Will 8 foot camper fit in 6-6 bed

[Tmiiler6147]

I have a 03 chevy 2500 hd 6.6 diesel crew cab and i was wondering if I could fit an 8 foot truck camper. Truck has air bags on for big fifth wheel. I know I have plenty of power but will I have the suspension to carry the camper. Camper is 2000 sunlight model 955. Thanks for any advice

[wnjj]

notsobigjoe wrote:
If it isn't made for a short box it wont fit a short box for all of the reasons above. The center of gravity is designed to put most of the weight of the truck camper on the rear axle. If it's designed for a long box yes the COG will be too far back. Yes there are many long campers designed for short box use but utilize the above theory.

There are some short bed designs that are simply the long bed camper with added skirts and even storage boxes in the back which means they would actually have a more rearward COG than the long bed model would on a short bed truck. So in some cases 'short bed model' means nothing more than 'looks nice on a short bed truck'.

Whether it a long bed camper works on a short bed truck is as much to do with structural design as it is COG as a previous poster mentioned,

[finsruskw]

X2!!

[notsobigjoe]

If it isn't made for a short box it wont fit a short box for all of the reasons above. The center of gravity is designed to put most of the weight of the truck camper on the rear axle. If it's designed for a long box yes the COG will be too far back. Yes there are many long campers designed for short box use but utilize the above theory.

[burningman]

towpro wrote:
The sunline 955 is not 8' long, it is 9'-6" long.


not that much information out there on them, but most I saw for sale said "long bed pickup truck"

Good catch!!
Yes, everything I can find about a 2000 Sunlite 955 shows it at 9'6" too.
It's NOT an 8' camper, it's a camper made for 8' truck beds.
It's too long to use on a short bed.

[finsruskw]

I believe the original poster needs to find the COG of the camper in question and go from there.

[wnjj]

Quite some time ago I posted the same camper loading info from GM (the OP's truck) from about his year too. GM said B was 0. The only spec was percentage of front axle weight over the total and it only needed to be something like 25 percent.

Especially with a diesel up there, I see no issue. Taking a couple hundred pounds off a front axle that weighs north of 4K isn't going to be noticeable.

[finsruskw]

That plus the fact you will be taking weight OFF the front axle which will affect steering.
For example, setting my fully loaded 1181 (not a good comparrison, I know) on my long box CC Ram 3500 RWD takes 160 pounds OFF the front axle and yields a rear axle weight of 8780#s
The "B" measurement on my truck is also 25"

[towpro]

example:
2015 Ram, 2500 regular cab
A = 75" B = 25" to 31" depending on options and engine

Mega cab
A = could be as low as 65" depending on options and engine.
B = 25"

So really, if you take from rear edge of bed and measure forward 65" in a short bed, 65" will come to front of bed.

I think most important is the B measurement. in a 6' bed, measure from end of bed forward 25" (to get your MOST REARWARD Center of Gravity point, your going to be darn near the center of axle.

[jimh406]

I think mkirsch is just saying that realistically speaking except when there is a huge amount of overhang, the COG would be at worst the same as towing a reasonably heavy trailer/boat while carrying the camper. So, it probably really doesn't matter. Seems reasonable to me.

I will say that my black/grey tanks are at the rear of the camper, and I was able to notice my SRW driving different between having an almost full black and grey tank compared to driving with those empty. Essentially, the weight moved from front to rear as the fresh water tank was used. That's another detail that might be more impactful than the COG.

[sonuvabug]

mkirsch wrote:
... snipped ... Don't worry about COG. Check your camper loading information on the glove box sticker and/or in the owner's manual. The acceptable COG range is anywhere in the bed of the truck.

This is the first time I have ever read this about the COG. Everything I have read says the COG point should be no further back than directly above or preferably ahead of the rear axle.

Where did you reference your information? ... I'd like to read more.

[mkirsch]

Don't worry about COG. Check your camper loading information on the glove box sticker and/or in the owner's manual. The acceptable COG range is anywhere in the bed of the truck.

At worst, the COG of a long bed camper in a short bed truck will be 12" behind the axle. If the camper weighs less than 4000lbs, the effect will be no worse than hitching up a trailer with a 500lb tongue weight.

The main concern is STRUCTURAL. Being that the camper was made in 2000, odds are it is a "long bed" camper, designed to be supported along the first 8 feet of the floor.

How the camper will handle having the 18" hanging out in open space over the long haul is the question.

[towpro]

The sunline 955 is not 8' long, it is 9'-6" long.


not that much information out there on them, but most I saw for sale said "long bed pickup truck"

[burningman]

One thing to check: often when air bags are installed for use with a 5th wheel trailer, both bags are plumbed together rather than separately. If that's the case on your truck you might want to separate them. The problem is with the top-heavy weight of a camper, when you go around a corner the outside bag gets squeezed as the truck tries to lean out on it. Instead of resisting that, the air simply gets pushed through the line to the inside bag, making the truck lean worse.

[EfonFred]

Our Northern Lite is 8-11 and yes, there is a physical sticker on it showing the actual center of gravity. 2500 Ram quad cab, "short" bed.