The shorter the center of gravity, the better right?

[iwanttoretireea]

From my understanding, you can't go wrong with a small COG from the front. I'm trying to find the most versatile camper I can find (eg. the Lance 850 that can fit on short and long bed pickups).

What COG number is too long for most 1 ton pickups (whether it's short bed, long bed reg cab, extended cab, other configurations)?

[kohldad]

The Lance 815 I know of for sure and I've seen a couple of others that did the same to handle the difference between the truck bed lengths. On the 815 and it's the only model I know of which they did this with is have pods that bolt onto the rear of the camper when you put it on a short bed truck. The pods gave a little extra storage but more importantly had built in lights. Because the camper was very light at only 1,600#, having the COG a few inches outside of the recommended truck's COG was not a problem. Moving the camper 18" on my LB truck will only shift about 300# from the front axle to the rear axle.

So on a long bed truck, you had the option of removing the pods and letting the camper slide all the way forward in the bed which meant the camper stopped at the rear bumper. Or, you could put a spacer in front of the camper so it sat back 18" allowing you to leave the pods on.

On a short bed truck, you left the pods on which provided tail lights at the rear of the camper and the camper stuck out 18".

Any other short bed camper can go on a long bed truck because the differences in the bed lengths are all in front of the axle. So the difference in the relationship between COG and rear axle is zero between the truck beds. You do need to build a spacer (usually 18") so the camper has something to push against to prevent contact with the tail lights.

[StirCrazy]

Kayteg1 wrote:
I think blocking 3" on front to move COG is extreme. I
can get the same result by moving liquor from front to rear of camper.

if you were talking about me, so do I. the blocking so much isn't for the COG but rather so I don't smash my tail lights out loading or driving down the road. with that blocking I only have 1/2 to 3/4" between my tail lights and the rear overhang of the camper.

having to put 3" of lift on it so I have clearance between the cab and the front overhang is a pain also.

Steve

[nlol]

None that I know of, but there can be a trailer towing issue with a camper that extends beyond the end of the bed. Many people use an extension bar. That's ok if the trailer is light weight. With a heavy trailer though, aside from the fact the bar may not be strong enough to carry the weight, when the truck turns the trailer has a more leverage pushing the rear of the truck around. If the trailer is heavy the solution is to lengthen the trailer tongue enough to clear the camper. Putting a heavy trailer on an extension bar is asking for trouble - makes backing up more difficult too.

[Siletzspey]

When towing boats and trailers, the general rule is 10% of the weight onto the hitch for stability and other reasons. Is there a similar rule-of-thumb for truck campers in a truck bed?

My 9'6" NL in a long bed F350 SRW puts about 10% on the front axle, and 90% on the rear axle. I'm at 88% capacity of front axle rating, and 95% rear axle rating.

--tg

[Kayteg1]

I think blocking 3" on front to move COG is extreme. I
can get the same result by moving liquor from front to rear of camper.

[StirCrazy]

one thing I haven't seen mentioned is to watch how far that center of gravity is in front of your rear wheels, the more it is closer to the front the greater percentage of weight that is transferred to the front tires. I end up blocking mine back about 3" from the front of my box to keep the COG about 2.5 to 3.5" ahead of my rear axel. I don't suspect I have a short box model as its a 10' but I do suspect the newer ford boxes are longer than the older ones and even shifted back the amount I do there is only 1/2" between my tail lights and the trailer overhang.

Steve

[iwanttoretireea]

nlol wrote:
Most short bed campers do not fit to the front of the bed. They try to make up for lost inside space due to their short length by filling out the bed area behind the wheelwells and/or extending the rear of the camper. Most will hang off the rear of a longbed just as much as the rear of a shortbed.

interesting... good to know

[nlol]

Most short bed campers do not fit to the front of the bed. They try to make up for lost inside space due to their short length by filling out the bed area behind the wheelwells and/or extending the rear of the camper. Most will hang off the rear of a longbed just as much as the rear of a shortbed.

