Lifted truck + cab over camper = big trouble.
Trust me, 25 yrs of experience with slide in campers........If your gonna carry a camper, stay to stock height.
If its a toy, lift as much as you feel like.

Trucks with campers are tricky enough in high winds, quick stops, and emergency handling conditions the way they are, lifting makes it much worse.
Every wreck I have seen that had a truck lying on its side, and a indistinguishable pile of debris that used to be camper, were lifted trucks........Take a old guys advise for once.
Not to mention the idiot I saw trying to load his camper on to his lifted truck, corner jacks were maxxed out sitting on huge cinderblocks to allow his rig to go under, he barely brushed the underside of the camper backing up under it.............over went the camper backwards, destroying the last foot of his bed and crushing his tailgate.

BTW.........Airbags are the way to go with a camper.

 

I don't know how large a tire you can safely run with the camper, though if you get airbags and pump them up to control the spring deflection, hopefully you would not have a rubbing problem.

One thing to watch out for though. A lot of these "oversize" tires don't have a very good weight rating. When you are shopping, consider this when choosing tires. These slide in campers can be heavy. You can get a stock sized tire with a lot of plys in it, and it will handle a lot of weight, and have a stiff sidewall on the tire that gives you better control of the truck.

 

I would imagine that my post was the recent one you were referring to? Right now at stock height, I have a set of 285/75R16 tires, which work out to 33x11.50, closest US sizing. I would say that this is the upper range of tire size you can fit stock, as I have about 1/2" to the inner fender at full-lock.

Although I haven't yet lifted my truck and put the camper in, although I do have the lift picked out, I would say that it's still safe if you're smart about it. Is it riskier than before the truck is lifted? Of course because the lift moves the center of gravity higher for the truck itself, and then the slide in camper adds even more weight up high. Now, my truck is equipped with factory front and rear sway bars and I've added Rancho RS9000 adjustable shocks, which significantly reduce the body roll, but my camper also pushes 3600lbs loaded with water, food, clothes etc. So, while I can't speak from experience quite yet, I am going to make an educated guess that it is still achievable and safe with enough forethought. I can't argue that in the case of an emergent move, the truck is going to be less stable. My one point of justification would be my dad's 2006 F350 w/leveling kit. He runs 35's on his truck and it sits higher than mine by a fair margin. Having driven both with campers in them, I can say I still felt perfectly safe in his truck, and his does not have the adjustable ranchos. Anyway, just my .02

 

You might "feel" the rig is safe and stable........But I can tell you in near 100% certainty that if someone pulls out in front of you from a side road as buzz through at 60mph, as you try to evade, you will suddenly get a sideways perspective of the world.
My truck, stock height, 235-85 16s with 9 1/2 ft Lance camper.............I will merely be changing to clean shorts.
Ask a RV service guy (not a salesman) lift + camper = no good.

 

Well I certainly don't mean to ruffle any feathers here, as I am new to the site, but not new to trucks and campers. And the point you make is valid, I referenced that in my post about an emergent move. But for that matter, if someone pulls out in front of me as I'm clipping along, let's be honest, I'm not getting 13,000+ lbs stopped or moved safely if it's really that close.

Also, as Franklin2 pointed out, tires can make a huge difference. So, to the original poster, if you are considering a camper, lifted or not, do yourself a favor and look for some Load Range E tires. An E tire, 10 ply, will be much more stable. Many of the larger diameter tires can be had in E range tires as well, but be prepared to open the wallet! The Toyo's I've picked are near $500 a corner when you factor for mount and balance. If you go with a lift, larger tires and a D range, 8-ply, best of luck. I could see that going badly. I've hauled my 9'4" Lance on D's, unlifted, and while it does not feel unsafe by any stretch, it definitely has less manners!

 

On the subject of lifts - the OP is loading this up in an F250, which sits 2" lower than an F350 from the factory. There are plenty of F350s out there with campers in them, so with a 2" suspension lift in his F250 he will only be getting to what the 1-ton folks start with. A factory 4x4 F350 should have no problems clearing 285/75-16 tires, so my suggestion would be that the OP matches a factory 4x4 F350's ride height at most. Going with more lift is not going to yield anything useful when it comes to tires (read below why), but it will make the truck unstable in crosswinds and at off-camber.

