a full-up load. It has never been scary to drive, handles great in crosswinds, accelerates very adequately, and stops worth many poops without any poop.
I attribute this to the Toyota being built strong and mostly over-strong.

OP, Your experience may vary. Mine has been excellent.

Two completely different vehicles, The truck sat level, And drove fine on the road until you got to any bumps which caused to front end to unload and make direction stability questionable, also the bumps really made the TC porpoise in the bed.

The real scary stuff was the small brakes on that generation of F150, the stopping distances were vastly increased. Both of these things amounted to a very uncomfortable driving experience.

I only posted my results because of the similarity of vehicles and TC weight. I am sure that your combination is great for you and works just fine.

[Geewizard]

.

[CaveRun]

I have a 2002 F-150 SuperCab V-8 4X4... I have Firestone Airbags and 10-ply tires on my truck and haul a Sun Lite TC and pull a pontoon boat when we go on a camping/fishing trip.

The truck does great, but I'm in the market for a F-250/F-350 diesel truck... Been hauling truck campers & pulling boats with this truck for 10 years and haven't had any problems at all.

karl1948 wrote:
I have a 2000 F150 4x4, I would like to put a Hallmark pop up camper on it, my questions are,
1. Should anything be done to the suspension on the rear?
2. is it okay to put the tailgate gate for the camper?
3. What needs to be done to the truck itself to attach a camper?

My first TC was a pop-up and I didn't have airbags, 10-ply tires or the pontoon... I had an aluminum Tracker Bass Boat and the truck done very well.

I had to leave my tailgate down with the pop-up TC and I do with the camper I have now.

If I was you, I would install airbags because they help a lot!... My airbags hold 100psi, But I only have to put 60 to 70 psi to bring the truck back up to level.

Can you weld?... I made my own frame mounted tie down mounts for the camper I have now. ( I may have a thread on here about them, if I don't, I can post pictures if you need to see them.)

karl1948 wrote:

The Camper fully loaded with water, food and clothes would be about 2800 LBS

Hard to believe the pop-up TC would weigh that much... The pop-up I had didn't, but it was a Sun Lite TC.

If I was you, I wouldn't haul around a TC loaded with water!... That will help a lot!

Here's a picture of what I haul & pull with a F-150 when we go on a camping/fishing trip... Me & my wife pack A LOT of gear in the camper... Notice that the truck doesn't squat with this load.