Truck camper and towing

[Hemisport]

Good morning,
I have a 2012 ram 3500 mega cab srw. I am looking at either a northern lite 8.11 or an arctic fox 865 both units 2023. I’m looking for advice on tow setups. Manufacturers don’t seem to list the overhang the campers have and I want to to my Nautique behind me. Tongue weight is about 350 boat and trailer probably 6200 lbs. anyone have any advice as to a good setup.

[Hemisport]

Grit dog wrote:
Wait yours is a ‘12 so it has a 2” receiver still I believe.

Yes it does have the 2”.
However after measuring the northern light 8.11 it is roughly 59” from my rear receiver to the rear of the landing on the camper. Which means I would need a torkllify super hitch with a 48” truss system. Even after all that my hitch ball will still be slightly under the rear deck which is not a deal killer as long as I can still turn ok. The other down side is apparently the 48” is only good for 4000lbs unless you use weight distribution. Not sure if that can be done on a boat trailer as they are not a v frame tongue.

[Grit_dog]

KD4UPL wrote:
Torque lift super truss is the best there is, probably overkill fir such a short overhang. I used one that was 48"with my 11' truck camper. Before that I used a Reese 48" extension. It worked fine but had much more plan than the tork lift set uo.
A boat won't have 10 - 15% tongue weight. 5 - 8 will be more realistic. You will likely be over GVWR but as long as you don't exceed axle or tire weights you'll be fine.

Short overhang? You do realize that those specific campers in that specific truck result in about a 3ft overhang? Similar overhang to your 11’ camper.

[Grit_dog]

jimh406 wrote:
Most TCs list the overall length, My guess is you'll need about 18-24 inch extension. Where the ball is impacts the felt weight from the tongue. I'm assuming you have the short bed. From what I understand the Megacab is only offered in short beds.

Fwiw, you are likely to be overloaded without the boa by the time you add water etc. You have to include the tongue weight in your payload which is probably 10-15% of the 6200.

If this is a long term plan unless you only plan to short tow it, you'll likely need a DRW. Another option if close by is to take the TC to the campground drop it, and go back for the boat. Of course, you could do that with a TT as well.

The truck will drive better with the boat hooked up compared to just the camper…..
But it’s good to start the paranoia and weird “solutions” early on in the thread!

[Grit_dog]

And literally the second person to reply hit the “You need a dually” buzzer…..
OP if you don’t listen to me, the rest of the contingent here will have you totally twisted around. The dumb suggestions are already pouring in from those who like to “share” their hypothetical knowledge, aka biased opinions about something they’ve never done….
Good luck and you’d be better off leaving now, lol.

[KD4UPL]

Torque lift super truss is the best there is, probably overkill fir such a short overhang. I used one that was 48"with my 11' truck camper. Before that I used a Reese 48" extension. It worked fine but had much more plan than the tork lift set uo.
A boat won't have 10 - 15% tongue weight. 5 - 8 will be more realistic. You will likely be over GVWR but as long as you don't exceed axle or tire weights you'll be fine.

[jimh406]

Most TCs list the overall length, My guess is you'll need about 18-24 inch extension. Where the ball is impacts the felt weight from the tongue. I'm assuming you have the short bed. From what I understand the Megacab is only offered in short beds.

Fwiw, you are likely to be overloaded without the boa by the time you add water etc. You have to include the tongue weight in your payload which is probably 10-15% of the 6200.

If this is a long term plan unless you only plan to short tow it, you'll likely need a DRW. Another option if close by is to take the TC to the campground drop it, and go back for the boat. Of course, you could do that with a TT as well.

[Grit_dog]

Wait yours is a ‘12 so it has a 2” receiver still I believe.

[Grit_dog]

Piece of cake, although 2.5” hitch extensions are harder to find and iirc only come in about a 24” length, which is about perfect but could get by with shorter, maybe 18” total if the boat is a v nose and not a pickle fork. 2.5-2” reducer extensions are more plentiful and better selection of lengths.
Had AF 860s on a 3rd gen 2500 Mega, same bed length and camper length as the 811 and I think the 865.
Straight towing with the extension with a same boat. Slightly lighter overall and slightly heavier tongue weight. And a much lighter rated hitch than your truck.
Thousands of miles towing like this with the boat and similar size trailers.
You’ll have no problems either.
Only thing out of the ordinary id do is slide a flat washer or 2 under the male ends of the extension and the drawbar to take up the slop so the hitch didn’t look “saggy.”