I have a 2015 F350 CC LB SRW. I am looking to purchase a TC that I can travel with my family (90%) and use a few times a year to stay in at the racetrack (10%). I have a 24ft V-nose H+H enclosed trailer I tow my race car with. Loaded for the weekend, it comes in around ~8800lbs on the trailer axles. I see that Lance offers the 850 specifically for this purpose. What else is out there? Up here (In Canada) the popular brand is Adventurer and most of them seem to have a large rear step that I *think* will interfere with my trailer. Are there any qualifying measurements I can take of my truck when hooked to the trailer that will help me decide what camper models I should be looking at? I'm not interested in replacing the hitch or massive extensions. I understand I will likely be over GVWR (11,500) but that's a topic for another day. Thanks in advance for any help.

I cut my car trailer tongue, bought some similar c-channel, and lengthened/modified the tongue to fit under my camper. And I have an 11-footer. If I can make it work I’m sure you can with a shorter camper.

With 8 foot camper on 8 foot bed you just hook the trailer up like no camper. The only limit on SRW will be rear axle load.I'd start with taking truck & trailer to scale and weight the rear axle. That will give you an idea how much of TC you can add.

^Agree, if you stick to the 9'ish and under campers you will need none to very minimal hitch extension.You're correct though, looking at not just the camper length, but the vertical overhang below bed height of the truck, combined with your trailers tongue length/configuration is necessary.One of the reasons I targeted AF campers when we bought our first ones was for towing. Almost 9' camper in a 6'-4" truck bed and not wanting to do the heavy duty hitch/extension setup. Having the bottom of the camper at truck bed height helps you get away with less hitch extension with respect to breakover angle at the trailer hitch connection.

You may have a hard time staying within rear tire and rim capacities without upgrading to 19.5" wheels. I carried a 4000 lb camper while towing an 8000 lb trailer with my F250, but it required suspension and wheel upgrades to do this safely. Two people with two dogs and camper packed, I was at 11,500 lbs (4500 front and 700 rear) and closer to 12,500 lbs (4500 front and 8000 rear) with the trailer hitched. I was about at 19,500 lbs GCW rolling down the road which was within the ratings of the truck.

The Lance 850(8'11") is perfect for towing without mods using the truck hitch only..My Lance is 9'6" long and it's the overhang that makes me need an extension for my uses..I use a solid bar 18" hitch to bring it out flush with the rear overhang..When going places with dips/water bars and road cut outs like some old FS roads,when the front end goes up the back of the TC overhang goes down and contact with the trailer tongue could do some serious TC damage.A good trailer for hauling stuff off the highway does not sit close to the ground making hitch height very important.I certainly would not go any longer than a 9.6 TC for towing off the highway..That Lance 850 is on my wish list..Same floor plan as mine,just 7" shorter.

What are my TC options for towing? | Good Sam Community

Blk88GT
Explorer
Jun 19, 2019
My Hellwig BigWig showed up yesterday, it's quite the unit.

Unfortunately my wife and I have discovered a bunch of water damage in the camper and are trying to deal with THAT....

Who knew this would be such a rollercoaster ride? Buckle up!
Blk88GT
Explorer
Jun 10, 2019
One more thing, my SiriusXM reception leaves something to be desired. I haven't figured out how I'm going to deal with that yet.
Kayteg1
Explorer II
Jun 10, 2019
Amazing how many pages this forum has on need for dually when you have TC and plan to tow (not too mention that few members highlighted need for 450 or even 550 class truck) and the message is still diluted in thin air.
Coming to access to fuel door, I- like Jim, need about 3 seconds to drop down the tie. But as I age, remembering all the stuff you do at stops gets more and more difficult, so I am working on system preventing leaving the ties at pump.
Congratulations on new camper and good trip.
jimh406
Explorer III
Jun 10, 2019
Congrats. I have fast guns, so it isn't a big deal to take the one tiedown loose to fill up.
Blk88GT
Explorer
Jun 10, 2019
Thank you everyone for the tips, I picked up the camper and got home without any issues at all. I took a couple strips of XPS foam to go in the front of the bed, but the camper ended up having bumpers to locate it without damaging the bed. It also had rubber strips screwed to the bottom so it didn't move around in the bed.

A few things to note:

1) Look for the hidden decal on the inside cupboard with the ACTUAL camper weight, not the "standard equipment" one on the outside....

2) How the hell are you supposed to fill up without dropping the drivers side front tie down? I haven't heard anyone complain about this! Thank god I've got a Titan fuel tank!!!

3) There's no chance I'll be towing my race trailer behind this thing without moving up to a dually.
toddb
Explorer
Jun 07, 2019
I'd just leave the tailgate, I wouldn't want that potentially flying around in there. Make sure the umbilical will reach your in bed 7 way, I picked mine up and his was at the front and mine at the rear and the cord was 3' long. I use a 3/4" ply board at the front of the bed. I use mine at the racetrack as well, you'll enjoy it for sure.
Bedlam
Moderator
Jun 07, 2019
Your truck bed should have a rubber mat to prevent the camper from sliding.
jimh406
Explorer III
Jun 07, 2019
One note about the tailgate: I don’t know if you’ve removed yours, but some are very heavy. My F450 has the tailgate assist and step so it’s about 90 lbs. Getting it through the door and going up the steps might not be as easy as you think. Also putting it on the bed means you can’t take a nap on the bed if you change your mind.
Blk88GT
Explorer
Jun 07, 2019
I've got a 7 pin connector in the bed, so I'm good there. I plan to remove the tailgate once I'm there and just toss it on the bed in the camper.

The camper is a 2012, so I should be good height wise.

Good call on the tire pressure, I hadn't thought of that!
jimh406
Explorer III
Jun 07, 2019
Congrats.

You need a way to plug in the lights.

Leave your tailgate at home.

Air up your tires or have a way to do it once you get there.

If you put something in the front of the bed, make it thick although I never have.

Make sure the cab isn’t too tall if it is an older Adventurer that was made before the cabs were taller.

Bring holding tank additive if you plan to use it. Bring freshwater additive to put in the fresh holding tank. Or, look up where to buy the stuff on your trip back.

Understand how to tighten the spring loaded tie downs and make sure they aren’t too tight to cause damage.

Bring sheets etc if you plan to sleep in it instead of immediately driving straight back.

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