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Re: S&S 8.5 Camper on Ram 2500: Measured weights; advice.
ajriding wrote: put up a pic. I had a similar truck, but with long bed. Camper dry claimed 1800 lbs, so similar weights, but I also towed a trailer so actually had more weight on the truck. Many trips across the nation, no issues at all. The downfall is the weight, not that the truck can't handle it, but more weight means more stress on everything, so faster wear of components, but that is a universal fact with weights in in vehicles. I moved to a trailer partly for this reason. Check your engine block. If it is stamped with 53 then you got a lemon, otherwise that is a great engine, now the truck is junky, but the Cummins is great. The injector pump is the weak link. Put a gauge on the lift pump and never let the psi drop. An after market lift pump like FASS or Air Dog is best, but $700. If you starve the injector pump of fuel it will quickly fail. Parts $1,500 and labor close to $2k. I have taken the pump off and put back on so is not a big deal, but you will pay lots to a mechanic to do it. The air bags take weight off the truck frame and put it on the truck axle, bypassing the trucks leaf springs somewhat (so the weight is shared). The frame can take the weight, the axles can, the tires can,(you said the wheels can?) but the suspension components will just get wear faster as will the wheel bearings. I assume you put the bags on top of the leaf springs? Putting them inside of the leafs will cause a tippy issue with the TC that a trailer would not cause. Exhaust brakes are a wonderful thing. From my quick research, it appears block 53 was manufactured 99-2001 or something. Are there still 2021 trucks being made where this is a concern? I will try to look at block number. Thanks1.7KViews0likes0CommentsRe: S&S 8.5 Camper on Ram 2500: Measured weights; advice.
ajriding wrote: put up a pic. I had a similar truck, but with long bed. Camper dry claimed 1800 lbs, so similar weights, but I also towed a trailer so actually had more weight on the truck. Many trips across the nation, no issues at all. The downfall is the weight, not that the truck can't handle it, but more weight means more stress on everything, so faster wear of components, but that is a universal fact with weights in in vehicles. I moved to a trailer partly for this reason. Check your engine block. If it is stamped with 53 then you got a lemon, otherwise that is a great engine, now the truck is junky, but the Cummins is great. The injector pump is the weak link. Put a gauge on the lift pump and never let the psi drop. An after market lift pump like FASS or Air Dog is best, but $700. If you starve the injector pump of fuel it will quickly fail. Parts $1,500 and labor close to $2k. I have taken the pump off and put back on so is not a big deal, but you will pay lots to a mechanic to do it. The air bags take weight off the truck frame and put it on the truck axle, bypassing the trucks leaf springs somewhat (so the weight is shared). The frame can take the weight, the axles can, the tires can,(you said the wheels can?) but the suspension components will just get wear faster as will the wheel bearings. I assume you put the bags on top of the leaf springs? Putting them inside of the leafs will cause a tippy issue with the TC that a trailer would not cause. Exhaust brakes are a wonderful thing. All good tips... I will look into it all tomorrow. Photo is with the original tires before upgrade. https://imgur.com/a/M32uINy1.7KViews0likes0CommentsRe: S&S 8.5 Camper on Ram 2500: Measured weights; advice.
notsobigjoe wrote: If your 740 lbs over that would not bother me and many other truck campers on this forum and the rest of the truck camper forum universe. Then again the weight police would consider you massively over and in need of shaving off some additional weight. Where ever you fall in the middle of these two very different worlds is something your going to have to work out yourself. I'm not being snarky at all please don't think I'm being sarcastic. I'm usually over about 1500 pounds as well as a boat in tow and I could care less. If your comfortable with your rig then I say go with it, if your not then upgrade to the one ton. If I could give you some advice skip the 1 ton non dually and just get the dually. You'll be within every weight limit possible and you'll have the best ride out there. I hope this helps. Joe I appreciate your response and agree there seem to be two groups with most things. Since mine has been seeming to work so far and feels very safe to drive I will go ahead and just roll with this for now. Perhaps a dually is in future, but seeing as this truck is my daily driver, would prefer to stay SRW for time being. Thanks again!213Views0likes0CommentsRe: S&S 8.5 Camper on Ram 2500: Measured weights; advice.
JimK-NY wrote: You are happy with your rig and have used it several times. What concerns do you have? What advice are you asking for? It seems that weight is the issue. If so, I can add that my TC is supposed to be 2300 lbs empty and setup for travel it weighs in well over 4000 lbs. I take extended trips and carry backup foods, a generator, 2 solar panels, 2 heavy AGM batteries and 3 seasons of clothing. Your use seems very different and you are likely not too much over the specs for your truck. I would check on ratings for your tires. Those are probably limiting you to roughly 3000 lbs per tire. You might be able to upgrade to improve the safety margin. Each tire load for my BF Goodrich AT's is 3640lb. You know, I guess I'm not really asking for specific advice.. The truck camper stuff is all new to me since I'm used to towing. So I guess I was just posting to either look for some gentle reassurance vs DON"T EVEN DRIVE THAT TRUCK ANOTHER MILE. And if the latter... I guess I would tuck my tail and think really hard about selling my new truck for a 1 ton.213Views0likes0CommentsS&S 8.5 Camper on Ram 2500: Measured weights; advice.
Hello everyone! I have a 2021 Ram 2500 Cummins short box and a S&S 8.5 camper. Camper states Dry Weight of 2200. I have it loaded and have taken 6 trips in it and with airbags on truck it drives and handles completely fine. Took to scales today: No water in tanks, no dogs/passenger in truck, not fully loaded with gear. Relatively empty. With camper: Steer Axle: 4980 Drive Axle: 5760 Gross: 10740 Post Camper: Steer: 4900 Drive: 3100 Gross: 8000 So total camper weight before water/gear, but with battery, two propane, most everything that stays in camper between uses = 2740lbs I still need to go re-weigh with camper dropped, but think it is at least 1k heavier than the "dry weight of 2.2k" even without water/gear, etc. Truck specs from door sticker: GVWR 10,000. Front 6k Rear 6,040. I have the nicer 18k wheels and nice well rated tires, so they aren't the limiting factor. Loaded with gear I think I will be closer to 11k. I am interested in peoples thoughts. The truck drives and handles just fine, so not concerned about that. Just got back from ski trip on lots of twisty roads and the body roll is minimal. Braking seems just fine especially combined with diesel exhaust break. It appears I am below axle weights, but over on gross. I got a killer deal on truck (was just using for towing at that point) and then practically got this pristine camper given to me. I could not afford a newer/lighter weight 20k+ camper right now. I see my options as either keeping going for awhile with this setup. Trying to sell my current truck and buying an older 1-ton. Thanks everyone.6.3KViews0likes21Comments
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