Palomino Maverick M-800 on 2018 GMC 3500 STD BOX 4x4

[ssthrd]

I'm looking at the slide in camper above which is 108" in the bed of my 80" box. The advertised dry weight is 1675lbs, so probably 2500lbs or so on the road. I figure that with my wife and my dog plus whatever else we may have inside the truck will be maybe another 500lbs, so total weight probably in the 3,000lb area. The payload sticker on the door is 3470lbs, so I should be good to go for total weight.

My question:
I understand that standard practice for manufacturers is to mark the center of gravity at the longitudinal center of the portion of the camper in the truck bed (108"/2=54") Since the center of my box is 80"/2=40', that puts the camper CG 14" behind the axle. The manufacturers method for finding CG seems flawed since they ignore the 6' of sleeper which is over the truck cab.

Has anyone put a similar sized camper in a short box truck and had any wonky experiences with it?

I'm on the fence about it but the price is definitely right.

[Joe417]

We had an 2003 which, from what I remember, is about the same as current years. Carried it on a Chevy gas 2500HD. The truck didn't know it was back there. We didn't put on a sway bar and air bags to control sway until the next TC. Quality was as good as any in the price range.

Be aware they had a small black tank. Not sure what the new one's have.

I really liked it but the wife didn't like the 5cu ft fridge and the distance from the floor to the bed. Short "old" people are cry babies! She was always saying she was going to fall out of the bed and break her hip.

Sold it and got one with a basement, now she's happy. Of course it weighs about twice as much.

I visited the factory where they were made in Michigan just north of Shipshewana, IN. Nothing ground breaking but it always nice to know what goes into their production.

[Grit_dog]

Can’t comment on the camper specifically but it’s a good fit for your 250.
Unless you have a camper package 250, that gen of 250 is soft in the rear. I’ve had a couple of them.
Bags or springs will be needed for sure. And a large rear sway bar will be preferable. If you have an OE sway bar try it first. If you have none and have the budget just get a big sway bar. You’ll want it. No questions.
Sounds like fun.

[hannan11]

We're considering a Maverick TC. Specifically, the 8801. Our truck is a 2013 F250 extended cab long bed, gas, 4.30 gears, factory hitch with the Camper Package. We'll be towing a single axle, enclosed 6x12 utility trailer with a couple bikes weighing about 3,000 pounds. 350 or so tongue weight. Presently, the truck is rated and registered at 10k pounds. The Slide-In Camper Certificate that came with the truck says I have 2,125 pounds available ("Cargo Weight Rating"). I expect air bags are recommended. The 8801 extends past the back of the truck a little, having a 9 foot floor and is spec'd at about 2,400 pounds before options, I assume.
How's the build quality of the Palomono units? I haven't looked at one in the flesh, but they look OK on-line and I like the idea of aluminum construction

[ervinjason]

ssthrd wrote:
I'm looking at the slide in camper above which is 108" in the bed of my 80" box. The advertised dry weight is 1675lbs, so probably 2500lbs or so on the road. I figure that with my wife and my dog plus whatever else we may have inside the truck will be maybe another 500lbs, so total weight probably in the 3,000lb area. The payload sticker on the door is 3470lbs, so I should be good to go for total weight.

My question:
I understand that standard practice for manufacturers is to mark the center of gravity at the longitudinal center of the portion of the camper in the truck bed (108"/2=54") Since the center of my box is 80"/2=40', that puts the camper CG 14" behind the axle. The manufacturers method for finding CG seems flawed since they ignore the 6' of sleeper which is over the truck cab.

Has anyone put a similar sized camper in a short box truck and had any wonky experiences with it?

I'm on the fence about it but the price is definitely right.

COG is not simply the length in the bed and beyond halved. Your understanding is incorrect. I would suggest you to contact the manufacturer.

[ssthrd]

mkirsch wrote:

PastorCharlie wrote:
To find the center of gravity unload the camper onto a good level surface, preferably on concrete, and lower it onto a piece of pipe across the suspected center of gravity. If it balances that is it, if not move the pipe to the lower end until it is balanced. Mark the location.

Not worth the effort. COG simply is not that important. If you stop and actually READ your owner's manual you will see that the COG range in your truck bed is from the front to the back. The picture shows a narrow range, but the numbers are 0" and 78" for a 6-1/2' bed, 0" and 96" for an 8' bed.

This means the COG of the camper can be literally ANYWHERE in the bed according to the manufacturer.

