Query on Camplite total height mounted

The quick post disappeared, probably hit wrong button. If anyone in Tucson would like to show me their rig and start my in-person education please send PM with contact info. I'm in no hurry to do this, am one of those people who researches everything to death before taking action.

The TC shed's clearance at the bottom of the trusses is 15 feet. I added sway braces to clear my rig for the racking on such a narrow building. It's officially a pole barn. No floor. Some base crushed rock. No foundation. Originally built to avoid permits (you can build a shed if it's only 10x20 feet with no permits required, if no electric or plumbing) We fudged a little making it 24 feet long. (When i'm gone and jeanie sells, someone may have to chainsaw 4 feet off the end.)

Here are the stats on my 10,200 pound Dodge/Lance combo:
mpg/highway @ 63 mph: varies between 11.5 to 15.0, depending on grades and WIND resistance. With the wind, or NO wind on the flat:15 mpg. Peak torque in the Cummins is @ 1600 rpm, but the very best mpg can be squeaked out at 1850 rpm to 1900 rpm (63 mph). Compared to the 12valve version of the Cummins which gets the best mpg @1600 rpm, the Generation II gets the best as above. If you go slower the mileage increases more than a gas engine would. It's the nature of the beast. With only 245 HP, the Cummins comes into its own as a TC hauler with 505 pound feet of torque. But my '01.5 is old school now. The newer diesels, all products of "Diesel Warz" between the mfgrs, get up to 800 pound feet of tq.
more stats: rear diff: Dana 80, 35 spline, full floating, 3.55 gears in pig, Power Lok limited slip, 33x15.50 super singles on 12" wide wheels. Let's just call them Redneck Dualies. 3750 pound load rating on each tire, 7500 pound tire rating on the rear axle. I have not measured the load on the rr axle, loaded, but it's around 6000 lbs. Front axle around 4200 pounds.
I'm still in the dark about why you, who live in Tucson (we have a cousin that lives there) dry as it is, would worry about moldy wood. Most of the newer campers have an aluminum frame and only wood venier cabinets and such which don't grow mold very easily. If you have had a mold problem, you need to keep your roof vent cracked a little farther. If you are worried about long term living in it Bryan BK on here has the answer. He's a full timer and has met the mold woe full-on.
So, another thought is to buy a used truck for your prospective camper. If you don't need or use 4WD, by all means get a 2-bye. If you are not going to put many miles on it, forget a diesel and go for the biggest gas guzzler you can scrape up, hopefully a duallie. If in your shoes, that would be a V-10 for me. If you don't know much about pickups, find a buddie (there are several on this forum who live in Tucson) and drag him along to inspect said prospect. I have been the dragg-ee and dragg-er on occasion.
My Lance was 17XX pounds, dry and gets up to a max of about 2600 pounds as payload, depending on time of year and destination. We really are stingy on what we take. I have two sets of overload (secondary) springs, Stable Loads, an anti-sway bar, and Rancho 9K shocks that allow me to carry it with ease.
There is a wonderful fix for your dilemma out there. Grab it.
jefe

Thanks people. One more question to the person who said I might want to consider a bigger truck: the Camplite I'm going to get has a dry weight of 1800 pounds. The campers you guys are talking about, are they in this weight range or do they weigh more?

matilf wrote:
Just out of curiosity, what mpg do people get with the camper loaded up and travelling?

My 05 F150 4.6v8 Scab 4wd get's at BEST 14.8 completely unloaded 99% highway miles. On a Trip with about 80% Highway miles, the camper, plus my 2700lb boat being towed, I got about 12mpg. I got similar mileage in another drive over Snoqualmie and Blewitt Pass in Wa with the truck/camper/boat even more loaded up. Dropped to about 11mpg as I recall, so not a huge difference.

Later
C

What is the ceiling height in that? Nice looking structure.

jefe 4x4 wrote:
I built a TC garage last fall. To accomodate any size camper made it extra tall to clear.

Jefe, Wow, that's one fine looking garage you built for your TC combo. I'd love to have something like that.

jefe 4x4 wrote:
Knowing what I know now, i wouldn't buy an F-150 to haul an extended period live-in camper.