[Bedlam]

A short bed camper can be carried on a long bed truck, but the CG of a long bed camper causes problems on a short bed truck. I had a short bed Ford truck and Arctic Fox camper. I went to a long bed Ram and was still able to use the short bed Arctic Fox until I saved for my current long bed Host camper.

[Kayteg1]

Try to understand mechanical settings.
COG plays important role in TC loading only if you get undersized truck for it.
My 1st dually was converted Cab & Chassis, who having longer frame for 10' bed would not allow me to slide camper all the way behind the cabin.
So I secured it with about 18" of space in front of the bed and that was convenient for carrying stuff.
Than C&C had stronger suspension who could carry 6000 lb camper with COG behind the axle just fine.
But don't try that with any SRW, or even on dually with suspension build for grocery getting.

[Grit_dog]

iwanttoretireearly wrote:
Thanks @nlol. Yeah I mean I preference is a long bed camper at heart with a long bed truck but I'm just afraid I won't be able to find a used long bed pickup truck if worst case scenario, my car breaks down for good and I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere. The appealing thing of these versatile campers is I can buy a cheap short or long bed and get out of there for the time being. I'll have to go to a dealership and actually see it loaded on short and long beds but from my understanding now, all the all-bed campers sit basically flush to the cab. On the short beds, they stick out a max of 3 feet. On the long beds, they're practically flush so ideally, there isn't any room for it to slide forward. As for the million other concerns you mentioned, you're right. I don't think there is a convenient answer to all of them.

Dude, gotta get the stranded in Death Valley during a zombie apocalypse scenario out of your head.
Go buy a nice long bed truck if that’s what you want, find a camper you like in your budget and go camping.
You do realize there are additions and modifications needed for the truck, correct?
Can’t really just slide er under a new truck and punch the skinny pedal and takeoff!
You’ll sleep much better with a newer low mile truck.

[Grit_dog]

Lwiddis wrote:
Why not follow the manufacturer’s recommendations? Attempting to reinvent the wheel can get expensive.

I don’t usually agree with your pessimism and antagonism, but this response is spot on.

[iwanttoretireea]

Thanks @nlol. Yeah I mean I preference is a long bed camper at heart with a long bed truck but I'm just afraid I won't be able to find a used long bed pickup truck if worst case scenario, my car breaks down for good and I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere. The appealing thing of these versatile campers is I can buy a cheap short or long bed and get out of there for the time being. I'll have to go to a dealership and actually see it loaded on short and long beds but from my understanding now, all the all-bed campers sit basically flush to the cab. On the short beds, they stick out a max of 3 feet. On the long beds, they're practically flush so ideally, there isn't any room for it to slide forward. As for the million other concerns you mentioned, you're right. I don't think there is a convenient answer to all of them.

[nlol]

I dunno, I looked at some of those short campers that can be placed in LB trucks. I came to the conclusion that sales people's goal is to sell you something - anything - now. And that they know little about campers and trucks. Certainly some exceptions out there but all I found were people with no TC experience and only 'feature' knowledge.

Theoretically, as long as the CG is in front of the rear wheels - doesn't have to be much - the truck should handle acceptably. I saw nothing but fit problems though in many cases where the salesman said, "Sure, you can put that in a LB truck, we do it all the time", you should say, "Show me.".

But you go look: What keeps the camper from sliding forward? What does the camper hit if it slides forward - rear tail lights? What special thing do you have to do to connect the electrics. When you go around a corner will the camper want to pivot in the truck bed? Are there any jacking problems? What are the tie-down problems? Look - look - look. It's best if you have your particular
truck there and at least visually walk through loading, tie-down, and unloading - better to actually do it.

They make campers for SB trucks because there are a heck of a lot of SB trucks these days. People buy Sb campers and use them, but take a hard look at the campers - at what you loose in a SB TC

In short, be very careful. It is easy to spend a lot of money learning what you wish you knew before you spent your money - in short, an expensive lesson.