TC on F150

[mike326]

I'm wishing I had found this website sooner. Any thoughts on either a NorthStar Adventurer or a Lance 865 on a stock 2013 F150 Supercab w/ Ecoboost powerplant?

[RobertRyan]

~DJ~ wrote:
F150's are NOT just grocery getters of show ponies!!!

Still would be show ponies here. Just a question what is the weight on that small TT? about as big as a "Pop Top" here.

[_DJ_1]

Tarkin75 wrote:

Sparky87k5 wrote:

You're missing the point here, it's not the truck but the axles. 1/2 ton trucks still have the single bearing rear semi floating axles that are marginal on strength when compared to rear 2 bearing full floating axles. Compare their ratings if you like. You'll be very surprised.

No, I wasn't. I understood that point just fine... I still don't think it's a fair comparison. The 1/2 ton axles under 2000's era truck are not the same as a 1970's vintage regardless of full floating or not.

later
C

Agree with Tarkin. My 2010 F 150 weighed more empty than a 70's era 1/2 ton gross. Whole different animal even with semi floating axles. Just not the SAME semi floating axles. 🙂

The 70's era halfers only had a 3300# rear axle capacity vs 4600 today. That is why I maintain the designations of 1/2, 3/4 and 1T are obsolete.

[Tarkin75]

Sparky87k5 wrote:

You're missing the point here, it's not the truck but the axles. 1/2 ton trucks still have the single bearing rear semi floating axles that are marginal on strength when compared to rear 2 bearing full floating axles. Compare their ratings if you like. You'll be very surprised.

No, I wasn't. I understood that point just fine... I still don't think it's a fair comparison. The 1/2 ton axles under 2000's era truck are not the same as a 1970's vintage regardless of full floating or not.

later
C

[Sparky87k5]

Tarkin75 wrote:

Sparky87k5 wrote:
My first truck was an F150 '76 long box standard cab

With all due respect, i'm not sure comparing experiences in a 1976 era 1/2 ton with a 1/2'r built 30+ years later is a fair comparison.

3/4 tons of that era had payload ratings not much higher than the highest 1/2 ton ratings of today.

Later
C

You're missing the point here, it's not the truck but the axles. 1/2 ton trucks still have the single bearing rear semi floating axles that are marginal on strength when compared to rear 2 bearing full floating axles. Compare their ratings if you like. You'll be very surprised.

[Gaetan]

My 2c of idea, you have the truck so you have to get the camper. The truck can take.
My suggestion go to your truck dealer and have a look at the frame of the 150 vs the 250
And do the same with the beaks look at the sise of the shoe brakes take a look at the differential
Have a look at the suspension and then you will understand why!
My concerne is safety..
Gaetan

[Blackrubicon]

I have a travel light 800sbx on my f150 super crew 6.5. Put 8000km on it this year. Hauls great, no issues. Dry weight of the camper is 1725lbs. Upgrades are needed. I put on E rated tires, rear sway bar, add a leaf, and timbrens. With the 5.4 6 speed I get 17l/100km. The new Ecoboost has even more torque and gets better fuel economy from what I hear. The weak link on these trucks is the rear axle capacity rating. However I haven't heard of any failures of the 9.75. I'm sure their is a few F150's on the road getting overloaded.

[_DJ_1]

Oh my aching behind!!!

F150's are NOT just grocery getters of show ponies!!!

Do you homework, stay within your weights and it is a very capable truck. 1/2 ton is such a misnomer!!!

[TomG2]

Sue Bee wrote:
You've all scared the original poster off 😉

I would hope not, unless he is put off by the wayward comments of a few. He asked about hauling a truck camper and people have told him how to determine his trucks capabilities. Not rocket science if one can do simple addition and subtraction. In my case, GM did the figuring for me.

[Sue_Bee]

You've all scared the original poster off 😉

[TomG2]

campn4walleye wrote:

TomG2 wrote:
Doesn't Ford assign a truck camper loading sticker to the vehicle? GM puts them in the glove compartment, makes things easy to figure. Doesn't matter if it is a 1500 or 3500 model.

We had that paper in our glove box of our new 3500 DRW. It stated a TC was not recommended to be used on our truck. REALLY?

Not so easy to figure, now is it?

That paper is no help. Weights and common sense are the things you should pay attention to. Just because someone has done it, doesn't make it safe. You might get it on, but it may not stop when you need it to.

Too many folks have made the wrong decisions too quickly without a great deal of research only to find their combo is not what they thought it was.

Off my soapbox now.

Okay, I'll bite. What is the reason that a GM 3500HD DRW pickup was not rated for use with ANY truck camper when my supposedly lighter duty 2500HD is rated for one weighing over 3,000 pounds? Must be a catch somewhere. Oops, now I see what the difference is, I am talking GM pickups, as I clearly stated, and you might be talking something else.

[campn4walleye]

TomG2 wrote:
Doesn't Ford assign a truck camper loading sticker to the vehicle? GM puts them in the glove compartment, makes things easy to figure. Doesn't matter if it is a 1500 or 3500 model.

We had that paper in our glove box of our new 3500 DRW. It stated a TC was not recommended to be used on our truck. REALLY?

Not so easy to figure, now is it?

That paper is no help. Weights and common sense are the things you should pay attention to. Just because someone has done it, doesn't make it safe. You might get it on, but it may not stop when you need it to.

Too many folks have made the wrong decisions too quickly without a great deal of research only to find their combo is not what they thought it was.

Off my soapbox now.

[ejfranz]

Check out Adventurer Truck Camper Model 80SK. I did see one at Fraseway RV on a F150.

[Tarkin75]

Sparky87k5 wrote:
My first truck was an F150 '76 long box standard cab

With all due respect, i'm not sure comparing experiences in a 1976 era 1/2 ton with a 1/2'r built 30+ years later is a fair comparison.

3/4 tons of that era had payload ratings not much higher than the highest 1/2 ton ratings of today.

Later
C

[Sparky87k5]

My first truck was an F150 '76 long box standard cab. I loaded a camper that weighed about 1900 pounds and thought I was king of the camper world. Handled it pretty good until I broke rear axle. Replaced broken parts and away I went. Broke rear axle again but this time I almost wrecked truck. Sold truck and bought 3/4 ton and haven't looked back since. 1/2 tons just don't have strong enough axles under them for TC hauling, period. Has to do with semi floating axles verses full floaters. Most 3/4 and all 1 tons have full floating axles.