TC newbie, can I get some input please?

[languiduck]

A couple weeks ago we finally brought our new TC home. We used to own an older TT several years ago and didn't like it too much. Mainly because I like to take my Jeep with me for trail riding, etc.
Since then we've spent some time getting used to it, stocking it with supplies, doing a couple short drives and reading tons of threads here which have been very helpful. I already had Roadmaster helper springs on it, but we added a rear Hellwig Big Wig because the body roll was a bit scary.



My main question here is that the COG sticker on the TC is behind the rear axle of my truck. This camper is designed for a short box truck. There's no way I can move it forward any more, because it will hit my tail lights. I have to shim it off the bed with a 2x4. To gain clearance at the cabover, I had to screw 2x6s stacked on top of each other to shim it off the bed 3". I get they have to make a camper one size fits all and this is designed to also probably fit a 1/2 ton truck (which would overload it so that doesn't make any sense to me), and on a 1/2 ton truck the COG would possibly be forward more than it sits on my truck. Any thoughts on this?
The water tank is at the front of the TC so if I filled it that might change things. I'm loading most of the stuff at the front of the camper the best I can. It seems to drive ok, doesn't seem lighter on the front axle. When I set it down, both ends of the truck drop, albeit the rear drops a whole bunch more. I'm thinking since it's a 3/4 ton truck I can get away with it? OR did I just waste several years of saving up?

[Reddog1]

languiduck wrote:
... I will give some airbags a reconsider among other things like flat towing. For now I will take it out at least once before trying to make the correct decision as all I've done is driveway camping so far.

A really true match, a bunch or arm chair experts giving camper advice to a driveway camper. :B

I think you have the right idea. When you actually use your setup, you will be in a better position to accept or reject the many suggestions we have given you. Determine what it is you do not like about the road manors of your truck, and fix that. You may decide it is fine as it is. Each of us have different expectations.

languiduck wrote:
Just to be clear, I'm not obsessing over that little arrow on the red sticker, but I am concerned about it. It isn't but about an inch or 1.5" back from the axle centerline.

I would not be concerned at all. It has a good chance of being incorrect as is most weight decals TC manufactures put on the TCs. My bet is headlights in the tree tops will be the only issue. If you do not mind blinding others, then that will be no issue. As I previously posted, there was never a little arrow on a red sticker on my Bigfoot 11.5 foot TC. :E Should I be concerned? I am not.

[sleepy]

Of course you aren't going to do any of the extreme things...

my last line will be what you do!

I said:


Everything you do to make this truck and this camper work together will be a compromise in my opinion

Good luck

sleepy

[languiduck]

Carb Cleaner wrote:

languiduck wrote:

Unfortunately, I have to set it back or the tail lights will be crushed. I have about 1" clearance there right now.

An inch? Good gravy! You might as well use a 6x6 for padding. I'm thankful that my sewer connection is a 1/4" away from my taillights with a piece of 3/8" plywood between the truck's bed and the camper's rubber bumpers. It's been like that for at least 5,000 miles. Nothing's broken and I can still attach my sewer hose. An inch of space would be luxury. I would think you could gain a half inch, easy.

HAHAHA, that made me chuckle. Still learning, so thanks for that info. Going down the road, I'm worried about the 3" clearance on the cabover and the 1" clearance at the tail lights. I guess I could stand to tighten things up a big then? I can replace the front 2x4s with some 3/4" plywood and see if that helps.

Just to be clear, I'm not obsessing over that little arrow on the red sticker, but I am concerned about it. It isn't but about an inch or 1.5" back from the axle centerline.

[languiduck]

sleepy wrote:

Bedlam wrote:

sleepy wrote:
Have you considered another truck... the best possible answer

Looking at the picture again... the camper doesn't really fit horzontally in the bed, above the cab, or front to back

The truck was built to be pretty.

If I insisted in keeping the truck I would be looking at shortening the bed... some of the custom body shops could easily do it.

Or add more water or something forward... maybe a cargo carrier on a front hitch

I'm not sure there is a worthwhile fix... no shortbed TC will fit any better.

We feel your pain... who'd a thunk it?

Sleepy

I'm going to have to call your post inflammatory with intentions of malice. I just don't why.

There are plenty of campers that fit just fine on the Ford short beds. What the OP did to fit his smaller TC on the truck is accepted practice and many threads on RV.net show the same resolutions to these problems.

If you do not have anything constructive to add to the thread that will help the the OP, step away from the thread or completely from the computer.

I'm sorry you feel that way...

I am attemping to address the problem... and I had hoped that everyone would. I was apparently wrong about that... seems red flags fly above some of our forum members
you said...