Onto the subject of tires - methinks ya'll are somewhat barking up the wrong tree there. A good tire (I'll use the BFG A/T KO as an example now) of the 285/75-16E size is rated at 3750 lbs single, which is about as high as you can go without switching over to commercial 19.5" wheels and tires. The factory tires for the OP's truck are at best 235/85-16E, which are rated at right around 3040 lbs single. So with the 285s the truck should now be able to safely carry 1400 lbs more, bringing the GAW to 7500 lbs, which by the way is more than what my dually axle is rated at. So where's the catch? Well, those tires have to go on something right? I got four 3000 lbs tires on four 2500 lbs wheels, meaning I can load my axle to at least 10k and KNOW the wheels will handle it. See where I'm going with this? Everyone always screams tires tires tires, but rally how many of ya'll know what your WHEELS are rated at? Especially those of ya'll running aftermarket wheels...

So, overall, my recommendation would be this:
1) 265/75-16E tires on factory or good heavy-duty aftermarket wheels and no lift, or
2) 285/75-16E tires on good HD aftermarket wheels (factory wheels are really too narrow for 285s) with the smallest amount of lift needed to clear them properly (so like 2", about as high as an F350).

F350s have overload springs from the factory, so raid the junkyard and find one and steal its overloads and their spacer blocks, also grab the lift blocks between the axle and the main leaf packs while you're at it. Order new overload spring frame brackets, bolt then to the frame (should have holes for them already from the factory). Buy new U-bolts for the springs, IIRC factory size is 9/16" but you can fit 5/8" easily (that is what I use). Rob the F350 off its rear sway bar too, you will need it. Put poly bushings on the sway bar while you're at it, they do make a difference.

Oh, and by the way, you need to really watch the weight of that camper - they got some fatties out there now, that even tho short in length when fully loaded with gear and supplies will easily overload your truck. Also you mention not having to remove the tailgate, I do not think this will be very possible as the tailgate cables usually get in the way of the camper sides - I scrapped my tailgate when I bought my camper, and now I use a Pro-Net instead - easy to store in the camper, works decent on the truck as well (then again, I do tie my cargo down real good even if I am driving it just a mile away down a back road).

Really tho, I think the OP should really register on a forum such as RV.net and check out their truck camper section - see what the folks that go offroading use as far as campers go, also reading the trip reports should give you a pretty good idea what to expect or at last what not to do... Also most of these guys are surgical when it comes to camper loads and proper truck equipment to handle them, they even have COG calculators and such to help them set things up right the first time. Because, as someone mentioned here, a truck camper is an expensive thing, and changes the dynamics of a "normal" pickup truck so much there really is no place for playing around as far as safety goes.

 

I believe you are correct on this. I went to walmart's site, and most of their 235/85/16 tires are rated at 3086lbs. I checked on the 285/75/16 and most of them are rated at 3748lbs. But I noticed they are not offering their off-brand tire anymore either. Keep a eye on this though, if you go to another tire store, and are looking at a cheaper tire. I found a 285/75/16 Bridgestone Dueler and a Yokohama geolander on tire rack's site, and they where only a load range c, rated at 2765lbs, so they are out there.

 

There are structural differences with the F-250 and F-350s suspension.

I could see matching the F-350 exactly, changing all of the factory parts over, would then be alright. But not mixing and matching parts just to get up to the hight required. IMO.

 

The tires I got on my truck are currently 285/75/16s and I got more room in my wheel wells then I can care for. So if I went to lets say a 305/75/16 Id fill them a little more and still have room after a camper right? (partly true story) Im drivin along at bout 40mph and some old b!%#h pulls out in front of me. Im not riskin loosing everythin for the sake of there POS car. Im plowin them off the road cus to turn their car into a hood ornament is a lot cheaper then layin my truck and camper on its side (them at fault), me to loose a truck would be bad enough. Anyways back on subject. I probably wont do the lift. The airbags are a great idea but till I finish my Boss 302 I cant afford so much money in my truck, its not the real project Im just tryin to get a good reliable vehicle I can camp with.

