Newbie needs help.

[Lumber81]

I have a stock 2001 Ford F350 Diesel 4x4 LWB SRW Crew Cab truck with E-Rated tires at 3415lbs and Ranch Hand bumpers front and rear. Last but not least 12,000lb winch. What is the heaviest dry weight camper I should look at without modifying my truck. The used camper that I am looking at has just over a 4,000lb mfg weight. Is that going to be to heavy. Just going to be using regionally for now, no cross country trips.

New info:
GVWR 9,900 , Front axle 5,200 , Rear axle 6,830
Actual weight: 7,740 Gross , 4,780 Front axle , 2,960 Rear axle

[Grit_dog]

Lumber81 wrote:
Thks everybody. I have gleamed more solid info on here in a few hours than I have in a month of lurking on the internet. Sure glad that I did not throw a ratchet strap around that Artic Fox 860 and bring it home last Saturday.

You are correct that it is over your tire and published rear axle rating. However your truck is NOT undersized at all for an AF 860. Typically rear axle ratings on a srw are limited by the lack of 2 more tires. Actual axle is probably good for 8k
See em going down the road on srw trucks every day. Mine included.
Beings you have a long bed, you'll get a fair amount of weight xfer to the front wheels. On my short bed, cg of the 860 is just a few inches behind the rear axle centerline.
You have plenty of truck for that camper. May need a little help on the rear suspension but nothing elaborate.

[gsutton]

i have some help for you.read your your private message

[Lumber81]

Ya'll no how to hurt a rednecks feelings. Telling me my truck ain't big enough hurts worse than talking about my Mother. Chime in with camper options in the 3,200 +/- range. I like the Northwood AF 811, but there is not a used one in the southeast. Want one that stops closer to the end of my LWB truck, so it will be easier and less expensive to tow. Open Roads in Acworth Ga will give you a great deal on 2007 AF Silver Fox Edition with all options including solar. They just listed it on craiglist for 15,500 since I had to back out cause it is to heavy for my truck.

[Tom_Barb]

Tom/Barb wrote:

Buzzcut1 wrote:

Tom/Barb wrote:

MORSNOW wrote:

Tom/Barb wrote:
Your truck was called a 1 ton for a reason, 4000# = 2 tons. plus the mods already done. Just doing the simple math, you need a duce and a half.

That's not how it works.

You best hope it does.

you havent looked at mfg listed weight capacities since the 90s have you. they haven't been called half tons, 3/4 tons or one tons in at least 30 years except by old guys who grew up in the 60s and 70s ( me included)

It's all Here.

The thing he needs to consider is that 4k camper rated empty. or total gross?

Empty? he will have less than 1000 pounds to add before he's over gross. He can carry 6 and full fuel, and food and stuff. Way to close to the max for me.

[Tom_Barb]

Buzzcut1 wrote:

Tom/Barb wrote:

MORSNOW wrote:

Tom/Barb wrote:
Your truck was called a 1 ton for a reason, 4000# = 2 tons. plus the mods already done. Just doing the simple math, you need a duce and a half.

That's not how it works.

You best hope it does.

you havent looked at mfg listed weight capacities since the 90s have you. they haven't been called half tons, 3/4 tons or one tons in at least 30 years except by old guys who grew up in the 60s and 70s ( me included)

It's all Here.

[Buzzcut1]

Tom/Barb wrote:

MORSNOW wrote:

Tom/Barb wrote:
Your truck was called a 1 ton for a reason, 4000# = 2 tons. plus the mods already done. Just doing the simple math, you need a duce and a half.

That's not how it works.

You best hope it does.

you havent looked at mfg listed weight capacities since the 90s have you. they haven't been called half tons, 3/4 tons or one tons in at least 30 years except by old guys who grew up in the 60s and 70s ( me included)

[Tom_Barb]

MORSNOW wrote:

Tom/Barb wrote:
Your truck was called a 1 ton for a reason, 4000# = 2 tons. plus the mods already done. Just doing the simple math, you need a duce and a half.

