Researching for a buddy

Having "paid my dues" going the route of finding & buying a camper to fit my 1/2 ton Chevy 2WD long bed ... (summary here)

2x to anyone who recommends find the camper first - then ... fit the truck ... just saying

Anything is possible... I don't believe there are NO options for your buddy, but he's definitely, no matter what, going to have to make some compromises.

Panther campers, I have no experience with, does make some really light weight campers, but they are pretty minimalistic as well. Though, for a new camper, the prices don't look too bad either. They're in Wa, but maybe something similar is closer to you.

http://panthercampers.com/cascade.html

I would suggest if he has to go the used route, he's going to have to look at some older compact truck oriented campers. As someone else noted a 5.5' short bed crew cab has the least payload in the 1/2 ton range, but I really don't think it's impossible.

Just make sure he's realistic about what he wants and needs. If he wants to "tow" with it, then he just needs to make sure he's within his "payload" or near to those ratings. When you're towing, you can take a lot of other******with you no problems.

I have an 05 F150 Scab 4wd with a 1400lb payload rating, and I exceed that rating, and GVWR, but I am still within axle ratings with my hard 8' hard sided camper. I just make sure when I tow my boat, all the extra stuff get's put back there.

Later
C

Adventurer is reporting the base weight of the Adventurer 80RB to be 1,720 pounds with no options.

That right there kills it for your typical super-short bed pickup truck. Super-short, crew-cab F150's are the HEAVIEST of the breed. They have the LEAST payload capacity, in a class where the payload capacity averages 1500lbs.

You're going to be so far overweight once you get options, water, equipment, and passengers on board, it will be uncomfortable to operate. You'll spend thousands on new rims, tires, suspension helpers, sway bars, and it will never feel quite right.

Victory402 wrote:
Does his F150 have the tow package? A good transmission cooler can be a big plus.

I have no idea how his truck is configured. Basically he was downtrodden because he didn't think they made a camper for such a small bed so I'm just trying to show him that there are options.

Does his F150 have the tow package? A good transmission cooler can be a big plus.

Adventurer just came out with a new model that fits 5.5' boxes, probably have to watch the weight pretty close though. Towing depends a lot on what he plans to tow as the tongue weight subtracts from the carrying capacity.

http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/news/tcm-exclusive-2014-adventurer-80rb

I guess the first thing to find out is what your friend is visualizing. If he is thinking of a really basic, very compact pop-up, for use hunting and four-wheeling in the back woods then there are models that weigh very little and will sit happily on a short bed F150. If he is thinking about something larger and more luxurious then he should be starting with a different truck.

Payload weight might not be his biggest problem if it is the HD version of the F150 ecoboost - in the right specification I believe that can have a payload approaching a 3/4 ton truck - but he would need to check. The length of the load bed is the real problem, and apart from those tiny ultra-light campers I mentioned he will find very little that fits. I might be the only person on this forum with a 5'9" load bed. My Shadow Cruiser sticks out over a foot at the back, and it is a really short camper (no bathroom). My camper is over 20 years old and is not much over 7' long at the bed, but when I look at literature for modern campers they all seem a lot longer (8' plus).

Steve.

While there are people on here who will tell you that "Their" f-150 will haul over 3,000 pounds, take that with some skepticism. A few HD models are rated that high, but I bet your buddy's is not of them. The fact that he has ecoboost has nothing to with payload which has everything to do with truck campers. Even if the salesman says, "okay for a half ton", check out the actual weights yourself.

He's mentioned the livinlite brand. Unfortunately, I don't think new is in his price range but I don't know since used ones are rare as hen's teeth around here.


Jefe, my screenname was my dog's name. He was my best buddy for 12 yrs. I'm not real creative so I just went with it for me as well. :D

Check out the LivinLite brands. They make them in all sizes.