New Truck Camper Purchase

[c1goncalves]

Ladies and Gents,

Here is the story:

2004 F350 6.0 Powerstroke SWR, FX4, Lariat, tow package E rated tires (new 3000 miles), truck camper package (rear anti sway bar) original equipment.
Rear GAWR 6380 Lbs, Front GAWR 5200 Lbs GVWR 9900 Lbs.

Mods: New Hellwig heavy duty shocks front and rear. Rear Air bags with 200 psi compressor, cab remote.

Truck Camper: 2016 Lance 1062. Wet weight 4061 Lbs. Extra garbage 250 Lbs.
My fat ass, wife and dog 400 Lbs Total 4750 to 5000 Lbs.
Length 10'11" 2 feet overhang. Plus weight of gun load ??? LOL.

Drove from place of purchase NH to NJ without a problem. No sway, speed averaged 65 mph. Have reached 75 until my wife started screaming.

Plans to tow: 25' boat trailer weighting about 5000 Lbs total with dual axles. Tongue weight ??? I can lift it alone all the way up until the out drive hits the
ground. So I figure 150 to 200 Lbs. 3' tow hitch extension to be able to carry the camper and tow the boat. Or have a Torklift super hitch weight distributing installed.
Also installing a class IV front hitch to carry a platform for possible garbage needed.

Your input, help, knowledge, criticism etc will be appreciated including any mods you think will be beneficial to install.

Thank you for your help.

[SidecarFlip]

c1goncalves wrote:
To all thanks for the info about the shortcoming with overloading and the 6.0 problems.
I have taken the truck to a diesel mechanic and everything is good. So I have decided to try it out and see. I will be running on the East Coast with lots of help around in case the truck goes.
If I have a problem with the EGR, then at that time I will do the delete, or upgrade to a F450 and call it a day.
Two weeks ago my 63K miles 2006 Mercedes Benz SLK 350 threw a rod for no apparent reason. Car is garaged and only driven on good days. Impeccable maintenance records either with MB or private shop. Who would think this could happen.
I will let you know if I do not get to my destination.

Vehicles, especially internal combustion engines are complex machines and sometimes things break...even in a Mercedes.

Wishing you the best of luck...

[c1goncalves]

To all thanks for the info about the shortcoming with overloading and the 6.0 problems.
I have taken the truck to a diesel mechanic and everything is good. So I have decided to try it out and see. I will be running on the East Coast with lots of help around in case the truck goes.
If I have a problem with the EGR, then at that time I will do the delete, or upgrade to a F450 and call it a day.
Two weeks ago my 63K miles 2006 Mercedes Benz SLK 350 threw a rod for no apparent reason. Car is garaged and only driven on good days. Impeccable maintenance records either with MB or private shop. Who would think this could happen.
I will let you know if I do not get to my destination.

[Redwoodcamper]

I have a neighbor who bought a 6.0 with 100k miles. All easy miles by a school principle. Never towed or abused. My neighbor took it out and towed heavy up a hill and the eye coolers and oil cooler instantly went...
I've seen others run hard for a while and do ok. The key is your coolant system. If you can afford an egr cooler/delete or oil cooler that would be a great proactive step.

[SidecarFlip]

Maybe, maybe not. I've seen 6.0's run forever with no issues and others **** out with low miles.

Whatever, overloading driveline components equals a shorter life, especially brakes. People tend to ignore stuff until it becomes an issue.

When running continuously overloaded, maintenance becomes the key factor in preventing breakdown's.

[Buzzcut1]

I'd say you will be fine. I carried this TC from 2010 to 2016 without and issue on my 2003 with the 6.0. The 19.5 Vision wheels and Toyo tires made for a great ride. I never had an issue with stopping even on the muntain roads of the Sierra Nevada's

[SidecarFlip]

No matter which way you go, you will be overweight and emergency stopping will become an issue. Don't matter what rims and tires you put on. your brakes aren't up to the task. Neither are the axle bearings or driveline components.

Your 10.5 Corporate rear xxle is the weak point as well as your engine. 6.0's are noted for perforated head gaskets, stretched head bolts and failed EGR coolers.

[CAJW]

CCW reciprocity map

[TxGearhead]

handgunlaw.us will help with the gun issue

[Kayteg1]

I think at this point the engine is going to be the weakest link.
I hope you have monitoring system to observe delta and coolant pressure gauge?

[c1goncalves]

on 03/18 I wrote:
2004 F350 6.0 Powerstroke SWR, FX4, Lariat, tow package E rated tires (new 3000 miles), truck camper package (rear anti sway bar) original equipment.
Rear GAWR 6380 Lbs, Front GAWR 5200 Lbs GVWR 9900 Lbs.

Mods: New Hellwig heavy duty shocks front and rear. Rear Air bags with 200 psi compressor, cab remote.

Thank you all for the great advice you gave me.

I weighted my truck (curb weight) 8100 Lbs with me in it (250 Lbs)
I also weighted just the rear axle 3240 Lbs.

