Finished reading all 54 TC forum pages

[Dennis58]

I just finished reading all 54 TC forum pages and most of the individual thread. My three key takeaways;

1) No such thing as too much truck.
2) A lot of TC trucks are over loaded.
3) TC dealers lie about actual dry weight.

I'm casually looking for a used Lance 992 as I like the floor layout with the two slides. I stepped up and bought a 2019 Silverado 3500HD DRW High Country so I'm guessing I won't run out of truck going forward. Also om my list is a KTM Enduro dirt bike that is street legal to drag behind me.

My goal is to put all this together over the next couple years than take off on short and long trips. Guessing long trips will be 60 - 90 days during the winter months out in the South West.

I'm 60 and grew up lake camping in tents than moved on to trailers and along the way full timed for short periods in a couple Class A. Looking forward to a TC going forward.

Really want to explore the South/Mid West before I depart this world.

Dennis

[jefe_4x4]

Some of the most interesting neophite posts and trip reports are still in the archives. The names have changed but the questions/answers/opinions are still the same. Jeanie and I go back to a 2004 join date. I was sporting a 2001.5 Dodge Ram 4WD 2500 Cummins with an 1842 pound wet weight Lance Camper. 14 years later we are in the same rig with upgrades.
Meanwhile, time is marching on and a lot of us have moved into larger campers or a different format altogether to more reflect our station in life: i.e. don't want to ruff it anymore; gimee more space and bigger tanks; and please, don't get those armoralled tires dirty.
I find in the 11th hour of my life there is no perfect forum for what Jeanie and I do: namely get way out there with our off-road equipped t.c. There are maybe a half dozen combined on all truck camper forums like this TC forum and expedition portal that do what we do.
jefe
Our 'new' truck and 3 yr. old camper, 170K miles and 16 years ago in 2002: stock everything. My, how that has changed. Mount Whitney directly over rig:

[av8rds]

I had a 2008 for 8 years. I never should have gotten rid of it! Layout and tank size were excellent.

Dennis58 wrote:

I'm casually looking for a used Lance 992 as I like the floor layout with the two slides.

Dennis

[jimcin]

We have a similar setup to what you are looking for :
2012 lance 992 , 2015 Silverado 3500 DRW diesel.
It is a good setup but I still needed to add Rancho 9000 shocks
and airbags. The 992 is a heavy beast. Contact me if you need any other input.

[wnjj]

mbloof wrote:
Ultimately I think it works both ways. The camper manufacturers lie about the dry weight of their products and truck manufacturers are in a seemingly constant competition with each other with regards to payload.

IDK but when I went to school 1Ton = 2000lbs. Considering that just about all truck campers (other than popups) weigh in dry at least a TON a 1Ton truck would be the minimum recommended to haul a TC.

My Northern Lite weighs in @~4000lbs WET and ready for camping so in reality (or according to the weight designation of modern trucks) I would really need a 2TON truck to haul it around on but silly me I carry it on a 3/4Ton truck.

While there are those that are not "overloaded", they are few and far between.

BTW: what is a 3Ton designation? 7500? (6000lbs camper)

The truck manufacturers don't call them "x ton", people do. My '98 Dakota had a 1550lb payload but was not a "3/4 ton".

[Grit_dog]

Think about it.....if every TC dealer weighed every unit (and added applicable owner added weight) and then only sold to/ or at very least strongly reccomended that the campers ONLY be hauled on trucks that met every letter of the published weight rating....they wouldn’t sell near as many campers. Because they basically couldn’t sell 90% of campers to anyone with less than a dually, and half the duallies would have to be class 4 or 5 trucks.

Guess I’m glad they don’t, or there wouldn’t be very many used campers to purchase and overload my 3/4 ton truck with!

[Frank_Mehaffey]

Truck camper manufacturers discussing camper weight, are like government legislators who are testifying in front of a congressional panel! Misrepresent, stretch reality, or when pushed into a corner, lie your a-- off.

[jplante4]

Dennis58 wrote:
I just finished reading all 54 TC forum pages and most of the individual thread. My three key takeaways;

You could have just read the first page and draw the same conclusions...

[Mickeyfan0805]

Dennis58 wrote:


1) No such thing as too much truck.
2) A lot of TC trucks are over loaded.
3) TC dealers lie about actual dry weight.

We have a TT and I know nothing about TC's. That said, I think if you read the TT and FW forums, you would walk away with the same three realities! It's pretty much across the board in the truck/RV combo world!

[Dennis58]

Set of scales is a cheap investment for a dealer to verify dry weight so no need to rely on vendor swag numbers.

I also agree the whole modern day truck payload, trailing weight thing is just a play on numbers like they did back in the 70's with muscle car horsepower.

[mbloof]

Ultimately I think it works both ways. The camper manufacturers lie about the dry weight of their products and truck manufacturers are in a seemingly constant competition with each other with regards to payload.

IDK but when I went to school 1Ton = 2000lbs. Considering that just about all truck campers (other than popups) weigh in dry at least a TON a 1Ton truck would be the minimum recommended to haul a TC.

My Northern Lite weighs in @~4000lbs WET and ready for camping so in reality (or according to the weight designation of modern trucks) I would really need a 2TON truck to haul it around on but silly me I carry it on a 3/4Ton truck.

While there are those that are not "overloaded", they are few and far between.

BTW: what is a 3Ton designation? 7500? (6000lbs camper)

[Geewizard]

tlowe43q wrote:
I don't think the TC dealers necessarily lie, but they have NO IDEA what the dry weights are.

Though I am new to TCs, it seems that it is, traditionally, almost an expectation that a TC will be an overload situation. At least, the industry seems to have a very lax attitude about it. TCM is very upfront about the need to match a TC and truck, but the data is hard to come by.

My dealer just said I needed a long bed dually ... in reality, I needed a 3500 2WD gasser long bed dually, with a standard cab - likely without a radio 😉 - to have enough payload for my Host Mammoth.

Nah, my TC dealer (manufacturer) weighs them. Fact.

[jimh406]

You need to read the archives. 😉

You may or may not run out of truck in the future. It depends on what TC and what you will be towing next.

As far as being overweight with a Mammoth is concerned. It depends on what you plan to bring and how it is optioned.

[tlowe43q]

I don't think the TC dealers necessarily lie, but they have NO IDEA what the dry weights are.

Though I am new to TCs, it seems that it is, traditionally, almost an expectation that a TC will be an overload situation. At least, the industry seems to have a very lax attitude about it. TCM is very upfront about the need to match a TC and truck, but the data is hard to come by.

My dealer just said I needed a long bed dually ... in reality, I needed a 3500 2WD gasser long bed dually, with a standard cab - likely without a radio 😉 - to have enough payload for my Host Mammoth.