How much weight is too much weight?

[Jlschuma]

I am looking at campers and thinking of a 9.5 foot. They weigh about 2500 lbs and I have a 2500 dodge. I was looking on another site and there were people with 11 foot lance campers that weigh 3300 lbs on 2500 pickups.

How much over gvwr is too much?

[NMace]

Jlschuma wrote:
My GVWR is 8800 lbs. The payload is about 3300 lbs. That is why I am looking at a camper about 2500 lbs.

I was not aware you can lose insurance coverage if you are over GVWR. I will have to look at my policy.

I remember looking at all the ratings when we got a trailer and trying to figure out what we needed. Now I get to learn all over again with a truck camper.

Your policy will not specify weights, it is a myth.

[turtletalk]

bobndot, that comment about gluten-free food may not be just a joke--think it may be true in our case!!

[Super_Dave]

This subject reminds me of my first job out of college. I went to work for a contractor that did formwork and poured concrete. The first big job I was assigned to I ran the calcs on the formwork design that the superintendent was planning on using for the pour. According to my calculations, the forms should have failed in shear. When I brought it up to the owner and superintendent, I just got that kid out of school eye roll and the pour went on without a hitch like it had all the other years they'd been in business. Truck makers are worried about being sued. What safety factor do you imagine they really use or publish? IMO, it is why we see so many trucks with campers that based on the trucks specs should be flat as a pancake on the road.

[rbcamping]

I have a 2nd gen dodge as well with an 8800gvw, my truck weighs empty at 7600 lbs. There is a lot that goes into these #s and its not all engineering. Marketing, lawyers, state and fed regs etc. Example: in california, if you drive a vehicle with a gvw rating greater then 10,000 you can get ticketed for not having a special license, even if the vehicle is under the 10,000 pound weight limit. Its happened.

My vehicle has custom front and rear springs, it has bigger wheel cylinders in the rear and 3rd generation front brakes (35% larger then the original) I also have 19.5 wheels and tires. The engine puts out around 500 hp and a built Allison transmission was installed with a larger transfer case and larger U-joints. My weakest link on the truck is the rear axle. I have had over 5000 lbs in the bed and the truck didn't even hit the overloads. It drove fine. I've had an 8 ft camper in the bed with a 10,000 lb. trailer on a Pintle hitch going cross country, with this set up. I could lock up all the tires if needed.

Does anyone want to say that my truck isn't safe going over the gvw, they're crazy. Just plan for the weight you plan on carrying and make sure the truck can handle and stop safely.

I have been in some of the newer 1/2 ton trucks that claim that they can carry 4000* lbs. They won't stop but they are rated for that kind of weight. I wouldn't ride in one and I don't give much credit to the manufacturers sticker only the components and how the vehicle is put together. If you are a person who has no clue about the vehicle and the equipment you carry, you shouldn't be on the road as you are a danger to others and if you are willing to put a 100 percent of your trust in government and or manufacturers? Think again.

There I said it.

To the op, get what ever camper you like and make the truck safe. If you can't make the truck safe then get a different truck.

[Ski_Pro_3]

Yea, you can't drive the truck same way empty as full. Even tire pressures make a big difference in performance. No way I'd drive loaded (with anything) like I would empty. Even different if there's a few hundred pounds to preload the suspension with.
If your rig sways while crossing over driveways or other uneven surfaces, then slow down! If your rig feels like it's gonna roll on it's side while making a sharp left or right turn, then slow down or don't make sharp turns. If your rig doesn't stop in as short a distance loaded as it does unloaded, then slow down and allow extra stopping distance.
I'd bet most TC drivers do that after 'testing' their rig's handling characteristics. I can't say that's true with TT drivers though. I see LOTS of failures with those along the highways. Usually someone who is pulling with a tow vehicle that has too short of a wheel base for the length of tongue-to-trailer axle length. There's a formula you can use to calc out what is the best wheel base length for towing a specific rig length. Tongue weight too is often off and will push the tow rig into jackknifing. Setting up the trailer brakes control is often not understood and there fore not set correctly.
I'd much rather drive a TC with a camper heavier than the truck's sticker figures than I would tow a trailer with a short wheel base, light weight SUV.
Hmmm....

[Reddog1]

skipro3, I never have seen any of the truck failures you stated, Actually, I have never read about one in all the years I have been on RV.NET.

I do feel strongly that each of us must have a vehicle that is within our individual comfort level. The more uncomfortable you are, underweight or overweight, the more distracted you will be while driving your truck/TC. That can be far more dangerous that being overweight.

[Reddog1]

People frequently refer to the truck manufactures using the engineers data when they make claims on truck capacities. Typically, people post something like; "The engineers provide the info to sales, therefore it is correct." Not much consideration given to the details of the engineering. The truck manufacture and truck engineers are absolutely correct.

People frequently state the TC engineers design the TCs, therefore absolutely correct. However, when it comes to the weight of the TCs, the engineers do not know what they are talking about.

