Weight doubters..

[jaycocreek]

I was one big time.I did not think I could get 1,000 lbs into my truck camper over the dry weight.Wrong!This is for the naysayer's as I once was.

I have had alot of truck campers in my years and never weighed any of them whether 1/2 3/4 or 1 tons.I just always did the mods and never had an issue but after I joined RV.net,weight/gvwr was a major topic.So living one block from the grain scales I started to think,why not for kicks.

I started this truck camper journey with a 1994 Ford F-350 dually(4600 lbs payload) with a not to worry about weight in picking out a camper,within reason.We found a Lance 480(9.6 ft) in our budget with a dry weight sticker of 2541 lbs.Then we put in everything we camp and hunt with including an extra stand alone battery..It is packed to the hilt along with most of my tools.

I weighed this morning on the way home from the store.Gas tanks full/propane tanks full and the water is full with just me in it...9600 pounds which gives me almost exactly 1000 pounds over the dry weight.I never thought in a million years I could get 1000 pounds extra in a pickup camper.

So bottom line is, as many have posted in the past,1000 lbs is a very good number to keep in mind when looking at truck campers versus there listed dry weights.I just did not believe it....The truck has all the camper special stuff like air bags/sway bars as a previous owner had a 10ft on it and did the mods including the happi-jack setup.

I am below all my weights including GVWR and axle etc but not by far..I never thought a 9.6 ft Lance camper without a slide could all but max out a 1 ton dually,even an older one.



A former doubter.:B

[SidecarFlip]

400 pounds of 'stuff' that wasn't there...lol

[Kayteg1]

SidecarFlip wrote:
Lance's usually are quite a bit heavier than their RIVA weight sticker states, but then that seems to be pretty much SOP with truck campers, some more than others.

Fleetwood is no longer in business, but I found info that Caribou come with 3800 lb weight.
Just before picking it up I found local CAT scales, weight the pickup and then come back with the camper.
Winterized camper, about 30% of propane weight 4200lb.

[mkirsch]

towpro wrote:
I bet its not as bad as you think. empty the camper and weigh it again. bet it weighs closer to 3000 empty.

This.

If it makes you feel any better a good portion of the 1000lbs is not your fault, and there's nothing you could have done about it.

Lance doesn't weigh their individual campers as equipped. They just put a generic weight on each camper based on the prototype model with base equipment.

[JIMNLIN]

I bet its not as bad as you think. empty the camper and weigh it again. bet it weighs closer to 3000 empty.

I would add ....and all the gear/addons out of or off the truck would give a better shot at how much the TC actual dry vs wet weight.

I see many claim their TC weighs xxxx lbs but their including gear and stuff/necessary junk/etc we carry in or added to the truck.

example;; Two hi-lift jacks/2-3 jerry cans/tow chains/gen set/heavy custom bumpers/etc I've seen on some TC combo's I've seen in CO/UT/NM isn't part of the TC's actual weight but rather how much the combo weighs.

[SidecarFlip]

Lance's usually are quite a bit heavier than their RIVA weight sticker states, but then that seems to be pretty much SOP with truck campers, some more than others.

[towpro]

jaycocreek wrote:
I.We found a Lance 480(9.6 ft) in our budget with a dry weight sticker of 2541 lbs.Then we put in everything we camp and hunt with including an extra stand alone battery..It is packed to the hilt along with most of my tools.

I weighed this morning on the way home from the store.Gas tanks full/propane tanks full and the water is full with just me in it...9600 pounds which gives me almost exactly 1000 pounds over the dry weight.I never thought in a million years I could get 1000 pounds extra in a pickup camper.
A former doubter.:B

I bet its not as bad as you think. empty the camper and weigh it again. bet it weighs closer to 3000 empty.

[Kayteg1]

I prefer evening campfire and goose down in the bed.

[SidecarFlip]

thomas201 wrote:
Don't forget, if you complain too much about wife stuff, you will end up full timing in the camper without the wife and the duvet to keep you warm.

What the furnace is for......:B

[thomas201]

Don't forget, if you complain too much about wife stuff, you will end up full timing in the camper without the wife and the duvet to keep you warm.

[zcookiemonstar]

I put a big dent in that 1000lbs by just putting myself in the truck!

[JIMNLIN]

Great looking combo. I'm not a Ford guy but I always thought those model years looked clean (not a chrome overload) and good lines front to back.

Just curious but what was the old trucks dry axle weight numbers.

[SidecarFlip]

Why I sold my Lance (just like the above picture) and bought a pop up. The Lance was a tank and I have a beefed up F350 with a 7.3 and a stack of leaf springs in the front and back that look military...

We minimalist pack, no iron anything, all aluminum cookware, plastic plates, disposable cups and glasses, only carry enough food for 2 days, Wal Marts everywhere. Clothes don't weigh much, neither do towels. 2 rolls of TP, 25 gallons of FW, i bottle of propane, weather radio, handgun, 75 pound genny and a partridge in a pear tree...

Never weighed it but I don't think I have even close to 1000 pounds of stuff.

[TxGearhead]

I had a 1982? F250 light duty, cast iron I-beams but a F150 rear axle. Single cab. 300 cu in straight 6 cylinder. 4 speed granny gear. Bought a 3rd hand cabover from a co-worker. Tejas 8ft., wood framed, aluminum siding and roof. Almost turned it over in Oklahoma. Put helper springs on it, maybe Helwig, Sears, or JC Whitney. Went all over...Yellowstone, Colorado, Arkansas.
I had no clue what a Cat scale was. Never weighed it. I'm sure it was overloaded now. When I sold the truck, the trans synchros were gone and the rear axle was whining.
One thing I do know, I was not the first, or last, 32 year old that just "did it".

[HioSSilver]

Last time i scaled my 2500hd silvy loaded it weighed 11k lb. And it's a 6.0 ecsb4x4 truck thats 6k empty. So that's 5k on the truck. The camper is a lance 845.

Here's the load. And there's a carrier on the front.

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r136/HioSSilver/phonepics3129.jpg


You may want to give this link a try for posting your photos. Photobucket is no longer our friend.

http://photoposting.is-great.net/?i=3



Wayne
Moderator