Help - Unsafe or Rock it?

[sarahboro33]

I have a 2015 F250 6.7L CC with the 6' 3/4 bed, I'm looking at a 1989 Lance lc580. It's meant for a long bed truck, which I do not have. I'm considering purchasing and leaving tailgate down but am also concerned about COG and overall weight as I can't find reliable specs on the TC due to age. The TC is in very good shape and hope I found one that will work but I'm new to the TC world. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[sarahboro33]

Good to know, I have found a 96' Veri-Lite RL880 that I believe is more what I am looking for. It is listed as an 8ft camper.

[jaycocreek]

As far as height,if I didn't have clearance lights my LC-480 would work fine on my truck infact,I drove from Missoula to home with it just stock sitting on the bed but looking at it,I thought I needed more room so I added a 3/4" horse mat under it...

I doubt height would be much of an issue that couldn't be corrected by just adding foam/lumber or rubber under it...

[trail-explorer]

FireGuard wrote:
Also, check the cab over height if it clears the truck cab. Many older campers may not fit the taller cab or bed height of the new trucks.

I'm betting there won't be clearance. Ford reinvented the cab height years ago, making it impossible to put old campers on newer truck unless you build a spacer under them. I'd skip the old camper and look for something newer.

[mkirsch]

Yeah, even the current models max out at around 9'6" for short bed campers. That's a 3' overhang. 4' of overhang is virtually unheard of even on a long bed camper.

...and then you're expecting an umpteen year old camper that wasn't designed structurally to overhang more than 30" to hold up to a 4' overhang... Good call on moving on to other options.

IMHO COG is not the dire situation that people think it is. The difference is 8" between a short bed and a long bed camper. A 5000lb camper with a COG 8" behind the axle of the truck has the same effect as a 500lb trailer tongue weight. A 500lb tongue weight has zero effect on handling.

[jimh406]

Sounds like a good call. I would have never guess it was an over 10 ft TC based on that model designation.

[sarahboro33]

Thanks everyone for all of useful info! Looks like that route will not work so it’s back to drawing board...

[Grit_dog]

Nope, too long for a short bed truck.
Will it work with the tailgate down? Maybe, since it's a "relatively" light weight camper and you have a very heavy duty truck with a lot of weight (diesel) to counterbalance it.

Should it work? No. It was never intended or marketed for a short bed truck.

And you may need to crib it up to clear the cab or bed sides.

[jaycocreek]

My LC-480 is 9.6" long,the LC-580 is 10.6" long...But it is the internet..lol

[Kayteg1]

Yeah, with 10.6 length you can expect COG about a foot behind short bed axle.
So with wet camper around 4000lb, it will add close to 4500 lb to rear axle load.
It will look funny too.

[ppine]

NOt good. A long camper puts leverage on your rear axle. Find a camper that fits your truck. Or find a long bed which is much better at hauling campers.

[AnEv942]

Looking around found a few listings stating its 9'6" but many more of an 1989 LC580 at 10'6". IF it were a 10'-6 thats 30" overhang on a 8' bed.
Yes DO check cab height

[jaycocreek]

The LC-580 is a 10.6ft truck camper..I have the LC-480 tagged by lance as a 2660# camper and weighed appears to be spot on..My point is my DRW F-350 has 4600# of manufacturer rated payload and I am within a couple hundred pounds of being maxed out on GVWR on an F-350 longbed ready to camp...6K on the rear axle for my 9.6 on a longbed,you would be more for my TC on your truck because it is a shortbed..The 10.6..More than that.

If you had a longbed,I would say go for it as Specta does the same with a 11.3 TC on a 3/4 Chevy longbed in the same erra as yours.. I have seen 3500 series(1-ton) trucks with longbed Truck Campers(8.6ft) on shortbed trucks without any issues but never a TC as long as that one(10.6) on a shortbed...

Might wanna load it up and see how it fits and take it for a short drive empty to see how it handles first..That's what I would do on that TC.

[FireGuard]

Also, check the cab over height if it clears the truck cab. Many older campers may not fit the taller cab or bed height of the new trucks.

[Kayteg1]

How long is the camper and how much it weights?