Sometimes I get confused. Are the truck engineers much more qualified or truthful than the TC engineers? Personally, I see many contradictions in both. More importantly, I am of the belief the truck and TC manufactures provide data based more on marketing.

If the truck door sticker is absolutely true, then so is the TC sticker. If I am to believe, and take literally the stickers on my door post and my TC, with the 500 pounds of additional gear, I am not overloaded. My door sticker says my GVWR is 8800 pounds. The sticker on my TC says 1900 pounds. My truck weight (per scale) is 6200. That is a total truck/TC weight of 8100 pounds. That leaves me with 700 pounds left for camping equipment.

I should point out, my truck is a 2WD, and the TC has no basement, slide or built in generator. It also has only a 22 gallon water tank.

[Ski_Pro_3]

I solved my door sticker issue by pealing them off. Now I don't have to worry if the sticker shows I'm over weight or not. ha!! I probably should have hung on to them, but I didn't because I can't find them anywhere.

Here's a question; has anyone EVER seen a truck that has had a failure due to a camper that was loaded due to the overweight? Has anyone even HEARD of a truck that has failed due to a camper that was too heavy for that truck? I haven't. Not even a blown tire that was otherwise in good repair, let alone a rim failure. An axle, frame, steering component, suspension component?

[Reddog1]

I wonder how many folks have really read the dor decals. Not just the numbers, but the decal verbiage itself. I have attached two photos of decals, one Ford and one Dodge. Notice the verbiage gives weight with a given tire size on a given wheel, at a given psi. The key word is "with". My point is, the load capacity on these two trucks are WITH the tire size specified.

[recycler]

it depends on the truck..the factory will have different gvw's on the same model truck with the only difference being the gear ratios.. plus some trucks like mine only difference between them and a 1ton srw is the badge on the fender.. I don't see a 9.5 camper being a big issue as far as your gvwr as it is no doubt 1,000 lbs under axle ratings.. i didn't even need my air bags to haul my 3,000 lbs plus 11ft camper home..

[GeoBoy]

Overweight is what it is and there is a reason trucks are classified by their carrying capacity. I had a Northstar Arrow 8.5' and the claimed weight was under 2000lbs. After options, 1/2 tank of water, batteries, LP and supplies the camper weighed 3060lbs. ready to go. I carried the camper on my 1 ton that is rated at 9900lbs. GVW, total weight was 9620lbs. with my wife and myself and a full tank of gas. We were under by only 280lbs..

[fla-gypsy]

donn0128 wrote:
Dont understand how you can justify a 10% over number? The manufacturers certify to the federal government that their vehicle meets all the applicable standards as to acceleration, handling, braking and safety at the weight number stated on the federal sticker. While there is no federal laws regarding exceeding the numbers, it is common sense to assume that the manufacturer knows at least enough to make a decent judgment call on the weight they have posted.
It really astounds me how many people justify overloading by saying it pulls fine. When it is ultimately so simple to get the right tool for the job. Whether that means a screwdriver or a pickup truck.

X2, no vehicle will suffer catastrophic failure for being a few pounds over but then we also don't know just when that failure will occur, no one does. Not even the engineers who designed the system can pin it down that close. The decisions on what is the maximum weight is based on the weakest link in the system of parts that make up the whole. Problem for us is we don't know what that part is, and no anecdotal evidence offered by Jethro is reliable. If safety is a genuine concern, remaining within every rating established by the maker is the only guaranteed way to achieve this along with diligence to all other safety protocols

[KMLsquared]

I used to have the caribou in my sig. Sticker said 3100# and fully loaded was 3800# minus clothes. That put me at 11,500 ish well over my 8800 gvw. I had no problems and would do it again in a heartbeat bi do have the camper prep option. All I did upgrade wise was 1" spacers on the overloads and tires rated for the load plus some.

[Ski_Pro_3]

billyray50 wrote:
Wintersun, How do you like them supersprings? Would like to get uninstall my airlift 5000 airbags since they are worthless on Dodges due to their placement between axle and bed box. Create more sway when inflated with more than 10 psi.

While I'm not Wintersun, and I don't have the supersprings, I DO have a 2006 Dodge diesel 4x4 crew cab shortbed and I added the Hellwig 4-leaf overload springs to the rear of my truck. (I have a 2012 Lance 855S)

I bought them on Amazon here;

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001UFRV9M/ref=oh_details_o08_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1



They require a mount kit found on Amazon as well;
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001UFRWDW/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have already installed the Pac-Brake air bags. I run them at 55psi with fair success. However I do have some roll on the body where the road surface goes off-camber or if I weave with the wheel a little. Certainly doesn't make me feel like I could take any sort of serious evasive action if an emergency presented itself. That's why I decided to give the springs a try.
They really did the trick for the rear end. Much more stable on sudden maneuvers. I still put 25 psi in the air bags but just to add a bit more lift on the rear. There's still some body sway on the front suspension though. I'm thinking of upgrading the front coil springs to help with that but so far have not found any recommendations for a brand.