I'm going to have to call your post inflammatory with intentions of malice. I just don't why.

You can't think of a reason but still want to complain, muddy the water as usual, This is not a novel idea from you, I expect it on every thread.

To the OP

I stick by my commets in the previous post. I had just learned that the truck was slightly different than other short bed trucks... maybe a higher cab... longer bed, what ever.

Everything you do to make this truck and this camper work together will be a compromise in my opinion.

Sleepy

I do appreciate the input but suggesting I buy a new truck, shorten the bed, or anything like that is silly. I do not intend to do any of those things as that isn't a practical or penny wise solution.

I will give some airbags a reconsider among other things like flat towing. For now I will take it out at least once before trying to make the correct decision as all I've done is driveway camping so far.

[sleepy]

I'd like to add a thought to any readers that will be considering Reddog1's excellant explaination on reasons for using Airbags.

At the risk of inflaming a few readers that tend to add everything they can to their trucks including thos little spinner knobs on the steering wheel....

I want to save you a couple of hundred dollers!

If you are going to install the Airbags.... Do not install the Airbag dash controls, air compressor, etc.... unnecessary expenses.

Buy a good bicycle pump... $35, it will pump your airbag to 100 psi with less than 20 strokes of the pump... And this will allow you to tell your heart doctor that you are getting a good cardio workout.

I probably use my bicycle pump less than 3 times per year on average... I only take the TC off the truck for servicing, oil changes, tire rotation, etc. (and with our Dahon bikes)

I tend to use a higher pressure, 80 psi or more... the airbags tend to keep the TC from rocking on the springs when camping... I never put the jacks down to stabalize the camper.

Sleepy (going back to bed now)

[anutami]

Carb Cleaner wrote:

languiduck wrote:

Unfortunately, I have to set it back or the tail lights will be crushed. I have about 1" clearance there right now.

An inch? Good gravy! You might as well use a 6x6 for padding. I'm thankful that my sewer connection is a 1/4" away from my taillights with a piece of 3/8" plywood between the truck's bed and the camper's rubber bumpers. It's been like that for at least 5,000 miles. Nothing's broken and I can still attach my sewer hose. An inch of space would be luxury. I would think you could gain a half inch, easy.

Carb Cleaner, just make sure there is not a 1/8" gap between your sewer connection penetration and side wall (caulking issue) where water can spray in and flood your basement. Unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way.

[Carb_Cleaner]

languiduck wrote:

Unfortunately, I have to set it back or the tail lights will be crushed. I have about 1" clearance there right now.

An inch? Good gravy! You might as well use a 6x6 for padding. I'm thankful that my sewer connection is a 1/4" away from my taillights with a piece of 3/8" plywood between the truck's bed and the camper's rubber bumpers. It's been like that for at least 5,000 miles. Nothing's broken and I can still attach my sewer hose. An inch of space would be luxury. I would think you could gain a half inch, easy.

[wcjeep]

Travel with full fresh water and empty gray and black.

[Reddog1]

languiduck wrote:

Reddog1 wrote:
I seriously considered a tow dolly, but after much research I have pretty much decided against them. I don't see the braking to be an improvement over the tow bar braking systems. I am considering the Ready Brake system. I have been flat towing my Samurai since 2004, without a tow brake.

Wayne

I've done it both ways, I didn't like how the tow bar felt compared to the dolly. But looking at the Ready Brake system I might reconsider. What kind of tow bar are you using if I might ask? I have just a basic $100 adjustable tow bar. Think that would be compatible with the Ready Brake?

I bought my tow bar off Craigs list in about 2003, for $150. About three years ago, I found one at a Flea Market (for a friend) for $50. Neither had the Tow Brackets. I fabricated the Tow Bar to bumper Tow mounting. I used the Hitch Reciever concept for attaching the Tow Bar to my Samurai front bumper. This is the Tow Bar I have; Roadmaster Stowmaster Tow Bar, but mine has the 2-inch ball and not the pintel.

Although I only have 30-inch tires on my Samurai, I do have a spring over with YJ Springs, which gives me about a 6-1/2-inch lift.The stock tires are 26", so as you can see I am at least 8-1/2-inches taller than stock. I have towed my Samurai up to 80 MPH with no issues. I will say, the Tow-in on a Samurai is very important on a Samurai to have good road manors.

