Pulling a boat with truck camper

[glc52]

I just bought a 2006 Dodge Ram 3500 diesel megacab. My wife & I were thinking we wanted to buy a nice camper trailer and that's why we got a big diesel truck. However, I also just bought a 17' smoker craft fishing boat and created an unanticipated dilemma. I thought I would just use the boat for local fishing trips and that we would still want a big comfortable camper for longer sightseeing and vacation trips. Now my wife is thinking she may want to get a truck camper, so we can camp and fish some of the reservoirs in the region. I have owned a small 16' camper trailer, she doesn't have any RVing experience, so we are still rookies. 1) can a person get a truck camper or camping trailer that can safely pull a boat that's approximately 2,000 lbs.
2) should we invest in a nice truck camper when we might not like the cramped quarters compared to a bigger camper trailer? Any advice whatsoever would be greatly appreciated! Rearing to Go 🙂

[_DJ_1]

Another vote for Super Hitch. Handles all my toys and combos.

[Artum_Snowbird]

When I bought my Double Eagle 16.5 I ordered it with a trailer that was designed for a 16-18 foot boat, and also the trailer was ordered with a swing-a-way hitch. The front three feet of the trailer tongue can be swung back to allow parking in a shorter space.

The tongue becomes a little longer, and I do not need any kind of hitch extension to run the boat behind my 9'6 camper as it is now.

I like the fact that the actual swing point is still up tight with just a normal ball hitch into the receiver.

Mike

[Redsky]

DRW or SRW with 19.5 rims and tires will provide the load capacity for a 3k lbs. boat and 4450 camper. You have roughly 350 + 4450 + 3000 (for the truck) for 7800 lbs. and the 19.5 wheels will each support 4400 for a total load capacity of 8800 lbs., and provide a 1000 lb margin.

The hitch strength needed depends on the weight of the boat and the length of the extension. A 48" extension is going to put 4x as much torque on the receiver as will a 12" extension. A 6000 lb. boat is going to apply double the force of a 3000 lb. boat. For a 3,000 lb. boat and trailer load and a 18" extension the Superhitch is overkill.

My factory hitch is rated for a tongue weight of up to 1500 lbs. and a tow load of up to 13,000 lbs. and a 3,000 lb. boat is well within its capabilities even with a modest extension.

[campn4walleye]

See our signature. Our boat weighs about 3k lbs and our TC weighs about 4450 wet. With this much weight a dually is needed. You didn't say if you had a DRW or SRW. Loads of folks tow a boat with their truck/TC. That's exactly why we went with a TC. We use the TC off the truck 90% of the time. When researching TCs, if that's your intent, make sure the TC is made for that purpose.

The Torklift hitch is a top notch product for the money and peace of mind.

[805gregg]

Or buy a Porta Bote and hang in on the pass side jacks, and have a boat with you always

[macdale4]

I had a 11' Lance and pulled a 25 1/2ft boat with no problems. I used the torklift hitch with a 42" super truss. I did have to pump up the air bags some.

[vanderjw]

Guys, The solution here IS the Superhitch with an extension. You can pull a lot of weight with any hitch, but when somthing bad happens someome gets sued. Put on a Superhitch and forget about it, NO worries. I do have a superhitch and I am a cheerleader. I pull my 28 ft boat with my TC on the back and it works great.

[Tarkin75]

I have an 8' Pastime camper on my F150, and pull a ~2700 lb boat and trailer combination using a simple 12" extension. The fancy extensions would be nicer as the boat might be back even farther from the camper overhang since I just have a 6.5' bed, but it works well for me so far.

Later
C

[eagle777]

started out with six pac and pulling a bass boat with the OEM hitch was no problem but when I upgraded to a adventure 86 I also upgraded to the torklift super hitch with a 38 in extension. I would recommend the super hitch upgrade as wouldn't trust the oem hitch with an extension, pricey yes, but worth it as that hitch and extension are built to take the load.

[Jeepers92]

Check your speciations on the mega-cab. I have a Dodge DRW long bed. I pull a small 15' bass boat and a 24' pontoon dual axel. Factory hitch with no problems. I use a 15" extension with the small boat, none with the pontoon.

[rytech1]

Mote wrote:

rytech1 wrote:
I have a 2006 long bed mega cab and pull a 2004 Mastercraft X10 many times a year during summer. I used the Torklift super hitch and 2ft extension. Works like a charm. Boat is about 6000lbs. Camper is 4000lbs.

Nice setup rytech1. What kind of wheels and tires do you have on the truck? Have anymore pics of the truck/camper?

thanks for the compliment! and Ill post some more soon, I actually have a different camper now too.

[rytech1]

KD4UPL wrote:
Rytech, who built your long bed mega cab? Did you stretch it yourself or one of the shops? I've considered having one built as I'd love that combination. I don't know why Dodge won't offer it from the factory.

I had a shop named Precision body line (longbedmytruck). those guys did a great job overall. It has been quite nice to have the extra cab space while camping.

[rytech1]

Mote wrote:

rytech1 wrote:
I have a 2006 long bed mega cab and pull a 2004 Mastercraft X10 many times a year during summer. I used the Torklift super hitch and 2ft extension. Works like a charm. Boat is about 6000lbs. Camper is 4000lbs.

Nice setup rytech1. What kind of wheels and tires do you have on the truck? Have anymore pics of the truck/camper?

These are Rickson 19.5 wheels, been working perfect.

[WVbassmistress]

JumboJet wrote:

WVbassmistress wrote:
Go to some dealers and just spend time in it with your wife. Get in the bed together! Pretend like you are cooking.

Be careful though and do not bump your head while you are in bed cooking. There is a trick to prevent that from happening. Or did I read that wrong? 🙂

LOL...this is why is is dangerous to post when you are supposed to be working!

Jumbo...why do you think I am looking at a hard side with more clearance up there! Please...PM me the trick. I am not as flexible as I once was.