Newbie Question on removing small Lance

Some food for thought, is to take a look at the "dry weight" of these so-called "half ton" campers on Lance's website and then look at the payload capacities on "half ton" trucks like the F150 (yellow sticker inside the driver's door frame).

You're starting off in the hole.

The 650, Lance's smallest lightest, dry weight is 1700lbs.

The typical F150 or 1500 series pickup has a payload capacity of 1500lbs. Yes, there are max payload packages that increase that up to 2000lbs but you are not likely to find something like that on a lot.

You're already 200lbs over the truck's payload rating, and your camping trip consists of sitting in the dirt, naked and hungry.

This is the one time dry weight is NOT meaningless. It only goes up from there. The camper off the lot will be heavier just from optional equipment and basics like propane and battery. Then you add water, food, equipment you use for whatever you do while camping...

I'm not saying that any of this is a non-starter. There are many people out there happily hauling 2500-3000lb campers on half tun trucks that will tell you it's much ado about nothing. The flip side of that coin is we do not know how their rig actually handles, and if what is acceptable to them would be acceptable to any of us.

Just don't go in blind.

Thanks, NRA. It is normal garage height. I was not planning to put the camper in the garage, but store it on the driveway. It is a pretty good slope, however (our house is on a hill), so I may have to store it elsewhere. There is a RV storage facility that is not too far away.

diver110 wrote:
……. How flat does storage surface have to be? We have a three car garage and two cars, so there is a space available, but driveway slopes down. Do not have truck yet, and it sounds like I have to choose carefully. Thinking in terms of a Ram, mostly because I like the local dealer (where I have been taking my Jeep for a decade, now has 170,000 miles+), but am open. ….

Where you take the camper off should ideally be as level as possible. But, I live on a hillside, and other than the garage floor, nothing is level in my yard. Is your garage door tall enough to get the camper inside? Even a small hardside TC will need 10-11 ft of clearance.

The problem with lifting a camper on a sloped surface is that as you raise the low end to make the camper level, the base of the jacks on that end need to move out an inch or more as the camper rotates to a level position. With the weight of the camper on the jacks though, they can’t move. Plus, until the camper is level, it’s leaning on those low-end jacks. So, you end up putting a twisting movement on the jack mounts. The more slope you need to overcome, the worse the twisting will be on the jacks.

About 15 years or so back, we did a major rebuild that had almost half of our house reduced to nothing but studs and joists for several months. We needed somewhere to cook and eat for most of that time, so I set my camper up just outside the garage to use as a temporary kitchen.

As you can see, the apron slab outside the garage wasn’t anywhere near level, so I used two 4x6 timber’s to create a more level surface for the jacks. Even with three two-by’s under the low end of the 4x6, it’s still not very level. It was close enough to get it off though, but I still needed a stack of pallets under the front to stabilize it while we used it, while the rear bumper is almost on the ground. The jack bases are each sitting in a cup-like depression so they can’t walk off the timbers.



About eight years ago we tore down the garage and built a new one with an RV bay. The foundation was even torn out because it was cracked and shifting. The new garage floor came in about 8” lower than the old garage floor, so the apron slab isn’t quite as sloped today, but it’s still not level enough for me to feel comfortable taking the camper off the truck without using those same timbers. I wish I had taken a picture just a month or so back when I was washing the camper, and had it sitting on the timbers again. Maybe next time. :S

All that is to say; yes you can take it off on a slope, but depending on how much slope you have you may need to take some steps to be safe, and prevent damage.

:R Let’s Go Girls! :P
NRA Benefactor Life Member
Lance 1121-Two Awnings, Slide topper, 3.6 kw Gen, Trimetric Batt. Monitor, 1500W Inverter, 40A Redarc DC-DC charger. 2016 F450 6.7 PSD.

Thanks. I suspected a 1/2 ton would be marginal.

You absolutely don't want a 1500 truck no matter how small the camper. A 2500 truck is marginal for all but the smallest campers. Since you're talking RAM then definitely skip the 2500 because the RAM 2500 has coil springs in the rear.
I would consider a 3500 SRW bare minimum for any reasonable size TC. If you want something with slides and longer then 9 feet you should really consider a dually.

When I had my 11' TC with remote control jacks I could take it off in about 20 minutes start to finish. If I would have had Fast Guns or some other quick detach system for the tie downs it would have been quicker. It generally took me about 30 minutes to put it on but I had a dually with an 8' flatbed so there was very little room for error. A regular truck bed would have probably been quicker.

My first TC was an 8' pop-up with no bathroom, no basement, and no slides. I had it on a 1996 Dodge 1500 and the truck was over it's GVWR with no passengers and no gear in the TC.
I then got an 11' TC with no basement and no slides. I had it on a 2007 Chevy 3500 SRW and it was right at GVWR with nothing in the camper, no fuel in the truck, and no people inside. Loaded up for a trip I was at about 11,150 pounds.
I then moved that camper to a 2005 Chevy dually. Loaded up for a trip with the family I was about 13,100 pounds. This is why you shouldn't even consider a 1500 or even a 2500.

diver110 wrote:
Thanks for the feedback! Like NRA, I have shoulder issues due to a fall cross country skiing. Surgeon said no fix that would reliably improve things. Aging sucks. So definitely will go with electric jacks. How flat does storage surface have to be? We have a three car garage and two cars, so there is a space available, but driveway slopes down. Do not have truck yet, and it sounds like I have to choose carefully. Thinking in terms of a Ram, mostly because I like the local dealer (where I have been taking my Jeep for a decade, now has 170,000 miles+), but am open. Lance claims that I can get away with a half ton for the two smallest campers. Can I believe that? The wife thinks camping is only appropriate after a hurricane, so it will mostly just me when she is visiting her home town, which she does at least semi-annually. That was probably too much info. Again thanks.

If financially possible, I would suggest buying a 3/4 ton truck. Will make a big difference with your Lance camper going down the road.

This is similar to the presentation I was talking about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTCm_RQ8ySM

Entertaining pix! Thanks!

Hello OP, I have a very large lance camper and a large dually. I have been taking the camper on and off for decades with the electric jacks just fine. It does have a correct way of doing it and after I went to a rally and saw how to actually lift and lower life with the jacks got much better. I really don't recall who the manufacturer was that did the instructional class but someone will chime in. As far as the truck I would not go small but bigger. This will ensure your novice safety and will enable an upgrade sooner than later. Don't worry, You'll love it and the wife will too.

SURE you can put that camper on your 1/2 ton.
I was dropping my big camper on uneven driveways and when it can easy take slope higher in the rear, any other slope become tricky.
Additional thing you need to pay attention when on uneven pad, often truck wheels roll over jacks footing and that can swing the camper as the result.