I entertained the tow dolly to allow mishaps on the trail that would not allow me to flat tow my Zuk home. I do take spare parts, all four axles included, and one leaf spring. Depending on how far I am fgoing, I even have a spare third member. What I discovered, is that to tow my Zuk with the rear axle on the dolly, created issues with the front axle, and it effects the towing in a very negative way. Bottom line was to simply flat tow, and take those parts that would prevent me from towing was my best option. The parts I take depend on how far I am towing.

Keep an open mind when looking for solutions to problems. There are usually many ways to solve a problem, and sometimes we fail simply because we did not fully understand what we were doing.

Wayne

[Reddog1]

I respect your preference not to use air bags. The fact is, any other method I am aware of to raise the rear, must squat to take up the slack.

I am not aware of any fixed spring, overloads, etc. that can be adjusted after the load is put on the truck. If you have overload stops set one inch above the springs, the truck must squat one inch to touch the overloads, then squat even more till they carry the load.

The air bags can be inflated to raise the load, after the load is placed in the truck. That is a simple fact. As I previously stated, air bags must be installed correctly, and must be used correctly. My suggestion is to keep an open mind.

I will respond to the tow-bar question on a different post.

Wayne

[Reddog1]

The OP has stated, when the TC is loaded on the truck, the front and rear of the truck squats. Where is the argument as to where the COG is? If it were in the center of the rear axle, the front of the truck would raise a little. If the COG was behind the rear axle, the front of the truck would raise even higher. What am I missing here? Perhaps, I am putting too much into my teeter-totter experience.

Wayne

[sleepy]

Bedlam wrote:

sleepy wrote:
Have you considered another truck... the best possible answer

Looking at the picture again... the camper doesn't really fit horzontally in the bed, above the cab, or front to back

The truck was built to be pretty.

If I insisted in keeping the truck I would be looking at shortening the bed... some of the custom body shops could easily do it.

Or add more water or something forward... maybe a cargo carrier on a front hitch

I'm not sure there is a worthwhile fix... no shortbed TC will fit any better.

We feel your pain... who'd a thunk it?

Sleepy

I'm going to have to call your post inflammatory with intentions of malice. I just don't why.

There are plenty of campers that fit just fine on the Ford short beds. What the OP did to fit his smaller TC on the truck is accepted practice and many threads on RV.net show the same resolutions to these problems.

If you do not have anything constructive to add to the thread that will help the the OP, step away from the thread or completely from the computer.

I'm sorry you feel that way...

I am attemping to address the problem... and I had hoped that everyone would. I was apparently wrong about that... seems red flags fly above some of our forum members
you said...

I'm going to have to call your post inflammatory with intentions of malice. I just don't why.

You can't think of a reason but still want to complain, muddy the water as usual, This is not a novel idea from you, I expect it on every thread.

To the OP

I stick by my commets in the previous post. I had just learned that the truck was slightly different than other short bed trucks... maybe a higher cab... longer bed, what ever.

Everything you do to make this truck and this camper work together will be a compromise in my opinion.

Sleepy

[Bedlam]

sleepy wrote:
Have you considered another truck... the best possible answer

Looking at the picture again... the camper doesn't really fit horzontally in the bed, above the cab, or front to back

The truck was built to be pretty.

If I insisted in keeping the truck I would be looking at shortening the bed... some of the custom body shops could easily do it.

Or add more water or something forward... maybe a cargo carrier on a front hitch

I'm not sure there is a worthwhile fix... no shortbed TC will fit any better.

We feel your pain... who'd a thunk it?

Sleepy

I'm going to have to call your post inflammatory with intentions of malice. I just don't why.

There are plenty of campers that fit just fine on the Ford short beds. What the OP did to fit his smaller TC on the truck is accepted practice and many threads on RV.net show the same resolutions to these problems.

If you do not have anything constructive to add to the thread that will help the the OP, step away from the thread or completely from the computer.

[okan-star]

I didn't catch what year your truck is .I can see its a f250, I guess the way ford does it if its certified for a truck camper the cog info is in the glove box, but this may make you feel better , its a 2008 f250 short box on Adventuer`s web site , the white box shows the trucks acceptable camper COG area , of course the further forward the better, and you do need to raise the rear of your truck, I`m with you I don`t like air bags I prefer steel , I put cab and chasse leafs on my truck

[sleepy]

Have you considered another truck... the best possible answer

Looking at the picture again... the camper doesn't really fit horzontally in the bed, above the cab, or front to back

The truck was built to be pretty.

If I insisted in keeping the truck I would be looking at shortening the bed... some of the custom body shops could easily do it.

Or add more water or something forward... maybe a cargo carrier on a front hitch

I'm not sure there is a worthwhile fix... no shortbed TC will fit any better.

We feel your pain... who'd a thunk it?

Sleepy