Truck questions

[Mommalu]

Hello, be patient with me I belong on the A forum. The last 4 outings with our 32' gas Jayco Precept the wind has been 24 mph or greater.
I have the CDL love big vehicles and its my happy place to drive, However on the last outings my very DH uttered feelings I must explore. "This beast is NOT a road machine, everything needs to be planned & calculated, remember when we used to get in the car and just drive?"
We are planning to replace our F150 and DH thought bigger truck and then a camper might bring back the spontaneity we once had with travel.
My question is can any truck be set up for a truck camper, we're thinking 350 crew cab 6'6" bed gas 4x4 SWD. We typically find gently used vehicles, haven't seen any used with the camper option on them.
Also will we need to improve handling with after market products? We have added $4000 for the nasty F53 chassis which we will keep, we used it 45 days last year with week-end only state parks. It has its place just not a get in and drive for 2 weeks kind of vehicle. We're 10 years from retirement, have 6 weeks vacation so thinking its time for mad dashes thru the US and Canada, hoping a truck camper will meet that desire. Hubby not interested in a van or small C.
What are your thoughts? Thanks for the help.

[Ranger_Tim]

I just weighed our F350 King Ranch LB SRW (8100 lbs.) and Wolf Creek 840 fully loaded, gassed up, water tank full, with the two of us in the front seats. Taking for granted that the scale (Idaho Port of Entry) is accurate, it came in at 11,740 lbs. That is heavier than we usually travel since we don't always fill the water tank (35 gal.), but have just enough to flush a few times. Is this a surprise to me? No, I expected that weight.

The truck has upper and lower StableLoads and handles well enough for my comfort. I also hold a CDL and drive lots of different stuff at work. The rear axle weighed well under 7000 lbs. and the front was much less, so I don't worry too much about maxxing out my load range E tires or factory rims. Tire wear is accelerated versus normal wear but I don't feel it is too excessive.

There are campers that work on SRW trucks, especially with some suspension aids. Best to go with a 3500 or 350 series truck to have the benefit of upper overload springs. I preferred the long bed for center of gravity stability and better tracking on the highway. It is a pain in some small parking lots but manageable. Do I wish I had a dually? Occasionally.

What works for me and my wife is not what might work for your situation, but there are ways to cope with less camper and less truck. Be sure you are into the more minimal accommodations before you pull any triggers. We really enjoy the ability to fit into almost any campsite and parking space. We also like the ability to have a small footprint with as much comfort as possible. Taking off at the drop of a hat is fun and stimulating. We just got back this afternoon from a one night jaunt that we took just to be "out and about."

TC's are great for getting somewhere more remote, even if it takes a bit more skill to drive it. They are also easy to maintain and equip. Be sure to stay light with the rig and everything you put into it and you will not be too heavy. Leave the anvils at home.

Find others in your area with TC's and engage them in conversation. Compare what they say with the pro and con crowd here and find peace with your gut. You'll be okay. We are.

[Mommalu]

Thank you one and all for your responses, good to know we don't need to find a used 1 ton with the camper option on it.
As for the camper we believe we want to be well under the GVWR for the truck.
Our experience with the 150 hauling landscape rock, dirt, and mulch is that it was never designed to haul series weight for a great duration without after market upgrades. A yard of rock demonstrates this clearly that a 150 truck is for those week-end chores, its simply not a work truck. But I enjoy mine for all those weekend projects, it tow's a good size trailer nicely and with the 4x4 I can virtually drive through 8" of snow and climb the hill to get into the garage. But under no circumstance would we ever put a camper on it or tow a 5th wheel, thats work for a bigger truck. But again this is my opinion from my experience with its handling, braking and ride with landscape materials. Thanks again.

[d3500ram]

@OP,
Go out to TC dealers and look at campers. Put aside (for the moment as to the truck that can haul it)... decide on what features you like and want and weigh (literally and figurative) the options. Stepping down in size from a MH to a TC is sorta' drastic.
JMHO.

[otrfun]

Kayteg1 wrote:
Short bed and SRW will drastically lower your camper choices . . .

Buzzcut1 wrote:
with the SRW you will pretty much be limited to the smaller lighter truck campers with less space and options . . .

I disagree. Granted, the largest campers (i.e., 1xxx series Lance and AF with slides) are much more suitable for a DRW due to their weight. However, not everyone wants or needs a slide. There is a huge assortment of full-featured, hard-side, non-slide, 9-9.5 ft., short-bed campers from every manufacturer that work just fine on a SB SRW.

Agree, in terms of raw payload capability, you cannot beat a DRW. However, it doesn't take much searching to find a late model SB SRW with over 4k of payload. That's more payload than some old-school DRW's. In any case, for those of us who may use their trucks for a lot more than hauling a camper, a SB SRW is a very nice compromise that offers less length & width (easier parking & access, less HOA restrictions, etc.), shorter wheelbase (better maneuverability), while still offering ~75% of the payload of a DRW.

[Travels_with_Yo]

I interpreted the OP as saying they are looking for a basic camper that may be marketed for a 1500 but they are planning on putting it on a larger truck. In 2017 we traveled over 10,000 miles with our Ram 2500 2WD and an Adventurer 80RB (2480 lbs loaded) and the stock truck with only a Hellwig sway bar performed flawlessly.

