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Pickups Pickups - Archived Discussions Cabover Campers & Camper Trailers (pickups) 
1377 messages, Last post on Nov 20, 2003 at 1:43 PM
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That's what I thought as well. It'll be interesting to see how long that camper sits there. Overloading, OH YEAH!!!!! The salesman told me a wet weight of 3,900 lbs, which surprised me a little considering I used to own a slide-in that weighed just under 3,000 lbs completely loaded. My dually weighs in around 7,900 lbs with me and the family, all the other stuff and a full load of diesel. That camper would put me 600 lbs over. Then I'd have to add all of our food and camping gear. I'm estimating in the end approximately 1,500 lbs over GVWR. IMO, I'd really need an F-450 to haul that camper. BTW: The salesman told me my truck would handle it just fine. |
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inside the jockey box on my 02 gmc 1500 extnd.cab long bed, 4wd.it says not rated for slide in camper. my question is ,it is a 1/2 ton p.u., why can't it carry a camperthat is about 1200 lbs. thank you. |
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There is an option package that certifies the truck for a slide-in camper. This package, amongst other things, includes a larger front sway bar and the inclusion of a rear sway bar. A slide-in camper raises the center of gravity of the vehicle requiring extra measures to reduce the amount of body roll. There are some items you can add to make the truck safe for slide-in camper use. Install a larger front sway bar, a rear sway bar, heavier shocks, and probably not a bad idea to look at a tranny cooler. Also, look at the tires on the truck. If they are a passenger car tire, such as "P26575R16", replace them with light truck tires. Those will have an "LT" in place of the "P" in the tire size. The reason is the higher load capacity of the "LT" tires. In addition, you may also need to consider a set of airbags to level the truck once the camper is loaded. Finally, and definitely the most important, which now that I think about it, DO THIS STEP FIRST. Look on the sticker on the inside of the drivers door frame. This sticker will have lots of info on it. Look for the GVWR number and the individual axle weight ratings. Weigh your truck with at least you in it and a full tank of gas, ideally you'll also want your significant other and any children and/or dogs with you to get a more accurate weight. Subtract the weight of the truck from the GVWR. The difference is how much the camper can weigh before you overload the truck. You mentioned the camper weighing 1,200 lbs. Is that the dry or wet weight? You need the wet weight. Add to that at least another 500 lbs for your food, clothes, water and other gear. Those axle ratings I mentioned earlier. Even if all that is under the GVWR, do not exceed the individual axle weights. In the end, I'll bet that you will be surprised just how much a slide-in camper weighs. Even the small ones. I just recently looked at a Lance 1161. This camper has a 12' floor, is nearly 20' long tip-to-tip, and weighs nearly 4,000 lbs. My 1 ton dually wont carry it without being over the GVWR. |
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Someone with some ingenuity. http://www.halturnershow.com/Mexican.htm |
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We started by riding the Alaska State Ferry from Bellingham, WA. to Skagway, AK. which took 4 days. We then did some tourist stuff in Alaska, whale watching boat tours, etc., then went to Deadhorse on the Arctic ocean followed by Fairbanks, then Whitehorse in the Yukon, then back to Skagway for another ferry ride to Prince Rupert, BC. From Prince Rupert, we went to the Canadian National Parks in Jasper and Banff followed by Glacier National Park in Montana, and then we boogied on home. We were going to drive all the way back from Alaska, but it started snowing when we left Tok and it snowed all the way to Whitehorse. 400 miles. In a snow storm. And it looked like we were in for a repeat performance the next day, so we took the easy way out and got on the ferry. We have a Four Wheel popup camper. The plan was to use the camper two out of every three days with the third day in a hotel, but it didn’t work out that way, we ended up staying more days in hotels than in the camper. The camper was just feeling too cramped for two people. The camper was also leaking water again. There was a roof leak that I fixed, but this time it started leaking around the front window. Four Wheel needs to put something in their advertising that says their campers should not be used in rainy weather. I've seen other similar complaints from Four Wheel owners. The best part of the trip was the drive through the Icefields Parkway in Jasper and Banff National Parks. The scenery is magnificent. That part of the trip was just an afterthought. I wish I had planned for more time there. We're definitely going back. Jim |
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Hey yawl, been gone for a while. Quick background on myself - Own a Diesel E350 Cargo Van and a GMC 2500 CC PU, single guy with dog. Am half owner in a Nash Travel Trailer - love it. Occasionally have to schedule around my buddy and his family who are the other half-owners. My passion is off road MC racing - just back from a race weekend in CA (live in Flagstaff). Drove 1600 miles over 3 days, spent three nights in my buddy's popup camper. Thinking about adding an Aliner to the stable. The little popup type campers seem ideal for quick, long, road trips when I tend to not pull the big TT. But the quality on some of these popups are really crappy.... Looking at the expedition Aliner's, probably the Bunk Bed/Sofa models that can sleep three guys. Don't want a refrig, icebox fine, want heat, really don't need much else, maybe a fantastic vent setup, possibly want a microwave. Already own a nice zoic shower thing, and a little Honda generator (2kw), along with my own portapottie, so would be set for quick trips. Any comments/suggestions? Dealers? |
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Hey Jim, Except for the problems with the camper, sounds like you had a great trip! Did you like the Dalton Highway as much as we did? That part of Alaska was our favorite part of the trip. And it was unplanned. The unplanned parts always turn out to be the best parts of the trip. So, we don't plan very much - just where we are going (Alaska) and when (June) and let the trip take care of itself. Currently, we are planning on going back to Alaska this summer. We will take our age 16 grandson. Looks like a new vehicle is in order because our 4 Wheel sized camper is too small for the three of us. Currently we are looking at new Sportsmobile van conversion. http://www.sportsmobile.com/oldsite/new/index2.htm We are considering a Ford E-350 regular body with a popup as shown on the above page. While they have 74 standard floor plans, we would do a custom floor plan to suit our needs. Probably a diesel, 4x4 with stove, oven, 4cf refrig, furnace, sink, 3 captain's chairs and 3 times the storage we have in our Phoenix camper. The van looks like $50K 2wd and $60K 4wd well equipped. But, it is a standard size van, goes and parks anywhere (it is 10" shorter than our reg cab longbed pickup) and should still get reasonable fuel economy. Diesel is for the possibility of pulling a trailer in the future. Our long term goal is more traveling. Pull a trailer to an area - get a campsite for a month or more and use the van for 2-3 day trips in the area - and return to use the trailer as a larger, more comfortable home base. Of course, until it happens it is just a plan - like many other plans that have gone away. Mike L |
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Our favorite part of the trip was the Canadian portion from Prince Rupert through the Icefields Parkway. The time of year (Sept 1) we went was just about right - no other tourists and no bugs. We got to enjoy the fall colors as well. The only drawback was that things were starting to close down for the season - if we had left a week earlier there would have been no problems. We're also planning on purchasing a trailer. The FourWheel camper just doesn't cut it anymore. I haven't decided whether to sell the camper or use it as a trade-in. We're looking at a small fifth wheel - 23 to 25 feet. I don't want to get another truck right now, and, with a 5ver (you like that, 5ver, I picked it up on a trailer forum), I have to be concerned about hitch weight - about 900 lbs max for my truck. Only a few trailers will work for me because of that. Jim "Sex is like pizza. When it's good it's great, and when it's bad it's still pretty good." |
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