Is a Gas 3/4 Truck and Pop-up Camper Safe in Colorado?

I live in the mountains and I'm happy with my truck and its performance.
I wouldn't hesitate for one second to go over I-70 to Denver and I'm hauling more than 2600 lbs.

Yup. Safe in Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska as well as BC, Alberta, and the Yukon.

....all of which I've traveled with my Toyota Tundra and Outfitter Apex 8.

You will be fine. A 1 ton SRW may be a bit better.

In the '70s we safely carried a 8' 6" truck camper in CO/NM/UT/WY/MT mountains on a 1500 chevy 4.10 gears with a 185hp and 295 torque 5.7 gas engine.
Todays much hogher HP/Torque gas engines are a huge improvement with towing a trailer or just carrying a TC in the bed in the mountains or in high winds conditions out here on the plains.

The only truck I (totaled) wrecked from air pressure loss was a one ton DRW Ford in my hauling business. Best I could tell was the outside tire went first overloading the inside tire. It was nite time and on a curvy road with no shoulders and no blowout noise. The GN trailer brakes kept the rig from jack knifing but I couldn't follow the curve in the road so in the rocky ditch we went.
The truck suspension engine/tranny was all but ripped off the truck. The full loaded trailers axles were ripped loose one side and both vehicles were a loss.

Theoretically a one ton DRW on paper would seem to be more stable when a rear tire is lost. But it doesn't always happen the way it looks on paper.
And of course don't forget a blowout can happen on the front of any vehicle.

I have a Northstar 850SC that weighs about 2600 wet. I had it on a 2013 6.0 GMC 3500 long bed crew cab. It drove and handled perfectly.
I upgraded to a 2019 6.0 GMC long bed crew cab. The camper does not even activate the overload/bump stop.
The truck handles fine. It has plenty of power and does everything that I could ask of it. High elevation does not seem to affect it.
Sure, a dually would give you a margain of error with the rear tires, but it also adds to the expense and a much rougher ride.
Keep good tires on the SRW and you should be good to go.

illgild wrote:
Hi all, this is my first post, so apologies if this is covering existing territory. I know the diesel vs gas question has been explored a lot here, but am curious if anyone has insight into the viability, and possibly specific model recommendations for a used gas 3/4 truck (roughly years 2013-2017 due to safety features) in Colorado hauling a pop-up camper like a Hallmark Cuchara or an equivalent Outfitter weighing in wet at about 2600lbs. From what I've seen, if I were on flat land, I'd go with a gas truck without question, but I have some concern, though no direct experience, about safety and handling in the mountains. Thanks so much for considering my question!

You are seeming to emphasize safety and handling. From that perspective, in my earlier post I mentioned a dually pickup truck regardless of whether or not you need a 1 ton pickup for weight carrying capability.

I've never owned a TC, but if I did and it was one of the somewhat tall ones - and especially heavy ones with a slide that I see on the roads - I would not consider using a pickup with only single rear tires if ultimate safety was high priority.

When I am pretty sure gas engine will perform like other members experienced, I become diesel addict 30 years ago and will not buy gasoline vehicle period.
For me it is mostly economy, as 20 years ago diesel were under-powered and lousy performers.
That changed drastically with last 440 HP beast from Ford, who I used to move from San Francisco Area to Las Vegas.
Several grades in range of 7 to 15 miles, triple digits temperatures, yet the beast would pull 7000 lb trailer + bed load without dropping from overdrive.
Still delivering +- 10 mpg on such combo, while 12 mpg + with 6000 lb camper. All of that with only slight tire noise entering the cabin, so you can enjoy Opera music.
Diesel is the cheapest fuel at places where I fill up and for mountain driving you have new turbos closing the flaps to act as engine brake.
Not extremely efficient, but help a lot.
Than my diesel sedan, with 2 tons weight for safety will make 60 mpg at 60 mph.
Than check the resale value.

valhalla360 wrote:
....Sure, you will burn some fuel if you want to keep it at 70mph up a grade but considering your average gas engine starts with north of 350hp, even if it loses 25% (equivalent to around 8000ft altitude), that still leaves you 260hp, which should be plenty to keep the speed up with such a light load.

Most Colorado mountain passes have top speed limits of 50, and occasionally 60, mph. Switchback curves of 15 or 25 mph. More important to be able to speed back up from switchbacks, not keeping 70 mph (rare). My gasser does the speed ups fine. Also, I tend to get out of cruise control and even manually shift my auto tranny to avoid the "searching" in the climb up, then engine help holding back on the way down.

My toughest climb was Fremont Pass from Leadville to Copper Mountain with the lack of oxygen at 12000' and no passing lanes to let idiots go by. Pretty much steady 5000 rpm for power. :R

Rick

Wow, thank you all so much for the thoughtful insights on my question! This board is incredible!

Keep in mind the trucks you are looking at are rated to tow 12-15,000lb and that rating includes climbing grades. 2,600lb is nothing in terms of climbing power.

Even at altitude, I wouldn't worry about the power loss with just 2600lb in the back. Sure, you will burn some fuel if you want to keep it at 70mph up a grade but considering your average gas engine starts with north of 350hp, even if it loses 25% (equivalent to around 8000ft altitude), that still leaves you 260hp, which should be plenty to keep the speed up with such a light load.