Need Advice

[Originalwingman]

I purchased a 2010 F150 SuperCrew, that calculated to a payload of 1800 lbs.

I purchased a 2018 Travel Lite truck camper that was labeled at 1280 lbs.

I installed the Timken suspension enhancement system because the truck sagged when bringing the camper home.

With the camper and truck fully loaded with my wife, myself, full tank of gas, and all my gear, the truck is perfectly level front to back. No sagging, and seems to handle fine driving.

Now I’m scared because the Cat Scales show that my rear axle is overloaded by 1,140 lbs, and the gross vehicle weight is overloaded by 1,400 lbs.

Has anyone else been traveling with this high of a overloaded vehicle and been ok?

The guy I bought the camper from had the same truck as me and traveled from Michigan to Yellowstone and back without problems.

I need suggestions and help because I can not afford a F250.

Thank you

[time2roll]

I would be looking for an older F350 that fits your budget. 2WD gasser should be cheap, nobody wants those.

[JimK-NY]

Originalwingman wrote:
I have added new tires that are not overloaded.

You enhanced the suspension, the rig rides well and finally you upgraded the tires. I think you are OK to go. I am always most concerned about tires. Just make sure they are always properly inflated and drive at a reasonable speed.

[JIMNLIN]

...your F150/TC combo is what it is.

Being over a GVWR isn't a safety thing but being over a semi float rear axle/tire/wheel/spring pack load rating is a very serious safety concern. You didn't say what your trucks rawr is.

What can you do ?
Fleet Ford doesn't show 2010 specs anymore but we know Ford has used 3650...3800...4050...4550...4800 rawr numbers on their F150 trucks. A rawr can be the lessor of a wheel/tire/rear axle assy/rear suspension.
Ford people in the past has said the F150 uses the 9.75"diameter ring gear/34 spline axles in 4000k-4800k rear axles... and a smaller 8.8" ring gear/31 spline axles in smaller axles assys. Ford techs should be able to tell which rear axle is under your truck.

I would suggest upgrading to higher load capacity wheels/tires. If the truck sags too much there are many aftermarket suspension products that help with sagging issues....air bags comes to mind.

[Originalwingman]

toedtoes wrote:
The first mistake people make is using the camper's dry weight to determine if the vehicle is enough to tow or carry a camper.

ALWAYS use the GVWR of the camper. You may end up with less actual weight, but you won't be overweight.

Years ago, my aunt's then husband overloaded the year axle of their station wagon with firewood. The axle broke on the way home and he was in the hospital lucky to be alive.

Is it worth the risk to "be lucky"?

Thank you

[Originalwingman]

MFL wrote:
My neighbor has a 2019 GM 1500, with a pop up top, truck camper on it. Loaded, he is likely over some ratings. Here it comes...he also hooks his heavy boat, with tandem axle trailer on truck receiver, and drives 120 miles, up/down hills to the river. Yup, two summers now, works great! 🙂

Jerry

Thank you

[Originalwingman]

BradW wrote:
A couple of things to consider. The vast majority of hardside truck camper carrying SRW trucks you see on the road are over their gvwr. Also, many axles are rated based on the tire/wheel package they originaly came with. The same axle may have a higher gawr on a different truck. You never want to exceed the maximum payload rating of any tire.

Thank you. I will look into information on my axle and rear end. My neighbor said the same thing you did.

[Originalwingman]

jimh425 wrote:
I’m sure someone has, but based on your post, you are almost double the payload of your truck.. If you are planning on only doing one trip, maybe you’ll be lucky just like the person who drove from Michigan to Yellowstone and back.

As far as can’t afford a F250 goes, there are large variations in prices of diesel vs gasoline. I’m not sure you can afford the wreck by leaving the rig you have. Also, consider a F350. You can go all of the way back to early 2000 and have a very capable gasoline proper sized truck.

The biggest danger you have is tires. They will be fine until they fail. Next, are your brakes. Since you are double the recommended payload, I don’t think it would be unusual for other components to fail as well.

Finally, you are severely limited in what you can carry with you being already way over payload. It doesn’t sound like fun to me.

The weights I gave are for fully loaded with gear, fuel and people. Thank you

[Originalwingman]

MORSNOW wrote:
You found out what many have said on here thousands of times, those factory weight labels are not even close to accurate for an actual built weight (1,280 lbs right?). It's probably closer to 1,800 lbs before you added anything inside. Your 150 series truck tires are probably WAY overloaded too. A 250 is really needed.

I have added new tires that are not overloaded.

[Originalwingman]

MORSNOW wrote:
You found out what many have said on here thousands of times, those factory weight labels are not even close to accurate for an actual built weight (1,280 lbs right?). It's probably closer to 1,800 lbs before you added anything inside. Your 150 series truck tires are probably WAY overloaded too. A 250 is really needed.

Thank you

[Bert_the_Welder]

toedtoes wrote:

Buzzcut1 wrote:

Truck campers don't have wheels or a GVWR only the truck that carries them does. They only thing a truck camper has in a MFG weight sticker (before options and gear) listed)

I didn't realize they don't have their own CCC. That makes it a bit more difficult, but the manufacturer (not the dealer) should be able to give you a decent estimate with manufacturer installed options - then just add any dealer installed options, propane and water weights, and a high estimate of gear weights.

Doesn't really matter at this point, he's already stepped in it and walked on grandma's white carpet.....
And most manufactures seem to be unable/ unwilling to weight their units in the first place so I double their 2 cents is worth the effort after the fact.

[toedtoes]

Buzzcut1 wrote:

Truck campers don't have wheels or a GVWR only the truck that carries them does. They only thing a truck camper has in a MFG weight sticker (before options and gear) listed)

I didn't realize they don't have their own CCC. That makes it a bit more difficult, but the manufacturer (not the dealer) should be able to give you a decent estimate with manufacturer installed options - then just add any dealer installed options, propane and water weights, and a high estimate of gear weights.

[Geo_Boy]

Easy fix, get rid of the Travel Lite and find a nice Four Wheeler pop up TC.

[Buzzcut1]

toedtoes wrote:
The first mistake people make is using the camper's dry weight to determine if the vehicle is enough to tow or carry a camper.

ALWAYS use the GVWR of the camper. You may end up with less actual weight, but you won't be overweight.

Years ago, my aunt's then husband overloaded the year axle of their station wagon with firewood. The axle broke on the way home and he was in the hospital lucky to be alive.

Is it worth the risk to "be lucky"?

Truck campers don't have wheels or a GVWR only the truck that carries them does. They only thing a truck camper has in a MFG weight sticker (before options and gear) listed)

[toedtoes]

The first mistake people make is using the camper's dry weight to determine if the vehicle is enough to tow or carry a camper.

ALWAYS use the GVWR of the camper. You may end up with less actual weight, but you won't be overweight.

Years ago, my aunt's then husband overloaded the year axle of their station wagon with firewood. The axle broke on the way home and he was in the hospital lucky to be alive.

Is it worth the risk to "be lucky"?