Hi everyone, just a quick question for you. I have a 93 F150 Supercab short box and am looking for a camper. My knowledge on campers is limited. I need to know what size camper I can haul with my truck.

 

Depends on the weight of the camper. The newer you get, the bigger you'll be able to go as newer campers are alot lighter.



I've seen F150's tow 30ft campers before. Just be sure the camper has working trailer brakes, and a nice big tranny cooler to keep the transmission from overheating if automatic, and your good to go.


You might need some overload springs, or timbrem springs (empty rubber boots) that act like air bags to help level out the truck with a load.

 

Thanks for the info but I am wondering about the type of camper that goes inside the truck box. After looking around online it looks like I am limited to a 8-8.5' unit.

 

I would recommend sticking to one of the lower profile pop up truck campers. i have one I use in my 92 F250 extended cab long bed. Mine has the 8' floor in it and I still needed to put a 6" tool box that I keep a floor jack in and a few other tools so that the camper can be pulled snugly in to the front with out my sewer drain does does not hit the bed or bumper. I use Firestone ride Rite air bags to keep the truck level and have the largest aux trans cooler I could get in there to keep the radiator cool. With your truck being an F150 you should really go weigh the truck empty then look at your rear axle max weight and actual weight so you know how much camper you can buy.
My camper weighs about 1650 wet and unloaded, and is right at 2000 loaded

matt

 

That's about it, I'm afraid. Take your truck across a scale with a full tank of gas, add 200 lbs per passenger in the cab and that's your unladen weight. Deduct that from your GVW rating and that's how much camper & stuff you can carry.

Some of the newer shortbed campers have eight to eight and one-half feet of floor length but that means they hang out of the back of the bed. Also, be mindful of the CG of the camper. The CG should be ahead of the rear axle.

Note-the weight given by the manufacturer will vary as to real weight, since they often don't account for full propane and water tanks.

Do some looking around HERE at Truck Camper Magazine. Right hand side column has a list of manufacturer links.

Ray

 

I would hesitate to put any slide in camper on a short bed F-150, not a ideal camper hauler, not enough axle, springs, tires or brakes.
If you have to, I would suggest going with the above suggestion, low profile, light, pop-ups.
Realistically, for other than the odd weekend trip where the camper goes on and comes off afterward, campers are the realm of F-250/350s.

 

My camper is on the heavier side as far as light weight pop ups go. With a short bed you can get a 6' floor camper. My camper has a wet bath in it, it is tight quarters as far as bathroom and shower goes but when your girlfriend/wife refuses to walk to the bath house in the middle of the night what are you going to do.
Butback to 6 foot floor plan campers. I have a Palomino Maverick 1251 camper. They have a B600 camper that has a dry weight of just over 1000 lbs, not shower or toilet and a 6' floor that an older F150 would probably handle fine.

If you need more amenities i would suggest get either a bigger truck or look at a Tag(bumperpull) camper

Also keep in mind all of the extra stuff you will put in the truck/camper even for just a weekend get away

matt

 

I used to have a '95 F-150 Supercab short box, 351, 3.55 gears, E4OD, 235-85x16 tires (~32"). I used it to haul my 8' pop-up slide-in camper (see my avatar picture for a picture of my camper on a '02 F-350 crew cab short box).

I put Firestone Ride-Rite air helper springs in the F-150 and it handled the load fine, even when also towing my Jeep CJ-5 (flat-tow, so no tongue weight).

BUT... I'm guessing the truck weighed about 4500 lbs, the camper is about 1200 which put me at about 5700 empty. Add in 4 people and food and gear for a week-long vacation and I was definitely over the GVWR (~6200 lbs if I remember correctly).

So even though I did it and it worked fine, I'd suggest going up to an F-250 if you want to carry a slide-in camper.

 

Thanks for all the info guys, I have decided against a slide in camper (I will use the box for the atv).

My truck is already set up for towing by the PO (hitch/brake controller/heavy springs in rear etc) so I am now on the hunt for a small (16-20') travel trailer instead. Going to look at a 16' tomorrow evening.

I think it will suit my needs better as I can haul the quad in the box of the truck and drop the trailer at the campsite and still use the truck to run around.

 

Good choice. I haul a Bronco (used to be a Jeep) instead of a quad, so throwing the fourwheeler in the bed isn't an option for me. I either need a camper that can tow my Bronco or a camper my Bronco can tow. A big RV would be nice, but not in the cards for me right now. The Bronco isn't going to pull anything bigger than a small pop-up tent trailer, and wouldn't be very pleasant at that. So I'm stuck with a slide-in for the pickup for now. But a 16' trailer will give you way more space and work out a lot better.

 

Very good choice deciding not to get one lol. Slide-ins require a certain level of skill to haul, even with a dually (ask me how I know...) A F-150 just isn't a suitable truck camper hauler especially in a short bed.

Id stick with something in the 25 foot and under range. If you have a bit more cash to spend, look into an Airstream. They tow REALLY nice and are very aerodynamic which means you can get a bigger one with a smaller truck.

Good luck!