Weights. Am I missing something?

[Bachus]

Hi All;

We are looking to purchase a truck camper after many years of having a fifth wheel. Enjoyed the FW, but want something that is smaller and more versatile where we can get into some of the great State and Provincial Parks. Here's the dilemma:
Truck- 2011 RAM 3500 SLT SRW, 6.7 CTD, 4WD, short box
GVWR 10100 lbs
CCC (as per door sticker) 2846 lbs
RAWR 6200 lbs
FAWR 5500 lbs
Centre of gravity 28 to 44 inches (based on RAM body builder guide)

Based on those numbers, I can only carry a very small (ie 1/2" ton) TC. That seems ridiculous given that the truck is such a beast. I like the Northern Lite 8-11SXE wet and the Lance 855S and 850, but fear they will exceed what the numbers say. And the Arctic Fox 811 looks goods until you factor in the "mandatory" option package that adds 595 lbs.

Will adding Timbrens get me where I need to be? Or is my one ton truck really only suitable for a 1/2 ton TC? Seems odd to me.

Any help from the wise is much appreciated.

Thanks,
Dean

[mkirsch]

6200lbs RAWR sounds a bit low for a 3500 SRW. That's a 2500 RAWR, traditionally limited by the LT245/75R16 LRE tires they came with. You sure about that?

Typically they run in the 7000-7200lbs range.

When it comes to hauling TC's, where there's a will there's a way. It's very easy to justify exceeding the factory GVWR when properly motivated. The first and most common method is to ignore GVWR and go with the axle ratings. That generally gives you yet another 1000lbs of capacity over the GVWR because the empty weight on the rear axle is generally around 2800-3100lbs for most SRW pickups.

It is generally accepted that as long as you're not exceeding the tire ratings, you are okay. Add airbags and/or helper springs to level the load, and go.

Why the tire ratings? Because those are the only individual components in the truck that are marked with a weight rating.

[towpro]

Got to love it. i was looking through the ram body guides for your year and I see "the following truck models are NOT recommended for slide-in camper applications: Dodge ram, All 4x4 models equipped with Snow plow prep package". click here

I had a 2015 dually that came with a truck camper slip that said "not recommended". we never knew for sure but this group thought it was because of the snow plow prep package. but now I see it in print.

PS: A snow plow prep group includes a bigger alternator and a transfer case skid plate. Guess they don't want you snow plowing with your camper loaded.

[towpro]

Bachus wrote:

dwrat wrote:
Look in your glove box, there should be a sticker in there that says the max camper weight for your truck.
I personally think a short bed, single rear wheel truck is not what you want for a camper.
Timberlens will help but I personally would say airbags (with separate zones) and a heavy-duty rear sway bar would be your best bet

No sticker in the glove box. I just checked. And it's cold outside!

in Ram its a piece of paper, not a sticker.. but my 2018 never had one.

[JimK-NY]

GeoBoy wrote:
Look at a Northstar TC.

Mine is a Northstar. I have the 9.5 foot Iglo model. Northstar campers tend to be fairly good on weight because they do not have slides and are often a big narrower than the maximum allowed. Even so mine has a roughly 2400# sticker but weighs in much more. With solar panels, generator, and a modest amount of cooking gear, clothing and misc, it weighs in well over 4000#.

Northstar does make some nice and low weight popup truck campers.

[GeoBoy]

Look at a Northstar TC.

[JimK-NY]

I think all of us who have truck campers face this issue. We buy a big super duty pickup, often with a quad cab and a diesel engine. It seems we have a truck that should carry anything you could fit in the bed. Wrong. We quickly find that the truck is heavy but has very limited cargo capacity.

I bought my camper first and then went to buy a truck. The camper sticker had a wet weight of about 2400#. I figured I would need to add another 1000# for passengers and gear putting me about 3500#. Turns out that was off by almost another 1000#. It seems the manufacturer did not include extra weight for the solar panels, gel foam mattress and a bunch of other accessories that were on the camper.

Anyway, my TC dealer and the truck dealers were sure I would not need a DRW truck. It was May of 2010 when I tried to buy my truck. I wanted a 350/3500 rated truck but could not find one. I could not order one because it was too late in the year and I would need to wait until the end of the Summer for a 2011 model. Finally I found and bought a Ram 2500 SRW with CTD and a quad cab. The truck weighed about 8000# and the GVWR was 9900#. Clearly that came up short. If I had been able to get a 3500 SWR, the capacity would have been 12000#. The only difference was the wheels/tires and one extra spring in the rear suspension. So I upgraded the suspension first with airbags and later with Supersprings. Eventually I also had to add 19.5 wheels and tires to take me from overweight for the tires to extra capacity.

