rshrimp
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Re: Newbie considering used Lance 1181 purchace
That empty weight sounds the same as mine. I am using round numbers from memory. One more thing you will want to add is a Helwig Big Wig rear sway bar. I did this to mine and it made a huge improvement in control. Wood to Alum .... what you said sounds about right. IMHO when you add a rear slide (1172) you will be overweight on the rear axle. Also, the early 1172's had big problems to the point where Lance bought some of them back! Research .....Then RUN!!!!!353Views0likes0CommentsRe: Newbie considering used Lance 1181 purchace
Sold it for a triple slide Chalet.Very nice camper but very heavy! I have a 5500 on order. The 1181 will fully load a 3500. I had a 12 Ram 4x4 and it scaled at 4500 from and 8500 rear. That was fully loaded for travel. The truck empty was 4500 front and 3500 rear. The rear end in newer 3500's is rated at 10K so with minor rear suspension mods you should OK with the 1181. Notice that it sits pretty much entirely on the rear axle. Performance wise, the truck barely knows it's on there. I can easily accelerate up a 7% grade and the exhaust brake is awesome. Handling wise, you are going to know you have a load. It's fine, but you will know it's on there. You just need to drive smooth enough not to empty the cabinets and you will be fine.(Of course, if you do that more than once your wife will beat you with a stick! Ask me how I know this!) I typically drove it 68-70 but have run 80 when I just wanted to get home. The truck is great but fuel mileage will plunge over about 68.353Views0likes0CommentsRe: Newbie considering used Lance 1181 purchace
I just sold my 2010 1181. Great camper. It has, hands down, more outside storage than any other camper made. Lance makes more truck campers that all the other makers combined so they have a good dealer network if you need service or support. (I don't need dealer as I do it all myself but ...) I carried it on 2012 3500 Ram. I used torklift tiedowns. I tried several rear suspension mods and ended up with nothing more than a set of supersprings added to the rear. It rides perfect with the camper on but a bit harsh empty. If you need a great ride both loaded and empty you will need to go to a Kelderman air ride setup for the rear. (True air ride not just bags between axle and frame) Loved the 1181 .... many miles of smiles!353Views0likes0CommentsRe: Switching to residential style fridge questions.
Didn't look at 12v fridges. I have a huge inverter that does nothing else, 300w of solar, and 4 GC batteries. For me this is working out great. I have the fridge installed and the window back in. I installed nice wood trim around the front/sides and then stuffed pool noodles around the top, sides, and bottom from the rear. Then I spray foamed, again from the back,around all 4 sides. I am going to leave the current vents and dead space behind the fridge. The compressor and condenser live in that "outdoor" space. This will allow the heat to escape to the outdoors. In FLorida so I run the air a lot more than the heat. I did not want to put the extra heat from the fridge in the coach. Not done yet but getting close. I have had some other projects (home bathroom remodel) that took priority. I'll post some pics when it's done.301Views0likes0CommentsRe: Want info on this Kodiak with a Lance 1181
I looked at a real nice Kodiak this week. The top of the cab is right at 8 feet. My Chalet is 6 ft from bottom of cabover to top of AC unit. With a few inches of cab clearance I would be over 14 ft. 13.5 is legal limit. Could not buy the truck. 2016 Ram 5500 on order.434Views0likes0Comments
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