Slide-in campers versus lift kits
#1
Slide-in campers versus lift kits
My plans are to put a full size Lance slide-in camper in the bed for trips. I also want to lift the truck. I cannot pull a trailer where I go. How much can I lift the truck without worrying about being too top heavy and dumping it on it's side?
Thanks ya'll,
Steve...
Thanks ya'll,
Steve...
#2
i have a 8.5 foot lance and i have to put about 4-6" of wood under the jacks to get it in and out of my stock (execpt for 285/75-16 tires) truck and it gets a little harry with just a slight breeze when it is cranked all the way up. i could not imagine trying to put that thing into or talking it off a lifted truck. maybe a smaller pop-up but not a full sized lance. my 8.5 footer, which is a smaller one weighs 2500#
#3
Originally Posted by wlihntr
it gets a little harry with just a slight breeze when it is cranked all the way up. i could not imagine trying to put that thing into or talking it off a lifted truck. maybe a smaller pop-up but not a full sized lance. my 8.5 footer, which is a smaller one weighs 2500#
When I get to my camping location I can leave it on the bed and help support it with the jacks and blocks.
I'm mainly concerned about while traveling and operating in uneven deep sand.
This is good info and exactly what I knew I would fing on this site, please keep the info coming guys...
Thanks!
Steve...
#4
when i say "cranked all the way up" i am talking about loading and unloading the camper in the bed. getting the camper in and out of the bed of a lifted truck is going to be a very big challange plus the handeling issue, which i can not speak for since my truck is stock height. i will say with just the stock susupension the rig was quite a handfull to drve until i put on a set of rear air bags, a helwig rear antisway bar, and rancho rs9000 adjustible shocks. there is a reason you never see big lifted trucks hauling full size hard sided slid-ins.
#5
Originally Posted by wlihntr
there is a reason you never see big lifted trucks hauling full size hard sided slid-ins.
#6
Originally Posted by BAJA_SD
I see them all the time on the way to Glamis, and the wind through the passes can be real bad. When it is, they just slow down. Check out Lance (Website) for useful handling tips, no pun intended.
#7
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#8
#9
#10
Originally Posted by shoobear
Hey, i have a 2001 f350 with a 6" lift, i put a 10' camper in it. Just have to put some pads under the jacks to get it on and off the truck. I run 315/75/16 mtr tires. I put a set of air bags in the rear also.
cheers
cheers
#11
It's full-sized, hard sided. I'm considering the Lance 915 Lite. The options bring the weight up to 2800 lbs.
I heard back from Lance and mistakenly put the post by itself, I'll copy it here and see if I can kill the other thread...
------------------------copy--------------
I asked Lance about lifted SD's and full-sized campers. They state there is no problem associated with rollover, even with lift kits. Just sounds plain weird to me, like they just want to sell, sell, sell. Our conversation below:
From: Steve
To: garthoATlancecamper.com
Subject: Lifted trucks and slide-in campers - CG problems
I have a stock 2003 F-250 with an extended cab and an eight foot
bed. I WILL be buying a full-sized camper to put in the bed, but
I am very concerned about center of gravity.
I am looking at the 915 but I also want to install a lift kit on
the truck. What is the maximum you would recommend to lit the
truck body and not be more concerned about rollover from CG being
too high?
The top of the bed rails are 55 inches above the road. With the
CG of the 915 at 58", it would put the camper CG at 7 feet 10
inches above the road. I measured the 58" from the bed floor.
Would 2 or 4 inches of lift be ok? Thanks...
On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 14:33:00 -0700, Garth Olson wrote:
Steve you are going the wrong way with the CG. The CG is going from
front to back not up and down. I just had another email regarding
the same question if you go 4 to 6 ins you will be alright and you
can order jack extensions that are 6 ins so everything should work
for you.
Thanks, Garth Olson
From: Steve
To: Garth Olson
Subject: RE: Lifted trucks and slide-in campers - CG problems
Hmmm, interesting...
My thinking is the higher you have the weight the more apt you are to sway or rollover.
With everything loaded in the camper close to the floor such as batteries, Propane tanks, water heater and with the water tank and holding tanks in the floor keeps everything pretty much right in the bottom of the truck box and that will be most of the weight. The height will have some effect on handling a lot will depend on your tire size and width. Thanks again, Garth
I heard back from Lance and mistakenly put the post by itself, I'll copy it here and see if I can kill the other thread...
------------------------copy--------------
I asked Lance about lifted SD's and full-sized campers. They state there is no problem associated with rollover, even with lift kits. Just sounds plain weird to me, like they just want to sell, sell, sell. Our conversation below:
From: Steve
To: garthoATlancecamper.com
Subject: Lifted trucks and slide-in campers - CG problems
I have a stock 2003 F-250 with an extended cab and an eight foot
bed. I WILL be buying a full-sized camper to put in the bed, but
I am very concerned about center of gravity.
