Ideas to Shed Weight in Truck Camper

[Grodyman]

I am looking at ways to shed some weight on my Lance 830. One area I'm looking at is the stock queen innerspring mattress. I'm not sure of the weight, maybe around 75lbs. plus I have a pretty heavy 2" memory foam topper as well.

I am looking at replacing the factory mattress with a 4" firm foam mattress with cover and placing the memory topper on top of that, or ditching the heavy memory foam for standard light egg crate foam topper. I think I can save 40-50lbs or more for not much cost/loss of comfort.

Worthwhile or spitting in the wind?

Gman

[jimh406]

I didn't buy a DRW to start because I couldn't park it, and it was my daily driver. I'm sure there are other people in the same boat. The choice isn't between a DRW and a SRW for many people. Their only viable option is to make a SRW better. By now, there are a lot of us who have put together a viable cookbook for SRWs. No, it doesn't make them a a DRW, but then, all DRWs aren't quite equal either!

[Vinsil]

Grodyman wrote:
Been there done that on the Vision 19.5's. Not again. I would buy a dually today if I could afford it. If I do the 19.5's for some reason I want 225's in Load range F. 18" tires get me the same exact load rating for a lot less $$. I do not want to re-gear my truck from the 3.73's to turn the commercial 245's. Expense can get out of control real quick when you are trying to beef up a truck. I am going to buy a dually in the next couple of years for sure and be done with it. I just need my current truck to get me by safely.

I am going to weigh my rear axle next time I am loaded. Then I will know.
FWIW I am adding a pro comp add a leaf kit this next weekend to add 2" of rear lift and help level the load. This kit has 2 longer leaf's for each side. Shouldn't hurt unloaded ride too much.

Gman

Gas truck I assume. I can see not wanting to lose gearing, most with the 6.2's love the 4.10's...so 3.73's must feel barely adequate.

I think your stuck with playing the weighing game then, if you don't plan long term for the truck...best of luck.

FWIW, my 285's at 85psi ride nice, but I imagine those little 225's gotta be like riding on a covered wagon! lol

Also...only 18" tires I could find with 4k rating were Goodyear MT/R's that were $400 a tire...and not a wheel out there to match it for load rating, 3400 was all I could find. Not sure how much your trying to carry, but 19.5's would be cheaper for me....

[Grodyman]

Been there done that on the Vision 19.5's. Not again. I would buy a dually today if I could afford it. If I do the 19.5's for some reason I want 225's in Load range F. 18" tires get me the same exact load rating for a lot less $$. I do not want to re-gear my truck from the 3.73's to turn the commercial 245's. Expense can get out of control real quick when you are trying to beef up a truck. I am going to buy a dually in the next couple of years for sure and be done with it. I just need my current truck to get me by safely.

I am going to weigh my rear axle next time I am loaded. Then I will know.
FWIW I am adding a pro comp add a leaf kit this next weekend to add 2" of rear lift and help level the load. This kit has 2 longer leaf's for each side. Shouldn't hurt unloaded ride too much.

Gman

[Vinsil]

Bedlam wrote:
IMO, it's not worth the constant effort of keeping the weight in check if you are close to maximums. I started with 18" wheels on my F250 and was able to to keep under tire limits by packing selectively, but started enjoying TC camping much more when I went 19.5's and no longer worried whether I had 300 lbs more with me than a previous trip.

This is spot on. I racked my brain, wore out the google search engine and had some sleepless nights trying to find a tire/wheel combo to get me "close". Said eff it, went to 19.5's and all my worries went out the window. No more stress, easier to just buy once, cry once IMHO.

[errante]

Bedlam''s. point is well put. After Alaska we purchased a 3500 ram. It does not carry the load any more comfortably but I do not worry as much. Did I need to, maybe, maybe not.

[Bedlam]

IMO, it's not worth the constant effort of keeping the weight in check if you are close to maximums. I started with 18" wheels on my F250 and was able to to keep under tire limits by packing selectively, but started enjoying TC camping much more when I went 19.5's and no longer worried whether I had 300 lbs more with me than a previous trip.