Now I have the same TC and a 2018 Ram with CTD and megacab. The GVWR is close but still insufficient. I am a few hundred pounds over the rated capacity. I took my first trip without modifications and then added Timbrens to help with the rear end sag.

Maybe I am cheating the State on registration fees, but I don't think so. Since the TC is removeable I could not register as an RV. That would have saved me a bunch. Because the truck is a 3500 I had to go to "commercial" plates which cost a bunch and have restrictions.

[JIMNLIN]

Truck- 2011 RAM 3500 SLT SRW, 6.7 CTD, 4WD, short box
GVWR 10100 lbs
CCC (as per door sticker) 2846 lbs
RAWR 6200 lbs
FAWR 5500 lbs

Ram really missed the mark using a 6200 rawr for a 3500 srw truck.
Your getting good info on using the truck and rear suspension help.
That 6200 rawr is the lessor of a tire/wheel/axle/rear spring pack.
Higher rated tires and wheels plus rear spring pack help of your choice.
The axle is a AAM 11.5" rated approx 10800 lbs and is the same one in the DRW and 2500 trucks. No issues with it carrying heavy TCs.

Your trucks front axle may not carry more weight so weighing the trucks front and rear axles after loading it all up is a good idea. Then figure what higher rated tires/wheels and rear spring pack is needed.

[Grit_dog]

Kayteg1 wrote:
There can be only 1 opinion. Weight rear axle, deduct the number from axle rating and that is what legally you can haul.
All this because I be trolling.

Fixed it for you Kayteg....

Bachus, you can absolutely, safely, easily haul pretty much any TC made for a shortbed truck with your truck.
Do some reading, this hotly debated topic comes up about 3x a week on this forum alone.
If you're willing to look past the artificially low gvwr placed on your truck, the rest is easy.
If it has 17" wheels, ditch them for 18s or 20s with some 3700-4000lb rated tires.
Add a rear sway bar and whatever suspension addition necessary to carry what you buy (Timbrens, air bags, add a leafs, spring wedges/Stableloads). Or for the ultimate in capability, get 19.5s for the best tire/wheel capacity.
You can research the particulars of your trucks design to support your decision if you wish.

[specta]

Bachus wrote:

No sticker in the glove box. I just checked. And it's cold outside!

😉

[jimh406]

Yes, weight the front/rear, but also look at the tires. There is a huge range expecially with SRWs. Some single tires can exceed the axle rating if you use 19.5s. Otherwise, use 18s or others that can still be as high as 4080 each.

As far as Center of Gravity is concerned, I don’t think it’s worth a consideration since all short bed camper manufacturers plan for their TC to be on a short bed. And ... you can’t change it other than minorly by shifting items in your TC. All else being equal, more weight forward is better since almost no TC puts hardly any weight on the front axle.

Finally, there’s the legal consideration. If you are going there, you are simply limited by what the sticker says.

My post is abbreviated. If you are gluton for punishment watch your thread for a few days, or simply search recent posts or the archives. 😄

[Reality_Check]

Thank goodness, a new topic to chew on...

You're going to get about 50 opinions from 10 answers... and some are going to get pretty detailed.

Short answer; there must be 20,000 TC's on 3500/350 trucks doing just fine. Everyone of them is pushing 3-4000 and up pounds.

[Bachus]

hedgehopper wrote:

Bachus wrote:
Based on those numbers, I can only carry a very small (ie 1/2" ton) TC.

How did you come up with a 1000 lb TC? And what does CCC stand for?

1/2 ton as in a TC rated for a 1/2 ton truck.

CCC = Cargo Carrying Capacity.

[Bachus]

dwrat wrote:
Look in your glove box, there should be a sticker in there that says the max camper weight for your truck.
I personally think a short bed, single rear wheel truck is not what you want for a camper.
Timberlens will help but I personally would say airbags (with separate zones) and a heavy-duty rear sway bar would be your best bet

No sticker in the glove box. I just checked. And it's cold outside!

[kohldad]

From your AWR numbers that is about right. Prior to 2013 or 14, the diesel and gas engine had the same GVWR. Now, they change Ram increases the GVWR by 1,000# when you get the diesel so the payload stays about the same.

I'm surprised though as the diesel usually gave you a 6,200# front axle. The rear axle is limited by the tires as the axle should be the AAM 11.5 which has a 10,300# rating.

With my 05 SRW diesel was rated at 9,900#, a 2004 Lance 815 put me right at my GVWR. The

[hedgehopper]

Bachus wrote:
Based on those numbers, I can only carry a very small (ie 1/2" ton) TC.

How did you come up with a 1000 lb TC? And what does CCC stand for?