I am looking at the 915 but I also want to install a lift kit on
the truck. What is the maximum you would recommend to lit the
truck body and not be more concerned about rollover from CG being
too high?
The top of the bed rails are 55 inches above the road. With the
CG of the 915 at 58", it would put the camper CG at 7 feet 10
inches above the road. I measured the 58" from the bed floor.
Would 2 or 4 inches of lift be ok? Thanks...
On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 14:33:00 -0700, Garth Olson wrote:
Steve you are going the wrong way with the CG. The CG is going from
front to back not up and down. I just had another email regarding
the same question if you go 4 to 6 ins you will be alright and you
can order jack extensions that are 6 ins so everything should work
for you.
Thanks, Garth Olson
From: Steve
To: Garth Olson
Subject: RE: Lifted trucks and slide-in campers - CG problems
Hmmm, interesting...
My thinking is the higher you have the weight the more apt you are to sway or rollover.
With everything loaded in the camper close to the floor such as batteries, Propane tanks, water heater and with the water tank and holding tanks in the floor keeps everything pretty much right in the bottom of the truck box and that will be most of the weight. The height will have some effect on handling a lot will depend on your tire size and width. Thanks again, Garth
#12
Saw your thread... I have a Lance 815 I use on my '05 stock F350 Harley. I use the HappiJac tiedowns. I had a clearance issue above the cab with my cab lights (even with the bed mat)... per Lance I needed to add spacers to the bottom of the camper to increase the clearance. I think this will be necessary even without the cab lights. I used 2x4's mounted left to right in 15" intervals for the spacers.
The jacks raise the camper with the spacers to just clear the bed of the truck for loading and I sure would think the jack extenders they suggested would be a good idea even for me at the stock lift (which the F350 is a couple inches higher than the F250).
I also needed to add 1/2" spacer to the front of camper so it would not slide in so far as it nearly touches the tail lights when slid all the way in.
The rear tiedowns attach to the sides of the bumber with a slip on clip to hook the tiedown too. The bumbers are so weak at this point that they will deflect upward when you assemble the tiedown. I contacted HappiJac and they offer a bracket to reinforce the bumber. I made my own bracket out of 1"x1/8" angle iron and it did the trick.
The truck handles great loaded on. You might check your loaded weight as the F250 payload is far less than I thought it was (almost bought one).... which is why I waited until 2005 with their increased payloads and still ordered the F350 for future Lance upgrade .
The jacks raise the camper with the spacers to just clear the bed of the truck for loading and I sure would think the jack extenders they suggested would be a good idea even for me at the stock lift (which the F350 is a couple inches higher than the F250).
I also needed to add 1/2" spacer to the front of camper so it would not slide in so far as it nearly touches the tail lights when slid all the way in.
The rear tiedowns attach to the sides of the bumber with a slip on clip to hook the tiedown too. The bumbers are so weak at this point that they will deflect upward when you assemble the tiedown. I contacted HappiJac and they offer a bracket to reinforce the bumber. I made my own bracket out of 1"x1/8" angle iron and it did the trick.
The truck handles great loaded on. You might check your loaded weight as the F250 payload is far less than I thought it was (almost bought one).... which is why I waited until 2005 with their increased payloads and still ordered the F350 for future Lance upgrade .
Last edited by 05bluehog; 04-21-2005 at 11:59 PM.
#13
Thanks for the installation info Mike.
I hope the folks at Lance know all this and can assist with the install. I'll drag some 2x4's with me cut to size. As for the 350 being taller, I plan to do a 4 inch lift. Do you have the camper package, ie sway bar, etc? I can start working on all I need to do so it's done by the time I'm ready to plant the Lance in the back.
Steve...
I hope the folks at Lance know all this and can assist with the install. I'll drag some 2x4's with me cut to size. As for the 350 being taller, I plan to do a 4 inch lift. Do you have the camper package, ie sway bar, etc? I can start working on all I need to do so it's done by the time I'm ready to plant the Lance in the back.
Steve...
#14
Steve ~ the Harley edition was not available with the camper package... which I wanted! But the salesman I had was very well informed and pointed out the Stabilizer Package which gave me upgraded front springs and the rear stabilizer which makes it close to the Camper package without the certificate. The truck rides great and I couldn't be happier with it. I only have 1000 miles on it right now and we loaded the camper up for the first time this last weekend and still were getting close to 14mpg so I'm not complaining. Good luck... Lance provided me all the info about the spacers (Installation Guide 37) and clearance values (Service Bulletin 102). We are preparing to leave for 3 months on a worldwind tour of the Pacific Northwest & parts of Canada. We were going to drive to Alaska... but the fuel prices put an end to that idea!
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