Noob question regarding slide-in campers /trucks

[AllenTC2]

I was looking at the larger Eagle Cap (1165, 1200) offerings and the 1200 says it requires a 1-ton, long bed dually to haul it around. I think I understood most of that (assuming 8' counts as a "long bed").

What I'm not clear on is "Does the cab size play a role?" :B

All the pictures I see have a crew cab, which I'd rather not pay for if it's not needed. Could I slap one of those behemoths on a Ford F-350 dually?

[SidecarFlip]

It's only money.....lol

[Bedlam]

Boatycall wrote:

AllenTC2 wrote:
Oh, that is good info Boaty! So with the bigger camper, the F350 had issues? Or just when towing the trailer in addition to the camper?

Well, you're looking at the heaviest possible campers on the market. 17" tires, regardless of the truck make/brand, can do it, but won't like it. Likewise, a standard Dana80 or equivalent rear end will be at it's utmost maximum capacity, lowering it's lifespan. Plus, there's all the suspension mods you'll have to do.

Can you do it with an F350/3500 class truck if you don't have a trailer? IMHO, sure. But keep in mind, Class C RV's that use F350 chassis's only on the smallest of Class C's. F450/550s are the norm. You'll have a 7,000lb plus load with one of those triple slides, all total, right up there in weight with a mid-size Class C.

Having recently gone from an F350 to an F450, the stability is incredibly different, and peace of mind knowing I'm not working everything to it's ragged edge is well worth the money for an F450.

X2 on this subject. I even found that with a F450 or 4500 you may still exceed your GVWR even if you are within your RAWR. That was the reason for me to go with the 5500. A side benefit to this is that I am running a completely stock suspension setup while carrying one of the heaviest campers and still towing a big trailer.

[TxGearhead]

I assume a 2 door "single cab" truck would be factory rated for a higher payload than a crewcab. It's your call on the advantages of a crewcab vs. a regular cab.
Go looking on dealer lots and compare the yellow sticker payload capacity of a crewcab vs. regular cab.
I myself would consider a 450 over a 350 for these big campers. Unfortunately the only choice is a Ford F450. It is quite expensive if tricked out with a lot of options. Ram does offer 4500 and 5500 in chassis cab configurations.

[SidecarFlip]

AllenTC2 wrote:
Hmmmm.....I see what you mean. I have been thinking that if my retirement happens in (hopefully) six years, I would go ahead and get the truck in a couple of years, then the camper in the months prior to retirement.

So I'm truck window shopping. LOL Thanks for the input!

Oh, another related question.....how liveable is the camper off the truck? I've seen a few videos which make it look like sliding the camper out is a fairly painless process, and that once off, you can lower it on the jacks and still occupy it without it being on the truck??

Some you can (builder says it's ok), some you cannot (builder recommends against it). Lance says ok, I know that. You don't slide it out anyway, you lift it via the jacks until it clears the bed and drive out from under it and then lower it down. Putting the whole family inside with the unit resting on the jacks is placing an inordinate amount of load / stress on the jacks and supporting framing, even when lowered down. Lance says it's ok but I always put support under my Lance when I used it off the truck.

Liveable? Yes, convenient, not really. TC, by their very nature are an exercise in compact living even with slides. Sort of a real portable tiny house.....

[AllenTC2]

Hmmmm.....I see what you mean. I have been thinking that if my retirement happens in (hopefully) six years, I would go ahead and get the truck in a couple of years, then the camper in the months prior to retirement.

So I'm truck window shopping. LOL Thanks for the input!

Oh, another related question.....how liveable is the camper off the truck? I've seen a few videos which make it look like sliding the camper out is a fairly painless process, and that once off, you can lower it on the jacks and still occupy it without it being on the truck??

[Boatycall]

AllenTC2 wrote:
Oh, that is good info Boaty! So with the bigger camper, the F350 had issues? Or just when towing the trailer in addition to the camper?

Well, you're looking at the heaviest possible campers on the market. 17" tires, regardless of the truck make/brand, can do it, but won't like it. Likewise, a standard Dana80 or equivalent rear end will be at it's utmost maximum capacity, lowering it's lifespan. Plus, there's all the suspension mods you'll have to do.

Can you do it with an F350/3500 class truck if you don't have a trailer? IMHO, sure. But keep in mind, Class C RV's that use F350 chassis's only on the smallest of Class C's. F450/550s are the norm. You'll have a 7,000lb plus load with one of those triple slides, all total, right up there in weight with a mid-size Class C.

Having recently gone from an F350 to an F450, the stability is incredibly different, and peace of mind knowing I'm not working everything to it's ragged edge is well worth the money for an F450.

[SidecarFlip]

jimh425 wrote:
Besides looking strange (to me), the other issue of having less than a Crew Cab is that your antenna may not clear the overhang.

Otherwise, I think there is advantage of having the front of the camper being closer to the front axle. Most TCs put essentially zero weight on the front axle. This is especially true for some really long TCs like 11 1/2 ones.

I have found that having a Crew Cab is a lot of extra storage even compared to a Super Cab.

I would never go back to even a cab and a half. A 4 door crew cab has so much better storage and I keep the heavy stuff like tools and my Dometic compressor cooler in the back seat. Besides, if you wife gets irate, you can put her back there...lol

[AllenTC2]

Oh, that is good info Boaty! So with the bigger camper, the F350 had issues? Or just when towing the trailer in addition to the camper?

[Boatycall]

KD4UPL wrote:
For one that size don't dare go less than a dually. You might even look at a F450 or a Ram 4500 with a flatbed.

I'm going to copy/paste a comment I posted just a week ago about a very similar topic. I have the Eagle Cap 1160, a slight step down from the two you're looking at. Long story short---they're heavy.

From my previous post---
I have an 1160. If you don't plan on hauling a trailer, you'll be at the ragged edge of a 1-ton drw, but ok. I had an F350 drw and had to move up to an F450 because I also haul a somewhat heavy trailer. I had too many weight-related issues with my F350, which you will also have with your dodge if you also haul a trailer. 17" tires don't like it. I had issues with all 4 rears--delam, sidewall bubbling, and even a cracked rim. But this was with a trailer as well as the TC. My F450 has 19.5 tires, and I've not had a single issue to date with weight. If you don't plan on hauling a trailer, I would say a 1-ton drw is ok. Not great, but ok.

[jimh406]

Besides looking strange (to me), the other issue of having less than a Crew Cab is that your antenna may not clear the overhang.

Otherwise, I think there is advantage of having the front of the camper being closer to the front axle. Most TCs put essentially zero weight on the front axle. This is especially true for some really long TCs like 11 1/2 ones.

I have found that having a Crew Cab is a lot of extra storage even compared to a Super Cab.

[KD4UPL]

Cab size is mostly irrelevant. I carried a camper on a 3500 reg cab for a couple years. The cab-over did stick out a bit far but it didn't look bad and it handled fine. I was able to fully open the hood with no problems.
The lighter your truck the better because truck campers are really heavy. For one that size don't dare go less than a dually. You might even look at a F450 or a Ram 4500 with a flatbed.
The only possible disadvantage to a reg. cab truck is getting the camper closer to the front axle and overloading it. This is unlikely unless you have a 4wd, diesel, with a huge aftermarket front bumper with a winch, etc.

[SidecarFlip]

Just be careful when you open the hood.... Your camper and the hood might become close friends.