What else does your truck do?

[burningman]

I’ve always thought part of the reason to have a truck camper is because you already have a truck anyway.
From reading here I’ve gotten the impression a lot of people buy a truck to do nothing but carry a camper.
Is that really common? Seems like a heck of an expensive way to have an RV!

Question Two is about the ol’ hot topic, payload rating numbers.
I understand trucks very thoroughly, it’s just a fundamental one; why is it that only camper hauling people are so concerned about payload sticker ratings, when it seems no one else is?
Here’s an example, one of my own pickups doing other work.
This is my Dodge dually with two 3000 pound sacks of 5/8-minus gravel in the back. On the scale the rear axle weighed right about 10,000 (that canopy is heavy too). That puts every tire below it’s rating and they’re only 235/85-16s. The Dana 80 axle has an 11,000 rating by Dana, In fact, F450 Fords used to use the very same Dana 60 front/Dana 80 rear combo. This truck has done this for 20 years. I pulled the rear hubs and bearings recently to have a look, they’re the originals and are in fine shape.
If you look at the so-called ratings for a ‘99 Dodge 3500, it says it can’t do this, yet it clearly can.
Where I work, one tons routinely haul this or more every day. I couid take lots of similar photos of others. Nobody using these trucks for work worries about it.

[work2much]

Now that I am retired from construction the only other use my truck gets is for home repair type of stuff or helping friends. I have a Warner clamp on lumber rack that helps move long materials. I have carried well over the GVWR in my trucks. 2 pallets of 60 pound quikrete and many bags of sand would be well over 7000 pounds.

On my 3/4 ton work trucks they were overloaded more. Just the 2 knack boxes, generator, compressor etc would max them out and then the roof rack loaded with lumber. Trucks really do a lot more than the tale of the door sticker.

I see some veterans of truck campers fret over GVWR but for the most part it seems like TC noobs on FB with little experience who shout the loudest about the sky falling.

Now that I don't need a truck aside from small jobs (which I could rent a truck for) I have considered going with a motorhome type set up but so far I have been hard pressed to find something that is as capable off road, as roomy inside and does't cost double or more what our current set up has (which are still not as roomy inside).

We are considering at some point going to a smaller SRW SB truck with a flatbed and an alaskan flatbed bed camper as well as a small 5th wheel so we could travel in a couple different ways for different trips leaving one rig at home. Right now though a TC even if the truck is underutilized when the camper is off seems to be our ideal rig.

[Kayteg1]

They say picture is worth 1000 words


Click For Full-Size Image.

[mbloof]

With my last truck/camper, the camper would spend 95% of the time on the truck. (I have a car for a daily driver) While the camper was almost always on the truck, it was easy enough to drop the camper if I needed the truck for other things. Likely 25% of the time while camping I'd unload the camper.

Fast forward to today and different truck and camper while the new combination is not as easy to load up, I find that I have less need for a truck other than something to haul the camper with.

While some might say that in my situation a different type of RV might make more sense, it comes down to features that my current setup has that would be difficult to replace with a single unit.

- How many motor homes (of any class) have the ground clearance of a modern truck?
- How many motor homes have 4X4?
- How many motor homes are powered by a 6.7L PSD?

I could go on...

Then there is the camper itself. I have a Northern Lite. How many motor homes are built like that? Have full queen size beds over the cab?

I think it would be difficult at any cost to replicate the features of my truck and camper with a motor home.

BTW: These days the camper lives 100% of the time on the truck.

- Mark0.

[ppine]

Pull horse trailer, utiltiy trailer and boat, besides a travel trailer.
sleep in it. Haul camping equipment for car camping. Haul rafts and canoes for boat trips. Haul landscape equipment. Haul logging equipment. Haul lumber.

[Kayteg1]

I had 2 of those sacks on my new F350.
Sacks are good as I don't trash the paint job 😉
I had truck in my business all the time, so when boys moved out of the house and city chased me away with my bus - TC was the best and the cheapest solution.
Now I don't need truck anymore (for 2 times a year I do - I can always rent) but I really enjoy new truck comfort, navigation and 440HP.
Fact is that getting Sprinter B class looks tempting, but those are costly

[DutchmenSport]

I'm not a truck camper, but to answer the first question from my perspective..."Yes". We purchased the biggest, baddest, most expensive truck we could afford for the sole purpose of towing a trailer. Now that we have a 5er, I'm glad we made that decision. I have no other need for a pick-up truck than to tow the trailer. Expensive, well ... you simply can't put a price on "priceless!"