 

The main difference in the rear suspension is that the F350 uses 4" tall blocks, while the F250 uses 2" tall blocks. The 4" ones fit in place of the 2" ones thus lifting the rear of the F250 to right about where the F350 sits. Also the F350 has overload springs, those can go right on top of the F250 ones. Swaybar may or may not be present on the F350, but for the purposes of camper hauling it would be nice to have it. And that really about sums it up - axles are identical by the way, between the HD F250 and the F350, so that is not a concern. And there is nothing wrong with mixing and matching parts if it is done with some common sense - for instance my main leaf packs each have two leafs from a Superduty F250 inserted in them, my overloads are actually my factory F350 overloads but stacked on top of a pair of F-Superduty (old F450) overloads. I have the F-Superduty spacer blocks between the overloads and the main packs, and my factory spacer blocks are used as 1" lift blocks between the main packs and the axle. 7/16" grade-8 center bolt to locate all this and it goes through all leafs and blocks, 5/8" U-bolts to hold everything in place nice. I pull goosenecks twice as long as my truck and so heavy that the DOT goons could have a field day with me if I ever ventured out on public roads like that, so far no issues with the setup whatsoever. I also have an old and very heavy (partially due to the way I rebuilt it) 9-1/2 ft camper that makes my rear suspension squat only about 2" if that, basically my top overloads barely touch their pads, so with the camper on I still sit as high as an empty 4x4 F250, and truck is still like glued to the road even in mountain roads.

The OP is not going to need anything like this tho, especially if he sticks with a smaller camper like an 8ft pop-up - lifting the thing 2" to where an F350 sits will help with approach and departure angles, overloads will take care of the extra weight, and swaybar will stabilize it in corners - all is very simple and there is no afroengineering involved in adding these factory components to his factory suspension, they are simple bolt-ons. I would advise against adding leafs to the main packs like I have done, because this limits suspension flex while off the paved roads, also a set of quick disconnects may be a good idea as swaybar will kill articulation even worse than beefy packs. You want suspension flex and not frame flex, as frame flex transfers to the camper and thus can beat it to hell and back if it is not attached properly.

 

You have the same attitude as me when it comes to driving - I am done trying to protect idiots, I will stand up on the brakes till the RABS starts to scream for mercy, but I will not swerve - to heck with the damage my own truck will sustain, I can fix it easy, but if I lose it I may take out some innocent passer-by and I do not want that. I once pushed a rubbernecker's toyota on the interstate when he decided to lay on the brakes so he can TAKE PICTURES!!! of a deer hit by a semi in the other lane, there was no way I was risking jacknifing my car-hauler (wet road) and wiping out the packed minivan next to me! Right of way is something I dearly respect, however on the road right of weight is really king.

Stick with the 285s, no 305 is rated as high in load capacity as a good E-range 285/75-16. Your wheels may be your limiting factor, but I still would go with the strongest tire possible, and the 305 ain't it. If the 285s fit good now, then I agree, do not install a lift kit, you do not really need it. Do install overloads tho, airbags are nice but overloads are cheaper from the junkyard and IMHO a bit more reliable as far as offroading goes. Really, all depends on your camper, once you know its weight you will be able to figure out exactly what to add to the truck so it can handle it.

 

Whatever he decides to do............Take the truck/camper combo out on city streets and highways, find out how it handles, brakes, accelerates, leans in corners, handles side winds......get used to it before hitting the road. Watch out for low tree branches and such, careful in tight parking areas..............If you thought you knew your truck before, its a whole nother' animal with the camper on it.

 

Really I dont want to even touch a camper till I know my truck will haul it properly. Thats why the thread in the first place. I like the info on the tires I didnt know that you could loose so much load capacity with the 305s. I deffinetly have to start lookin into the f350 spring packs.