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.

[Buzzcut1]

Everything in the wheel well got shredded with the exception of the airbag itself. The bag is still going strong 3 years later. 19.5s are the ony way I would ever carry a medium to large TC on an SRW. That first 15 seconds after the blow out took every bit of training I received from driving fire engines to keep the rubber side down and the rig on the pavement. Major butt clench.

I much prefer my new dually set up.

[Ski_Pro_3]

God bless you Buzzcut, for posting your photo and story back when that happened. Our rigs were near the same and I needed some experiential evidence that my money wasn't being foolishly wasted on buying 19.5's.

That air bag mount looks like it took a good hit too!

[jimh406]

lonegunman wrote:
Why does every single conversation on campers devolve into a tire and wheel rant in this place? If you are going to haul a 10,000lb trailer and a TC, buy a dually already.

It's not quite that simple because you can overload a DRW as well if you put a big enough TC with enough gear. In any case, tires seem to be the first thing that gives way on modern SRWs, so the focus is on tires for those.

It seems most people just want validation that their overloading is ok. 😉

Buzzcut1's picture shows what might happen if you trust those who say it's ok.

[Buzzcut1]

perhaps because of things that happen at freeways speeds even with new 3750 rated tires and a heavy camper. the load was near the tires capacity at 80psi



damage was considerable to the truck, the repair estimate for bed, wheel well, and airbag lines was nearly $4000

[Reddog1]

Maybe because they are considered to be the main safety concern?

Wayne

[lonegunman]

Why does every single conversation on campers devolve into a tire and wheel rant in this place? If you are going to haul a 10,000lb trailer and a TC, buy a dually already.

I won't be heading to Vegas just yet and I do not think running a truck at max GVWR is the same as gambling with my life. I'm far more concerned about the average texting idiot killing me than my camper or my 20' trailer and Kubota.

Good luck finding a camper. Hopefully you gleaned some information about your choices other than the weight. I am going to spend the day at the grocery, warning of the dangers of two gallons of milk that are not properly double bagged.

[Dave_Pete]

COBOZ wrote:
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.

I understand what you are trying to say here, but my suggestion is to NEVER - and I mean NEVER, mention the wife in ANY conversation regarding weight. Even if it is about her being to light to assist when it's beneficial to have MORE weight. Am I right ladies? 😉

[FireGuard]

Take a look at the Cooper ST Maxx tires. The 295/70/18 has a 4080 lb capacity.
This will give you nearly 5k lbs if your axle weight is 3200 lbs.
They seem to have good reviews and that's what I'm planning to replace my tires with when needed.

[COBOZ]

I have never used 4x4 when camping where we go...plus, the tires are very very close in diameter. I think the comparison calculators show 1%. A dually is out of the question. All of our camping is within 200 miles of home. The two we mainly use in the summer is under 100. When I retire and want to go drive the US, then upgrading to a dually makes sense. Right now its about driving 100 or so miles to the lake without taking a big fifthwheel and two vehicles to pull the boat. Plus, I don't need to be worried about reserving a site that I can fit in. I thank you for all your insight...this has been a good discussion with a lot to think about, on both sides of the coin.

[Reddog1]

skipro3 wrote:
... There sure are a lot of aspects to truck camper ownership! A lot more than I realized I was getting myself into. It's changed a lot since my early days in the 60's when any old pick up would slap on any old camper, toss the kids in the camper so they could look out the over cab window and head off on an adventure. Ha! I kind of miss those times when I wasn't so informed, that the world wasn't so much at my fingertips. I suppose I cheated death as a kid with all the stuff we used to do and I'm concerned we miss out on adventure because we are scared off by other's experiences we hear more about. The bottom line is, though, risk is assessed by the risk taker. Do what ever you think is right and safe for you. As a group, the members and posters here on the truck camper forum are pretty independent that way; not easily intimidated by anecdotes but also pretty well educated in their choice of recreating in a TC.

This is very well stated.

It does get very challenging when we know so little about a subject we over react on the side of caution. It is a good thing to be cautious, but it sure can be easy to be overly so.

Wayne

[Ski_Pro_3]

I think as long as the rolling distance per tire revolution is the same, then mixing tires isn't going to be an issue with 4 wheel drive. In 4WD, a difference in size will scrub off on the dirt but be harder on the drivelines on solid hard surfaces. Heck, just a hard turn will cause scrubbing while in 4WD even with the same sized tires, so it's not a big issue. Who is in 4WD when the surface is hard and straight anyway?

I know I catch some grief from folks here, but I'll put it out there anyway;
with running 19.5's, I don't carry a spare. My thought is; I don't go off road, I don't go anywhere a tow truck can't come, I'm in the process of acquiring a Suzuki Samurai I'll be flat(sic) towing. If I don't have the Zuki, I'll have my motorcycle on the front hitch carrier. Considering those points, a spare is redundant. Oh, someday if I stumble on a 19.5 wheel for a good prick, I grab it up and see what Les Schwab can sell me a cheap tire for it, but I'm not in danger just because I'm not carrying a spare.

There sure are a lot of aspects to truck camper ownership! A lot more than I realized I was getting myself into. It's changed a lot since my early days in the 60's when any old pick up would slap on any old camper, toss the kids in the camper so they could look out the over cab window and head off on an adventure. Ha! I kind of miss those times when I wasn't so informed, that the world wasn't so much at my fingertips. I suppose I cheated death as a kid with all the stuff we used to do and I'm concerned we miss out on adventure because we are scared off by other's experiences we hear more about. The bottom line is, though, risk is assessed by the risk taker. Do what ever you think is right and safe for you. As a group, the members and posters here on the truck camper forum are pretty independent that way; not easily intimidated by anecdotes but also pretty well educated in their choice of recreating in a TC.

[jimh406]

COBOZ wrote:
I guess I could get the camper the wife wants, which puts the tires near max rated, see how it does...then if I don't like it, upgrade to 19.5s.

The problem is that you don't have anything to compare it to, and one of the symptoms of not liking it is that the tires blow. 🙂 NOTE: There are a few of us who've gone the 19.5 route and SRW route, and now have DRWs. In my case, my biggest reason for upgrading is to be able to carry extra items with no issues, and that I no longer could use my SRW for a daily driver since even it was too big!

[Bedlam]

My OEM 275/70R18 tires on the F250 were the same diameter as my 245/70R19.5 tires. I considered buying three so I had one high rated spare or four and use the OEM as spare. I chose the latter and figured I could always put the OEM up front and keep the high capacity in the rear. I never had a flat tire to confirm my thinking, but it gave me piece of mind in my travels.

[jmtandem]

I'm wondering how running just 19.5s in the back would do?

If your truck is a 4x4 that is not a good idea. You might need 4x4 somewhere sometime and different tire sizes does not work. And how would you deal with the spare tire issue?

[COBOZ]

Thank you....all valid points to think of. I don't have a camper yet...still banging my head. I guess I could get the camper the wife wants, which puts the tires near max rated, see how it does...then if I don't like it, upgrade to 19.5s. Everyone has an opinion on how it rides. Some people hate even a little sway, some people don't mind any. I'm used to driving heavy/top heavy vehicles so it may not bother me as much as others. Don't know till you try I guess.

I do have one of those temp guns already. I'm wondering how running just 19.5s in the back would do? The 245s are very very close to the same diameter as my current tires. I could swap those rears very easily with air tools every time we loaded the camper. Just another thing to think of.