Take this advice seriously.

Thanks for the advice. It's a size/strength problem rather than a mobility problem. I'm limited to Camplite (which is why I'm asking about it specifically) because it's the only camper out there that does not have wood in it. I can't be around older wood because it will develop mold when it gets wet, and it's going to get wet. My current Camplite has been in some really violent weather, has leaked (no more, I fixed that) and did not mold.

I appreciate all the advice on engine size and other things I'll need to pay attention to; very nice of you to put that in your post.
Just out of curiosity, what mpg do people get with the camper loaded up and travelling?

I've also considered just renting a pickup at UHaul for the summer. Would cost something but less than buying one, and I don't need a truck of that size for any other reason.

matlif,
I know you only want to hear from people who have done what you are thinking about doing, but there are other factors in play here for your eventual set up satisfaction. If you are too aged or weak to work a trailer hookup situation, I would at least re-evaluate the viability of a TC for you. Yes, there is virtually no set up, but a TC has it's achilles' heel. It becomes less and less viable as you get older and less firm.
How do I know? Born 1943. My TC window is fast closing.
If staying the course, be sure to spend a lot of time going up and down the steps and the two big steps to the bed, on the exact TC you are looking at (and on a similar truck not on the showroom floor), over and over before you make your final decision. Also, go thru the motions on everything you would do, long term in and around a TC. It's like shopping for a mattress. You need some amount of time in the saddle to see how well you will adapt.
Other concerns: it is very difficult to light the water heater in a strong wind. Make sure you can reach, adjust, fill, and drain all the 'stuff' that makes a TC work. You will need leveling blocks. Apply two bubble levels on the drivers/rear of the TC to keep it level, especially for long term.
If it is just you staying in the TC, you don't need a lot of space to be comfortable. Even for two consenting adults, we like our little Lance Lite (1842 pounds, wet) as there is not much there there to worry about and has everything we need. It's 10' 2" tall from the ground on our 4WD truck (w/ 3"front lift, 10' before lift), 4" less tall than a full size TC, which has the highest bed level of the big three. It's 86" wide, the narrowest hardside around for a F.S. pickup. It's on a 6.5' short bed pickup, so maneuverability is great. The newest and much improved version of the 165-s is the Lance 465. If you are coming from a TT, there is a certain 'paradigm shift' that takes place either now or later. Now is advised. A TC is not a TT. The shift is:
"Always, always, always, get more truck than you think you will need".

Dozens and dozens (did I say dozens?) on here have gone the 'incremental' route and worked their way up to a much larger truck after a lot of trial-and-error. A Ford F-150 with the highest GVWR package IS in the ballpark when it comes to hauling an 1800 pound, dry TC, but you will want to upgrade the tires, suspension, shocks, and be sure it has a mongo, aftermarket transmission cooler. Even with the largest gas engine, it will be slow on the hills and mpg will be poor. Knowing what I know now, i wouldn't buy an F-150 to haul an extended period live-in camper. The high-powered V-6 you are talking about makes all its HP in the high revs, not a place you want to spend much time in, and very little of what you really need to haul a 10K pound rig around which is torque. The Ford V8 may be less HP, but will put out more TQ for hauling.
Jeanie and I have no qualms about our proposed trip around the U.S. mainland, counter clock wise next fall taking 4 months to circumnavigate the boundary states. (leave Sept. 1st and arrive back on the west slope about New Years day, 2015) We have learned to do the narrow-TC-ballet and have no claustrophobic tendencies. And, truth be told, we are used to it, warts and all.
The height of any TC is measured from the bottom of the box to the top of anything on the roof, usually the railing or fridge vent cover, or if you have an air conditioner, it becomes the clearance gage.
I built a TC garage last fall. To accomodate any size camper made it extra tall to clear.

Good luck, sir, on your quest.
regards, as always, jefe

I've read the website, thanks. What I don't know is where they are measuring height; is it from the ground, or is it from the bottom where it would sit on the bed of the truck, or what? That's why I was looking for info from a real person with a real Camplite on an F150. Thanks. I don't want to make my roof height one inch too low and have spent all that money and not be able to use it.