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New member here but been getting a lot of good info from u guys for a while now. I have 06 f250 reg cab 5.4, 3.73 gears. Dont know if it has the camper package that ive heard talked about on here or not. Thinking of buying a slide in. What is extra on camper pack? Is it needed?
Not sure about '06, but at this point the camper package consists of an overload spring, and a rear sway bar. Ford does not officially "recommend" trucks without the package for slide-in camper use. The only reason to worry about this recommendation is if you're paranoid and fear liability in the event of an accident.
You can add improvements to your rear suspension that would be better than the camper package. For example, the sway bar in the package is pretty whimpy. And you will probably need air bags for leveling, which make the overload springs less useful.
Welcome to the forum. Figure out what the payload of the truck is and decide from that. Tires and wheels can possibly be upgraded, air bags will help level the load, and sway bars will help stabilize the load. The rear end will probably be the limiting factor. Realize that most stated weights of slide in campers are understated and reflect only a bare unit, no supplies and in most cases no accessories.
Ray, who when younger and more ignorant ran some grossly overloaded pickups, mainly with slide in campers.
This is the description of the Camper Package taken from the brochure.
Camper Package — Includes 2-up front springs (4x2 — 300-lb. upgrade)
or 1-up front springs (4x4 — 400-lb. upgrade) above the computer-selected
spring as a consequence of options chosen, not included if maximum springs
have been computer-selected as standard equipment; rear stabilizer bar
(SRW); slide-in-camper certification; auxiliary rear springs where not standard
In addition to the above comments, my '08 (5.4 CC 4WD 3.73) came with a paper in the glovebox that noted the certification - it had some specifications on it as to weight distribution, centering, etc...