[Grodyman]

I'm trying not to have to buy 18" wheels/tires to gain 800+ lbs. of tire load rating. I just put new 17" rubber on. May be unavoidable to be "within spec"

Gman

[errante]

I guess the real question is what are you trying to accomplish? Axle weight or handling? Summer 2014 we took our 2009 830 to Alaska on a 2002 2500 ram, about 13,000 total miles. About 2 weeks before departure we loaded up and weighed. We went to 3 local recycling yards(all of which were state certified). They varied by 300 lbs. Next went to a cat scale which agreed with the middle scale. Point being, if weight is the concern be sure it is accurate. The results showed that we were about 200 lbs over on the rear tires. Those tires were rated at about 6800 lbs total. Obviously this was a concern. We were well under on front axle rating, over on gvwr, and over on rear axle rating. We were under on the Dana axle rating. The truck handled the load well but we were concerned. We decided to lower our weight, we removed some items and changed some items. We weighed everything. We decided not to take the front loaded bikes and moved the spare from underneath to the front. Our spare weighed 90 lbs. this meant not taking 2 spares, but oh well. The difference was greater than the 90 lbs fore and aft. We removed the mattress and took an air mattress. The mattress we had weighed about 50 lbs, the air mattress weighed about 10 lbs, so did the next 2 air mattresses. They were comfortable but none kept their proper air tension more than 3 days. We also had a lightweight egg grate topper which we kept. I know some love their air mattresses but I will not have another. We removed the shower door ( which I hated) and put it a curtain. As has been suggested we carried less water which saved us about 80 lbs. that all depends on where you are going and with how many folks. We made other changes but it is hard to lose weight??. Keep in mind any changes you make in handling add weight, some more, some less. At the end of the day we dropped about 300 lbs.. Sorry for the long post but we spent 2 weeks dealing with your exact question. Chris

[DWeikert]

edbehnke wrote:
if you only have 10 gallons of water and not the full 30 gallons you save OVER 160 pounds, not 80 pounds as mentioned eariler.

figure a gallon of water weights nearly 8 1/2 pounds.

DOH!! You're right, and I'm embarrassed my math was so off. Yes 20 gallons would save 160+ lbs.

[edbehnke]

if you only have 10 gallons of water and not the full 30 gallons you save OVER 160 pounds, not 80 pounds as mentioned eariler.

figure a gallon of water weights nearly 8 1/2 pounds.

[jimh406]

I don't think 40-50 lbs is worth it, but more importantly, if you can't sleep great in the TC, then what is the point of having it! Carry less fuel, less stuff, or less water and keep your tanks dumped. I remember TCM did an attempt years ago to "lighten" their load including truck changes, but I think they probably only saved about 200 lbs with a lot of changes. I can save 200 lbs by just carrying less water! I don't worry about it anymore with my F450.

If you are trying to make the truck ride better, look into mods for that. I doubt you are that unsafe for the truck capability although you are probably over GVWR.

[billtex]

> Ideas to Shed Weight in Truck Camper?
Have you tried running in place?
Maybe that hot yoga?

How about cutting back on the bacon?

Good luck.

[DWeikert]

One easy way to lower weight is to travel with minimal water in the tanks. I believe the 830 has a 30 gallon fresh tank. If you hit the road with only 10 gallons you've saved 80 lbs right there.

[pcoplin]

I agree...don't try and save weight on the mattress. Buy the most comfortable one you can for you, and don't worry about weight. A good night sleep is good for your health. 🙂

[blueglide]

Not knowing whether your rig is overweight by a lot or a little its hard to say if 40/50 lbs will make any difference in the big picture. Are you carrying any stuff that you really dont need or use that would be better off left home and have a more significant impact on weight? After several trips we have found a few things that we just dont need. My rig is underweight but maybe additional suspension/truck mods would make your rig feel less 'heavy'?