You can have a 5000lb camper with the COG 12" behind the axle, and it will have the same effect as 500lbs on the trailer ball. So again, COG is not all that important.

It's all good.

A bit of movement in a side wind but almost negligible. No porpoising at all, so good to go! Rear sagged an inch, front came up maybe ¼".

Scale was closed, so no weight, but no need. Drives great.

[Grit_dog]

PastorCharlie wrote:
To find the center of gravity unload the camper onto a good level surface, preferably on concrete, and lower it onto a piece of pipe across the suspected center of gravity. If it balances that is it, if not move the pipe to the lower end until it is balanced. Mark the location.

Is this just something you thought was a good idea, or have you done it in the past?
What you said works on a chalk board in physics class, but I can think of a half dozen reasons why, just off the top of my head that this is either not practical, not possible or not even remotely necessary.
And, if it’s that interesting, loading it up and running each truck axle onto a scale empty and loaded will get you the same info with a little more math and a lot less effort and potential damage.
It’s not like you’re gonna do this in the sellers driveway before buying the camper.

[mkirsch]

PastorCharlie wrote:
To find the center of gravity unload the camper onto a good level surface, preferably on concrete, and lower it onto a piece of pipe across the suspected center of gravity. If it balances that is it, if not move the pipe to the lower end until it is balanced. Mark the location.

Not worth the effort. COG simply is not that important. If you stop and actually READ your owner's manual you will see that the COG range in your truck bed is from the front to the back. The picture shows a narrow range, but the numbers are 0" and 78" for a 6-1/2' bed, 0" and 96" for an 8' bed.

This means the COG of the camper can be literally ANYWHERE in the bed according to the manufacturer.

You can have a 5000lb camper with the COG 12" behind the axle, and it will have the same effect as 500lbs on the trailer ball. So again, COG is not all that important.

[PastorCharlie]

To find the center of gravity unload the camper onto a good level surface, preferably on concrete, and lower it onto a piece of pipe across the suspected center of gravity. If it balances that is it, if not move the pipe to the lower end until it is balanced. Mark the location.

[ssthrd]

Yes they did. Looks easy, but maybe I was down on my luck that day. 🙂

Pulling the bolt from hole to hole was easy, but to get it to stand up to get it lined up for the second hole was the hard part. Once I got it to 45* with a jewelers screw driver and needle nose pliers, it fell in. A lesson in patience.

[mkirsch]

They didn't give you one of those springy fishing tools with the kit?

It's a stiff wire that's straight for a distance and wound into a spring on one end. The bolt threads into the spring. You fish the fish through the frame and out the desired hole, then pull the bolt through. Lots easier than randomly poking at it with a long screwdriver.

[Grit_dog]

Sounds like your aboot set!
Regarding aluminum vs wood weight. It “may” be a bit lighter but can say, on a totally different camper, I had 2 of the same models. 1 Al frame, 1 wood frame and could not tell any difference in weight. On the upside, I had the Al one first and thought that was what I “wanted”. Then bought the older one after selling the first one in Alaska before returning to the L48 and the older wood one went through just as tough of conditions and showed no signs of fatigue or other issues.
Although admittedly, I didn’t care about weight and haven’t ever run any of my rigs across a scale except at the garbage dump.

[ssthrd]

mkirsch wrote:
Gotta love not having to drill the frame for the tiedowns. That's worth $500CDN in and of itself.

For sure. Just a bit frustrating while lying on my back on the ground and trying to fish a half inch bolt with a couple of washers from one hole to another inside the frame and get it to standup enough to drop thru a 9/16 hole when you get it there.

Getting it thru the hole was an exercise involving a bit of colourful language and a beer break to clear the mind, but in the end, it's all good.

A cut-off saw came to mind once, but a cooler head (not mine) prevailed. 🙂

The fronts were a pain, but the rears were a piece of cake.

[mkirsch]

Gotta love not having to drill the frame for the tiedowns. That's worth $500CDN in and of itself.

[ssthrd]

Pick it up on Monday. Can't wait!

I will run it with the tailgate down, and it should work great. It does seem to be on the light side for that size, but the aluminum frame probably makes a difference. There is a truck scale on the way, so I'll duck in and see what it is just for fun. I'm not worried about it.

Tie down tech sure has come a long way since the last camper we had. Cost me almost $1000 CDN for frame mounts and turnbuckles. Yikes!