Went looking...getting a little closer

[COBOZ]

Well, this weekend we went and looked at/walk thru a bunch of campers. Taking in all the advice from this forum. Looked at some BFs, Wolf Creeks, Arctic Foxes, Northern Lite, Eagle Cap, and Adventurer. We have a 2016 Chevy 3500 SRW CCLB, D/A...we weighed the truck on the way to the camper places...figured with our tire capacity we could handle 4200 lbs...but that not factoring in my boat which has a 150 - 200 lb tongue weight...so figure 4000 wet ready to roll to be safe. Arctic Fox was nice, wife loved it...but I knew this was too heavy from reading here..even though the sales person showed us his on a 2007 Chevy SRW and said it handled it fine. Of all the others we looked at, we liked the Adventurers. Really liked the 910FBS, but crunching the numbers, I don't think I can get under 4K loaded...so next best was the 86FB. I think wet and rolling, this will be around 3200. Didn't get a chance to look at Lance yet..the only two that might work are the 975 (again, looks to be too heavy wet) and the 850. By the pix, not really sold on the dinette..plus we like the mid bath plan to make the cabover like a cave. AF dealer did say he was getting in a couple 865s at the end of the month that we will go look at. Anyone have real world numbers..wet..on the 865?? Will it be under 4K?? Any opinion on that vs the 86FB? I guess I didn't think of this till just now, but I'm sure some of these campers will put weight on the front axle also...Sorry for being so winded. Thanks for all your help and advice.

[COBOZ]

Didn't really like the Northern Lite....we like the floorplan with a rear dinette, mid bath. Northern lite was made nice, the bathroom was very small compared to the Adventurer's non-slide units...plus they are 10 grand more.

Most of our trips are 2 - 3 days. We currently have a 5th wheel toy hauler which I would probably keep for the time being to make sure we like the TC..and could use that for extended trips. One of our main reasons for going TC, is those times when we just want to "go" on a whim somewhere. With the 5th wheel, I must plan to make sure I get the right site that will fit us, and if we take the boat...we have to drive two vehicles.

[hedgehopper]

Your truck should handle any longbed model Northern Lite. They are the lightest for any given floorplan. (Bigfoot might be comparable but I think NL has more storage space.) Did you like any of the Northern Lites?

[jmcgsd]

What kind of trips will you be planning? If they're short, like 2-3 day, I'd look at non-slide models. You don't necessarily need that extra room and you will save mucho pounds. If they'll be longer trips then the extra room afforded by the slide might keep either you or your wife from becoming suicidal (or worse, homicidal.)

We've had both and our non slide Lance is fine for what we do with it now, but we have a 28' TT for the longer hauls. I really appreciate how light this older Lance is though when I'm just going to the mountains for the weekend.

[COBOZ]

Yes..that looks very nice...but we will always have a boat or ATV trailer in tow. My 4200 lbs is total, wet..with everything. That is why I thought the 86FB would be good as it should be 3300 or so loaded. The dealer I looked at actually weighs them, and this one weighted 2700lbs as it sat in the lot.

I have already upgraded my tires..not to the 19.5s, got rid of the junk OEMs and went to Toyo ATIIs with 3700 apiece....total of 7400..scales showed the truck with full tank and wife as 3200 on rear axle..that is where I got my 4200 available figure from.

[Bedlam]

It is nice to have a place to keep all your bulky or dirty things:

[jmtandem]

...figured with our tire capacity we could handle 4200 lbs

Is the 4200 including people, dogs, bicycles, tools, etc that also will ride in the truck? Generally, I figure that the tailgate deduct will equal (sort of) the Torklift tie downs so that is a zero sum issue. Did you also add in the few hundred pounds for food, utinsils, clothing and all the rest of the stuff you will have in the camper?

[RoyB]

I always thought the side door models were the greatest. Then you can have a couch slide on the back wall. When you drop the camper down sitting on the ground the side door should work great for you...

You also will need to think about room for the extra stuff... Most of us myself included lives out of the bed of the truck haha... You won't have that anymore...

If you get real serious I see a small closed in trailer in your future...

Roy Ken

[jimh406]

You are probably going to be overweight with the more involved floor plans. The next question is what are you going to do about it. You just bought a truck, so I'm assuming you are locked in on it.

You can either go to upgraded wheels and tires and make do, run over knowing you are over, or go with a lighter camper. If it was me, I'd go for a rather basic camper with a more open floor plan in a used model instead of upgrading the truck.

BTW, I carried the camper in my signature on a SRW. It's doable, but isn't quite a solid as a bigger truck with better brakes like my F450. There are more open floor plans available at least in older models. Look for one with a very long u-shaped or l-shaped dinette. S&S and Northern Lite used to make them. We ended up going with a double slide, but both of those companies and floor plans were close.

Here's a look at the old floor plan for Northern-Lite.

[Bedlam]

If you are willing to go to 19.5" wheels, you will have more options available to you. My F250 handled an AF811 with larger enclosed trailer very well after about $3000 in upgrades to wheels and suspension. I was typically loaded with 7000 lbs on the rear axle with the camper and close to 8000 lbs with the trailer hooked up at the same time.

If you liked the Arctic Fox, inquire about getting one without the side to reduce weight. The 865 is available to limited dealers, but also an option. Another one to consider if you can go without the a slide is the Northern Lite - I have always liked their build quality, but want features and capacities they do not offer.

[Reddog1]

Consider upgrading your tires. You are going to spend thousands on a TC, and to choke up on the cost of upgrading your tires makes no sense to me. Simply too much money involved to compromise your choice of TCs due to tires.

Wayne