So following your advice I went out and got 5 Vision cast aluminum type 81 19,5" wheels weight rating 4500 Lbs and Hankook DH07 245/70R 19,5" load range H tires to match

The truck came with a rear anti way bar from the factory. We will see how it performs. Should the engine last 10 miles (6.0 and all, knock on wood) you guys think I am ready to travel.
Please let me know your thoughts. Towing the boat it will be the next step but not my immediate priority, as we are not towing anything right now.

Throwing a wrench out there: I am in NJ and I am going to travel this time the east coast, as we are thinking about moving to FL.
I have the non resident Concealed Carry permit for FL and UT. Anybody knowledged on firearms inside the truck camper, or because is cargo is the same as carrying in the truck? NRA website very cumbersome to understand all the laws, specially SC which does not allow for CCW for FL non residents.

Also have a dog. Rules about leavings the pooch in the camper, with A/C of course, while home shopping.

Thanks for your help and happy travels.

[S_Davis]

Bedlam wrote:
You want the 19.5" Vision aluminum rims rated at 4500 lbs or the Rickson steel rims rated at 5000 lbs. For tires, look at 245/70R19.5 LRH 16PR which will give you almost 5000 lbs per tire at 110 PSI - going with such a high rated tire will allow you to run it softer than a tire close to its weight rating.

I found a better deal online for tires and rims which were mounted, balanced and shipped to your home than what I found locally. Five years ago I bought a four tire package for $2000 delivered to my driveway.

That's a good deal, I got mine last year for $2400.00(tires for $1600.00 and vision 81 wheels for $800.00) I bought the wheels online at Summit and got the tires from Les Schwab.

[Bedlam]

You want the 19.5" Vision aluminum rims rated at 4500 lbs or the Rickson steel rims rated at 5000 lbs. For tires, look at 245/70R19.5 LRH 16PR which will give you almost 5000 lbs per tire at 110 PSI - going with such a high rated tire will allow you to run it softer than a tire close to its weight rating.

I found a better deal online for tires and rims which were mounted, balanced and shipped to your home than what I found locally. Five years ago I bought a four tire package for $2000 delivered to my driveway.

[c1goncalves]

Thank you all for the good information. Erroneously I mentioned the rear GAWR was 6380 and it is 6830. Long bed 8' and the longest wheel base of 350's.
I have a long bed truck and when I got it it weighted at about 7500 Lbs on a public scale. It seemed high to me, but at the time I did not intend to buy a camper.
So I am shopping for 4 rims and tires (cannot find 19.5"). If you can provide make and model I would appreciate.
My 6.0 had 3 previous problems. 2 under warranty and one out of pocket. All EGR related. The last one cost me 8K. I can look into an EGR delete. Never had a problem since then, but I only drive 4K/year with the truck. We never know where the problems can come from. Last week my Mercedes SLK 350 (2006 63K miles garaged) threw a rod and I have to buy a new engine. Now I have a new engine in an old body. Just like getting a pacemaker.
At the Ford dealer I asked if I could buy a new and different engine and they said NO. The 6.0 was a new design and there were no engine/drive train combo that would fit easily. So it is either keep it of buy a 450/550. But I am going to use it until it dies.
Again thank you for your input, some of you got me depressed (I forgive you) but I totally understand about the tires weak link. The wife and I were talking and we are going to spend the necessary funds to protect ourselves, and specially the dog.
I have heard about the Patriot tires from the Diesel Brothers in UT.

[jimh406]

Congratulations on getting a very nice truck camper!

As others have noted, it probably can be done. We've all seen lots of rigs similar to yours.

Is your truck short wheel base? If so, your COG is also probably off since that camper wasn't designed to be on a short wheelbase. Otherwise, I think you can likely get a short extension. You want it as short as possible both to decrease the leverage on the hitch and also to make it less likely to drag. The side benefit is that it will be out of your way by only pulling the ball mount if it doesn't extend past the camper bumper.

You really need at minimum higher capacity tires to give you any margin for tire safety. You don't say what your current tires are. E could be 3300 or 3760. That would make a huge difference. Similarly those tires at 80 lbs have a lot more capacity than 65 lbs. Weighing is the only way to know how much is on the rear tires.

You also have a bit of a warning if your wife wanted you to slow down. That should tell you that you are on the edge. I can tell you my wife likes our F450 much more and volunteers to drive it. I can't remember her ever wanting to drive the SRW. Take that for what it's worth. In my case, the brake improvement and turning radius improvement is dramatic.

By the time you buy 19.5 wheels and tires, you probably could trade for a DRW. If you can't get by with a DRW, get at least the 19.5 wheels and tires. I drove my same camper with a 2006 Ford SRW, Extended Cab 4x4 PSD with 19.5s for over 8 years. Why so long? It was my daily driver and a DRW would simply not fit where I needed to park every day. However, you are way over your GVWR which is even less than mine was. My GVWR was 11400 and they improved the brakes and suspension in '05. Reasonable braking definitely will be an issue.

I believe the general rule of thumb for boat trailer tongue weight is 10-15%. You are at 5% if you think it is 250 lbs. If you want your eyes more wide open, go to a scale and weigh your rig with the boat attached.