That's not how it works.

You best hope it does.

[MORSNOW]

Tom/Barb wrote:
Your truck was called a 1 ton for a reason, 4000# = 2 tons. plus the mods already done. Just doing the simple math, you need a duce and a half.

That's not how it works.

[Buzzcut1]

Your truck with two adults and a full tank of fuel is going to scale at close to 8000 pounds with a little over 3200 pounds as your rear axle load. Stock it doesn't leave you with a lot of load capacity. The sterling rear axle is rated at 9800 but your tires and rims are the lowest rated component (stock rims are rated 3500 each). If you don't care what the door sticker says then if you want to carry a larger camper than a pop up or a smaller hardside you need to upgrade tires and wheels which is why many of us switched to 19.5s. Suspension wise the least expensive ( if your truck has overload leafs) is Stable Loads by Torklift. Lacking the overloads go to a spring shop and get your leaf spring pack beefed up. You have the 7.3 engine it's bomb proof. If you like the truck, its in good shape and you want a camper with some amenities its, easy but not so inexpensive to upgrade your rig to handle the load of a TC

[Joe417]

You'll need to evaluate what your comfortable with, a lot of rigs are over the limit specified by the manufacturer.

My truck listed the rear axle at 6200# with the tires as the limiting factor. With mods, 3750# tires, I'm running at ~6800#. It's very comfortable for me. Some on the forum would never exceed the sticker limit while other might put 4000# on a F150 with 9 year old tires. (a bit scary)

Some will be fanatical about it and ask you to stay out of "their" state, while others will be helpful and give you advise based on there experience. Evaluate all and remember they're opinions.

As for your truck, my next one will probable be a 350 SRW CC LB 6.2 gas.

I think even if you put a 2000# TC yours you'll feel the sway. It will handle differently with a TC on. So, you may want to re-consider adding at least a sway bar. That helped mine the most but I did't have to have it. You already have heavier springs. If you don't like the feel after you get your TC you can add it later. Or you may decide a DRW is what you want.

I talked to several individual on the forum here before I bought mine who had run OEM size tires with significant overloads for years with no issues. I wasn't comfortable with that so I changed to a heavier tire for peace of mind. Just put a set of Firestones on 2 week ago which ran $901 total.

Again, you'll have to evaluate what your comfortable with.

Good luck,

[skipbee]

We have used a 4000 lb TC for many years and miles with no problems.
The tires and wheels are upgraded to 19.5" "H" rated (5000lb) with air bags and adjustable Rancho shocks. Rickson Trucks in Maryland has
developed the wheels and has a lot of know how. Google them. The SRW rig is a lot more flexible for off-road and over sand use.

[Lumber81]

Thks everybody. I have gleamed more solid info on here in a few hours than I have in a month of lurking on the internet. Sure glad that I did not throw a ratchet strap around that Artic Fox 860 and bring it home last Saturday.

[FireGuard]

You will exceed your GVW with almost any camper. With bumpers, fuel and people I'll bet you weigh close to 8k lbs so less than 2000 payload.
However, I'm on the side of staying within axle and tire limitations. GVW seems unrealistic.
I would look for an 8-10' non slide camper like a Lance 915, 920, 1010 or similar.
If you want a slide, look for an arctic Fox 811. Nice camper made for SB or LB. You won't find many used LBs as they seem like more of a SB camper. Still heavy, but very little overhang on a LB so truck will handle better.
I'm sure Buzzcut will check in soon. He has a similiar truck with a heavier camper but with appropriate mods.
I had a Lance 981, 9'10" full wall side which weighed over 4500 lbs ready to camp. I carried it on a DRW and it was a load.
Good luck.

[Lumber81]

Back to the original question? What is the heaviest truck camper I can haul without further modifying my truck with G rated tires , Sway bar , air bags etc.