We now have a slightly heavier (and better equipped) Travel Lite 840 SBRX (2600 lbs loaded) and I just added a mid grade set of airbags today.

As others have said, half tons typically have pretty small payload capacities and secondly, manufacturer published weights are often times a base weight that is meaningless. There are a few companies that publish the actual weight on a separate sticker inside the cabin as well as the base weight on the outside.

Our Ram 2500HD with the 6.4L Hemi has a payload capacity of 3575 lbs so there's some opportunities out there. The wheels and tires are well beyond the 10K lb GVWR.

[KD4UPL]

Putting a TC on a 1500 series truck just really isn't possible despite what anybody's marketing department might say.
There are campers for a short bed but there are about 20 times more campers for a long bed.
Go look at campers, check their weights, look at the capabilities of a SRW, maybe it will work.
If you want a good TC experience get a dually.

[work2much]

Grit dog wrote:
W2M, yes she originally said that then her next post said...

"Looking at campers for 150/1500's, just want A/C & furnace, hot water heater, shower big enough to get my elbows out to wash my hair, queen bed, double burner stove, 5 cf fridge."

I don't make the rules bud, but I usually read past the first post before letting my fingers do the talkin!

Idk, maybe she's looking for a "larger 150/1500", who knows.

Maybe the OP will clarify but I took it to mean that for justification of not getting a dually one ton for a new/used truck they were looking at campers designed for SRW trucks with less capacity.

They didn't say looking for a camper for our 150 which they have currently. The OP has a 150 now, why would they state looking for campers for 150/1500. I believe they are describing a type of camper that would fit a half ton, but not for their current truck which they are looking to replace.

It seems clear to me after reading all of her posts that they are considering buying a used 1 ton SB SRW truck and looking for a lightweight camper such that would work on a 1/2 ton to keep weight down since they don't want a dually or a longbed

And I did read all the posts that preceded my comments. That is what formed my opinion that they are asking about 1 ton SRW SB trucks and in the follow top clarifying something that would fit a half ton (and certainly a 1 ton)

But I guess there is room for misinterpretations as the follow up post wasn't worded completely clearly

Maybe another post from the OP would help.

[Grit_dog]

W2M, yes she originally said that then her next post said...

"Looking at campers for 150/1500's, just want A/C & furnace, hot water heater, shower big enough to get my elbows out to wash my hair, queen bed, double burner stove, 5 cf fridge."

I don't make the rules bud, but I usually read past the first post before letting my fingers do the talkin!

Idk, maybe she's looking for a "larger 150/1500", who knows.

[joerg68]

@work2much: what you say is correct, but so is the quote at the beginning of my post saying they are looking for campers for half ton trucks.

[work2much]

Grit dog wrote:
While I don't subscribe to the gvwr paranoia like some folks do, 1/2 ton truck and what you're presumably looking forward to in a full featured TC do not mix unless you're getting a very minimal, mostly popup models, short, small camper.
If you want you cake and eat it too, find 1 ton single wheel truck and it will or can be equipped to haul the majority of the popular truck campers on the market.

From the OP:

We are planning to replace our F150 and DH thought bigger truck and then a camper might bring back the spontaneity we once had with travel.
My question is can any truck be set up for a truck camper, we're thinking 350 crew cab 6'6" bed gas 4x4 SWD.

[Grit_dog]

While I don't subscribe to the gvwr paranoia like some folks do, 1/2 ton truck and what you're presumably looking forward to in a full featured TC do not mix unless you're getting a very minimal, mostly popup models, short, small camper.
If you want you cake and eat it too, find 1 ton single wheel truck and it will or can be equipped to haul the majority of the popular truck campers on the market.

[GeoBoy]

If your bound and determined to go SRW truck then look at a Northstar TC. If your bound and determined to go with a 150/1500 truck, then look at a Four Wheeler Granby/Hawk pop up camper.

[work2much]

joerg68 wrote:

Looking at campers for 150/1500's

These trucks are not really made for carrying campers. Just about any hardwall camper with the features you describe will be pushing the limits of a 150/1500.
With popup campers there are more to choose from.
Do not trust the dry weights stated by camper manufacturers. They are often just for a bare camper shell, without battery, LPG, any extras, your stuff, ...
Whatever you decide to do, make a realistic weight calculation - do not be overly optimistic.

From the OP's first post

OP is looking for a 1 ton SRW to replace the 150 not a camper for their 150.

I think in the follow up post they mean that they are looking at light campers marketed for 1/2 tons but will be putting it on a 1 ton. There are a number of "half ton" campers being marketed now. There suitability on a half ton may be up for discussion but they should certainly be fine on a 1 ton truck.

[joerg68]

Looking at campers for 150/1500's

These trucks are not really made for carrying campers. Just about any hardwall camper with the features you describe will be pushing the limits of a 150/1500.
With popup campers there are more to choose from.
Do not trust the dry weights stated by camper manufacturers. They are often just for a bare camper shell, without battery, LPG, any extras, your stuff, ...
Whatever you decide to do, make a realistic weight calculation - do not be overly optimistic.