Camper Help
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Senior User
Joined: Jun 2011
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From: Missouri
Camper Help
My truck is a 2011 one ton singlewheel 6.7 4wd with 20's......I'm wanting to buy a new Travel Lite 8'9" slide in camper.....I pull a Trails West 4 horse trailer with a 5 foot tack in the front...heavy!!....Am I asking for trouble or not? I Appreciate your input or experience....Thanx!
Fleet Owner
Joined: Mar 2012
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From: Wisconsin
I think that you will be alright, assuming the wight of that trailer is around 12k? Airbags may help distribute the load and stop the headlights from pointing up. I really like the bags on my truck. I'd make certain your brakes are in good shape on the trailer. A friend of mine has a slider on his GMC that is 2600 pounds and he goes through brakes on his truck like water because of the added braking load on the truck from the slide in camper.
More Turbo
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 604
Likes: 314
Is the 1900lbs the sticker on the camper? If it is, plan on it weighing another 700 to 800 lbs after you load it up. Is your truck a shortbed or longbed? With an 8'9" camper you may not need to have an extended hitch with the longbed, but if it's a shortbed you will need to have an extended hitch. I don't know if the factory hitch is rated for an extension, and if not you'll need to have a hitch rated for it, especially with the heavy tounge weight of your trailer. You'll most likely need an equalizing hitch also to keep the extension within it's ratings. I have a Torklift SuperHitch with 36" extension on my dually, and its rated at 650lbs deadweight, 1250lbs with equalizing hitch.
Rich
Rich
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Sep 2008
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From: Central NJ
Do Firestone Airbags. They will flatten out your ride with all that weight, and you will need that to keep your handling characteristics.
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From: BC Canada
A 4 horse trailer is in the neighborhood of a 12000 lb gross. No way it can be hung off a hitch extension. It's gotta be a long bed for that long a camper. Even then tight turns are going to be dependent on trailer hitch length, cause a 8 inch overhang is going to make tight turns very close to touching the camper to trailer bulkhead.
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Joined: Nov 2010
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From: WY
I suggest the airbags or at the very least a set of Timbrens. The main reason I say that is because they help stabilize tall loads from side to side. When I used to haul my 11 1/2' cabover on my 1978 3/4 ton F-250, it would sometimes rock side to side so bad when I was crawling up creek beds, that the cabinet contents would be all over the floor. Man did mama get PO'd after a couple times of that! I added the Timbrens and that made all the diff in the world. Todays trucks don't have as much clearance from the bump stops to the axle housing as they used too. Which means smaller bumps in the road bring the Timbrens into contact easier and more frequent than they used to resulting in rougher rides over expansion joints, speed bumps, etc. I had air bags on my 05 Chevy. Those were nice. Adjustable to fit many needs. So I would prefer air bags.
More Turbo
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 604
Likes: 314
A 4 horse trailer is in the neighborhood of a 12000 lb gross. No way it can be hung off a hitch extension. It's gotta be a long bed for that long a camper. Even then tight turns are going to be dependent on trailer hitch length, cause a 8 inch overhang is going to make tight turns very close to touching the camper to trailer bulkhead.
Rich
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