FYI, I've had a utility trailer and hitches on everything I've owned for the sole purpose of pulling the utility trailer to carry anything that would fit in the bed of a pick-up truck, and maybe more, not having to worry about scratches and dents and dirt.

We debated a LONG time about a 1 ton truck and trailer/5er opposed to a motor home, and the truck and trailer combination made most sense, although financially, they came out, about the same. No need for my truck, except as a tow vehicle, strictly for RVing. And it does get used as a secondary daily driver now.

[jaycocreek]

burningman wrote:
Question Two is about the ol’ hot topic, payload rating numbers.
I understand trucks very thoroughly, it’s just a fundamental one; why is it that only camper hauling people are so concerned about payload sticker ratings, when it seems no one else is?

Exactly..but the internet is addictive and has had me weigh my rig for the first time ever owning a pickup..Just because I saw it on the internet..It was kinda fun though playing on the scales again..

A Class C makes way more sense if a guy is never going to use his pickup for anything but hauling a TC..

I haul my Yamaha Rhino and mostly firewood in my pickup but use it sometimes to help move stuff or go to the dump..I have never been without a pickup ever until I went Class C and sold my 3/4 ton pickup..Huge mistake for me and my ways...Gotta have a pickup in this area..

Sometimes I wonder about things I see here also,like buying one battery that cost more than a brand new Honda inverter generator or solar panels and all the stuff that goes with it that are very costly..

Times and the internet has definitely changed the way people camp.They used to call camping roughing it,not anymore.."Laughing"

[JIMNLIN]

Well years back when we were TC users my trucks also had to pull heavy GN stock trailers...dot registered GN flatdeck trailers/GN/bumper pull enclosed trailers.....boat trailers.....haul hay.....deliver firewood.....normal farm and ranch stuff and loan them the kids/family because they didn't have a truck.
My trucks did and still do double and triple duties although we don't have a TC at this time.

Q#2...Having owned three different TC years ago I still look in on the TC forum to keep up with changes which are many. Most TC owners over here have a much better grasp of a trucks actual capabilities per mfg mechanical specs and understand how to find and read the vehicle mfg website sources that show the mechanical sameness or differences in each size truck.
JMO but the 5th wheel and TT forums have the most payload sticker weight cop types mainly because many are newbs and have never owned a truck before so they bit into the payload sticker or trucks gross weight minus gvwr = payload numbers.....and completely ignore the fact that the new higher gvwr payload sticker numbers, in many cases, will and has exceeded a tire/wheel load or rear suspension ratings.

[zigzagrv]

Long, long time ago (50 years) when I was building my house, I was in need of cement. Just so happened, my brother's son-in-law worked at a local cement plant. He called and told my brother they had had a spill and I could have as much of the spilled cement as I wanted. My brother had a 1953 1/4 ton Chevy pickup with a six banger, so off to the cement plant. We loaded 23 80 pound bags (around a ton) into the truck and off we went. The rear of the truck was very low and the front was pointing skyward. My brother remarked how the steering felt like power steering as we went the 5 miles to my place. Many years later, he sold the truck and it was still going strong.

[Lwiddis]

IMO the “line” between hard use of your truck and abuse and between safe operation and endangering others is hard to determine. I choose to be safe and stay within specs. Ask your insurance agent what he/she thinks about overloading. At some point overloading becomes “reckless” (or “gross”) negligence and your insurance maximums won’t be enough.

[Chris_Bryant]

My truck had a 45kw Onan in the back, along with 4 follow spotlights. Early 80s 350, 165 hp. I totaled 19,500 lbs, about 5,000 lbs over gcvw.

[sbryan]

JMHO but I hear you. Bought my truck to haul gravel, fire wood, other stuff. Then bought a cheap 5th wheel, 18k gvwr. All the 5th wheel people said I had to buy a dually. Now I have an igloo 9.5, 3500 pounds wet ready to go. Over the scale I am 800 pounds over my gvwr but 30000 miles, no issues. Truck is registered for 12500 and front and rear axles are under as well as the tires but the "experts" still critique. Some people just have too much time. Go camping and ignore the noise.??