Newbie, artic fox 990 and 1140, handling on F350 Drw

[Mastiffmom]

Hi, My husband and will soon be purchasing our first tc. It will go on a F350 diesel drw. We've done a lot of research but need input from those who have experience driving with either size camper. We would like the 1140 for the extra space as we plan to become full timers, this will be our home for the next 3 years or so. Hubby is concerned about the handling of such a large camper and likes the 990 better for that reason. He'd like to know how much difference is there in the feel of the 2 campers? Our intention is to explore a lot of Canada and Mexico. And eventually Central America. Over the past 4 years we have lived in Belize and Mexico full time so we are familiar with how the roads are. Hubby grew up towing and hauling heavy loads and has driven a class A with no problems. Also the campers we are looking at are 2004-2006 if that matters. Thanks in advance!
Kristin and Will

[Mastiffmom]

Thanks everyone for the replies so far, please keep them coming! The truck is a 4x4. Most of the roads will be paved. But forestry type roads are a definite and probably beaches. And I do plan on keeping a blog!

[jefe_4x4]

Mom,
You might as well get a stiffer, heavier anti-sway bar too with that much weight. Have every known weak part on your truck replaced with stronger aftermarket parts. Tires make a big difference. If you are staying on pavement, go to 19.5's for shear capacity, but don't expect to cruise beach sand as they do not deflate well. You didn't mention 2WD or 4WD. This also makes a difference in payload, the 4WD having less. The '99-'02 or so has the best reputation, as the most reliable of the International Harvester engines in a Ford. With a heavy load and older tech (pre Diesel Warz), you will be slowing down on the hills. I was going to ask if you had a pre-DEF and soot bag, smog controlled truck (2006 being the cutoff year), but you answered my query. You should be good to go with Mexican and Central American diesel fuel with judicious filtering. If you have an automatic transmission and it has a small oil cooler, get a bigger trans cooler. Your C-4 or C-6 is a good trannie (assuming you have one) but the achiles heel of ANY auto trans is heat.
The Rule of Thumb (whoever invented that term?) is, "the longer you are out on the road in a truck camper, the larger and more comfortable you want the mobile domicile to be." We have the special privilege of having several full-timers on this forum with widely contrasting styles and modus operandi. There are a few good-to-haves: A BIG truck: 450/4500 and 550/5500 being the gold standard. What this means for you is you may want to have a lighter (smaller) camper to haul around, well below the GVW rating to fit your truck. There are scores of people on here that can guide you through the potential mine field of full timing preparation. Then again, one school of thought says: "just get in and go. You can work the bugs out along the way." There is no fix like a road fix. Digest as much info as you can (like the Vagabonds) before you write the check for a TC. No one but you knows the edges of your wants and needs as a full timer. If you are adept at writing, keep a blog. I'll be there in spirit.
jefe

[pastorbillv]

Can't speak to your specific Campers, but we have a 2010 F-350, dually, diesel, FWD and Boss Towing Package. Our camper is a Northern-Lite 10'2 (2016). We also tow a Toyota RAV4 behind us. Honestly, we don't barely notice any of it!

I got the F-350 to tow a 14,000 lb, 30ft BBQ Concession Trailer on a 2 5/8 hitch. That makes the F-350 work, but doesn't give me stability problems either. Very easy but just slows me down!

What I'm saying is that my humble opinion is that an F-350 dually diesel is a lot more truck than you need to virtually any camper you want to carry.

Bill

[Mastiffmom]

The truck is a 2002 7.3. We're getting stable load, and upgrading shocks.

[blueglide]

We have the AF1150 which is essentially the same as the 1140. Your truck will haul it fine. The only suspension changes we made were stabiloads and timbrens for stability and sway control. Not sure I would want to haul that large heavy TC around on the roads of South America though.

[Artum_Snowbird]

There is a lot of difference in the campers, BUT there is also a lot of difference in trucks by the year too.

Likely the most important question is, what year is the truck, and what engine does it have? Certainly, there are upgrades with trucks that help carry the load safer, things like 19.5 tires, Rancho shocks, sway bars and Stable-loads.

Both campers are big and heavy, and both are carried by F350 duallies in this forum, but from experience carrying a lot more on a SRW than I should have, the truck is really the determining factor.

You will likely be around 5000 pounds in the back. Lot's to think about.