New (to me) Truck Camper ?'s

[LineC]

So decided to take the plunge and get into the truck camper world. Been doing a lot of searching and his forum is truly an asset for a newbie. Couple questions though for you experienced guys.

My truck is a:
2005 2500hd SRW SB 4x4 Ext-cab w/8.1 & Allison. 1 ton AAM rear axle
Put Bilstein 5100 & Stableloads on it
Load E 245/75R16 Yokohoma AT/S (max load 3042lb)

Camper is a 08 Lance 830 w/2200lb dry weight

Question is inside the glove box it says "cargo weight rating" 2120lb
Anyone have a similar setup and what should I expect. Going to get it weighed once I get it loaded up just looking to see if I can piggyback on anyone else's experiences or other items that would be needed before I head out.

On the Lance I noticed they use the 8gauge power wire for the fridge and not the standard 7 way plug. . Thinking I can T off my back harness and utilize all the wires except for the power wire and run a 8ga to the battery. Trying to do this with minimal splicing. Anyone have a better setup or link to a prefabbed wire harness. My truck doesn't have the camper option with the extra harness next to the fuel tank.

Also trying to get a list of necessities ready. What would be some of the must haves you guys have learned throughout the years?

[dakonthemountai]

SAWEET!! Now go camping!! 🙂 Congratulations!!

Dak

[LineC]

Well finally picked it up. Worked out great. Ended up having the same truck as mine so he threw this stuff in for free:
Super Hitch 20k
48" Hitch extension
Front & Rear Torklift Mounts
Fastguns

[Mike_Hohnstein]

Nice piece, we have a 2010 1040, a stretched 830 16" longer, Arctic Pack?, rear tent and twin beds. Widest center aisle of any camper I've ever been in.
You've got plenty of truck for the 830.

[LineC]

Thanks guys.

I will post some pictures of how it sits with just the stableloads engaged once I pick it up. First trip is two weeks from today and will roll it over some scales to see how heavy it really is on my truck.

[smooth1]

Congrats on the 830. Awesome camper. We have had ours since 2009.

Just run the fridge on propane and never run it on DC. You don't need the 8ga charge wire and can just go to the 7-way on the truck.

Your dry weight is 2200, the sticker on the side should say 2500, the sticker in the closet with the options should say 2800-2900, and add you 500lbs of stuff you are up around 3500.

[Kayteg1]

DITTO on taking it to the scales.
Weigh rear corners with camper on- if you can as that can show quite big difference.
When glove box note is written with lowering your taxes in mind, the usual limit is tires carrying capacity.
With campers having center of gravity in the rear, it is possible that 2000 lb camper will add 2500lb on the rear axle and in this case heavy front bumper can help in evening the load between the axles.
I think considering moving spare wheel on front bumper would be in order as well.

[bobndot]

Some 3-way RV absorption fridges will draw 25 amps/hr on 12v. Some alts. can't keep up depending on the alt. plus the charge line gauge and length of run .
Im not sure how the isolator works in a situation like that but I would think it would protect the truck battery .
I run my fridge on gas all the time , even while driving it stays lit. Sometimes the power jack or side awning arm creates a draft situation that blows out the flame . You can place some ductape on the bottom row of the fridge vent. That usually solves that problem.

80 lbs air to go pick it up in the rears. You can do 70 up front.
Before you buy anything, weigh the truck first, then add the camper on and take it the same scale and weigh the combined rig.
Most of carry about 500# of personal stuff on top of the Lance camper options and the propane, water and batteries. Your rolling down the road weight all loaded for a trip will be the real number. Once you load it all up for a trip, go back to a scale and see the difference .


I do not think the 05 GM trucks come with a rear sway bar as OEM . IF that is correct then installing a good thick bar will be an improvement with the side to side rocking. They install around the undercarriage spare tire.

[CptnBG]

As far as the glovebox cargo rating...GM assumes all seats are occupied by a 150lb person. You can adjust according to the actual weight of the passengers and of course whatever gear weight.

[LineC]

Thanks for the tips. I will make sure tires are at max load when I pick it up and stableloads engaged. Going to have to get some tires it looks like. Hard to swallow since these only have 5k on them. Ohh well pay to play.

Good to hear about the super springs I never knew they were so popular. Always assumed airbags were the way to go.

I hit 3 deer in Utah and after the third one I grabbed a decent bumper. They just bounce off but the weight is pretty extreme on it.

So the issue with the DC on the fridge. Is it that it will pull more power than the alternator can take and discharge the batteries when driving? Or will it just run it down when the truck is off if there is no isolator inline? I will make sure I run 8 gauge minimum. I got some 6ga laying around also if it will fit in the connector.

[bobndot]

Good point about running the fridge on 12 v. that is something I always forget to mention.
One other possible benefit to the 8 ga. line .
I drive my rig from fishing hole to fishing hole , that's how I charge things up.
The 8 ga . seems to charge the batteries faster than when I used lighter wire set up off the rear 7-way Bargman plug from the factory . Having AGM batteries now, it seems to charge even faster than the old wet cells .

[jmcgsd]

Won't comment on the weight, I'll let that be done by those in the know.

I will say that the reason for the 8ga wire to the reefer is probably because it's a 3 way unit. Running the reefer on DC is almost useless. Only thing it's going to do is run your camper battery down in a flash. I've had 3 ways in TCs and I learned to NEVER use the DC setting: use either the AC or the propane.

I remember one trip in my Lance 815 early on when I left the reefer on auto. In that TC the propane had the bad habit of blowing out if I left it on while traveling. Exactly that happened going down I15 through Utah. The fridge then automatically switched to DC.

Fortunately we stopped for lunch at the Zion exit on the freeway and I noticed that my house battery was way down despite being charged from the truck and having a solar panel. It took a few minutes to figure out why, and when I did, I turned off the fridge until we got to our destination for the evening. We were going to need to remove the TC from the truck at our overnight stop and my Atwood electric jacks would not have run were the battery dead. It would have been a PITA to crank!

That 8ga wire is useful if you need to make another high current connection in the TC. I am a ham radio operator and in my Lance 981 I wanted to be able to run a 100W transceiver near the reefer. That requires about 25-30 amps. tapped into that 8 ga and saved myself a lot of trouble running to the batteries. ??

Good luck.
Joe

[narcodog]

Fishbreath wrote:
LineC:

Although it is a nice looking front bumper, you may wish to think about putting the stock bumper back on. That thing looks heavy and will contribute to your overweight condition. (The truck, not you personally).
You are going to be chasing pounds throughout this project and shedding the unneeded weight sure wouldn't hurt.

Good luck

Bill

I have a similar setup on my truck and it contributes very little to the over all weight. I wouldn't be without a winch.

[JimK-NY]

I would not worry about the bit of extra weight for the front bumper. It is the weight on the back that is a concern. I recommend super springs. I started with air bags but that made the ride worse with a lot of roll. The super springs handled the extra weight better and allowed me to decrease the Rancho shock settings for a smoother ride.

[Fishbreath]

LineC:

Although it is a nice looking front bumper, you may wish to think about putting the stock bumper back on. That thing looks heavy and will contribute to your overweight condition. (The truck, not you personally).
You are going to be chasing pounds throughout this project and shedding the unneeded weight sure wouldn't hurt.

Good luck

Bill