We have a TC and an AirStream. I would much rather travel with the TC; go anywhere, camp anywhere, all the comforts of home. We have had a couple of TC’s, currently have an Eagle Cap 850 (single slide, SB) but carry it on a LB truck. The extra storage inf front of the bed is handy. TC’s rock!

 

The only other choices I can suggest you look at are the Eagle Cap EC850 (if you can find one used - they stopped making them I think in 2015/16 and switched to the...) EC811 or the Arctic Fox AF811. The Eagle Caps will be more expensive and the Arctic Fox, much heavier... so basically - Lance 855S still sounds good! What a waste of typing that was...

 

I think everyone has pretty well covered everything.

We have a Lance 1062 double slide. We have had a number of campers of various brands. This is our second Lance.

We like Lance. Personal preference. A good friend likes Artic Fox. Discussions between us around the campfire can get interesting (wives call it entertaining) as not only does he have an AF, he has it on a Dodge as well. We have pulled boats and horse trailers. These days our towing is by far a boat.

https://www.lancecamper.com/

On the Lance web site you can "build your own". It shows you the options available and gives you a weight figure after you have those options added.

Lance lists standard options + water & propane tanks in their weights.


Inside the camper in a closet or pantry they will have a sheet that lists the weight as above along with the weight of the camper as built with optional equipment that is over 25# that has been added.


We take our camper off anytime we are going to be someplace for more than a couple of days and we plan on 'sight seeing' or doing other driving. The only problems we might possibly run into with this is if we can't find a camp site that is level enough to facilitate a "safe and sane" removal / loading of a camper. I watched fellow try to unload his camper on an inclined pad at a camp site. I watched as the camper started 'walking' down the incline and only stopped when it hit the back of his pickup.

We tow a 6K + depending on load out - it is also used as a 'utility' trailer for long trips.

 

With all the information and help from y'all we decided the Lance 855s was in our future. Wish we could have found the loaded out one here in Montana (No sales tax) but none to be found. There is one in Salt Lake City we are calling about tomorrow. Has solar, roof rack, the leather seat cushions and the new vinyl wrap for under $45k. Heck we were even talking about uninstalling the full Carli kit and getting a dually...lol just so we could get the Lance 1172 which is freaking amazing until we saw the Host Mammoth. This will be fine for us and the dog for the foreseeable future. Might get an enclosed trailer for the sxs and carry some goodies.

The one issue I see with going this route is the truck cargo is rated at 3540 and we will be close to over that with a full load. Should we be concerned?

 

You’ll have lots of company.


Congrats on the decision.


When you get setup check your axle weights at the scales.

 

I really think your only big concerns are going to be how much fun you can tolerate and deciding when you REALLY have to go home.

Weight is not going to be anything to loose any sleep over.

 

Exactly what we are thinking. It is good to listen to those with experience. Pulling big trailers no problem...our first foray into TC world and we've been commenting how fast it will be to pack up and go, not need reservations, really a home one wheels if it's getting late. Days of fly-fishing here, riding, hiking and hanging out with like minded outdoorsy people. The only downside according to the missus was how carefully we need to choose what to bring. I chuckled.

 

You’ll really enjoy your Camper and don’t worry about that weight as I too am over Cargo Cap on my F350 SRW. Coming from a 36’ 5th Wheel down to 8’9” Camper was a total reset for the wife as to how much stuff she needed to pack. I tell her okay pack for three days of meals not thirty.....and same for clothing. Since we sometimes take our Side x Side for week + longer trips the Cargo Trailer is really nice for that extra gear and packed conscious of Tongue Weight.

 

 

I think you should at least be aware. You’ll then have to decide if you are to be concerned.

Our gas 4x2 truck’s “ready to camp” curb weight is 6600 lbs. Ready to roll the loaded truck (855s, two adults, the dog, and all of our stuff) weighs ~11,000 lbs. That puts the payload right at 4,400 lbs. I installed slightly larger tires with higher load ratings to unofficially increase our truck’s official payload spec.





However, we don’t carry the generator, the second LP tank, or the drop-down bunk, and we installed a lighter (and more comfortable) mattress in the cabover. We also mostly travel with the water tanks empty. Carrying these items and traveling with 36 gallons of water would increase our payload to ~4900 lbs.

With a payload spec of 3540 lbs. your truck’s factory as-built curb weight is ~8,000 lbs. Loaded up with a “loaded” 855s, you may approach 13,000 lbs. gross weight, or ~1,500 lbs. over the truck’s official GVWR. Officially, this is DRW territory.

I don’t know anything about Carli suspension products. It would probably be worth asking them how their springs, wheels, and tires compare to stock. The air springs will indeed help.

Finally, is your truck equipped with the optional factory camper package (rear sway bar and stiffer front springs on an F350 SRW 6.7)? If not, you may want to add either the factory sway bar or a third-party product.

HTH,
Jim / crewzer

 

Thanks Jim!
We were concerned and called Lance directly. They assured us that as configured our truck was well within specs with full load but not counting what we added to beyond that. They pointed me to a build they did with similar truck configuration here https://www.lancecamper.com/altimeter/ Right now we are at 6,753 for curb weight. Don't have rear sway bar and was going to see how it handled first with the air-bags before adding one. The original plan for the truck was an 'Overland Build' which is the reason for a $10k suspension which handles off-road unbelievable. So it looks like we will be close to max but not quite. I'm happy we have E-rated tires at 3750 each which will keep us within GAWR.

 

I have a “Friend” who ran much heavier than that with a SRW diesel. Ran x-country twice, 10k’s of miles all over North America. Was running 295-75-16 tires rated at 3950# on steel wheels. Never had a problem. Don’t exceed the tire/wheel ratings and you should be fine. ‘Ain’t too many truck campers running within GVWR but the smart (experienced?) ones do watch the tire/wheel capacity.
Safe travels.

 

Good point on the tire/wheel capacity. First item to upgrade for SRW F350 Diesel was 4085 lb rated 295 - 70 - 18r Tires and Method 18" Wheels rated 4500lb. Expensive yes, though some piece of mind that there's a Tire/Wheel combo that exceeds OEM Equipment.

 

6753 lbs. is the curb weight for a base (XL) trim F350 SRW CCSB 6.2 gas 4x4. That spec does not include the weight of trim level upgrades or other factory options.

You’ve described your truck as an F350 SRW CCSB 6.7 diesel 4x4 with a payload spec of 3540 lbs. The official curb weight spec for the base trim version is 7488 lbs. (The optional diesel weighs a lot!); see the chart below.

Trim upgrades and other options increase as-built curb weight and therefore correspondingly reduce maximum payload. For example, the maximum payload spec for our truck configuration is 4200 lbs. However, the weight of our optional Lariat Ultimate trim level, the optional Chrome Package, the optional camper package, and other smaller options reduced our truck’s official payload spec down to 3912 lbs.

Note that “payload” includes everything you put in/on the truck, including people.

Your tire specs are a good thing, but they don’t define your truck’s GAWR because they’re not the weak link. The stock five-leaf rear springs are rated at 7230 lbs. for the pair (3615 lbs. each), and the factory 18” and 20” wheels are rated at 3590 lbs. each.

The factory axle weight ratings for your truck are listed on the silver certification label affixed to the driver side B pillar.

HTH,
Jim / crewzer

 

My own thought about weights is until you CAT scale it, you don't know what it weighs, just too darn hard to figure in all the options, but I have never heard anyone say the scale surprised them with a low number!

We have a 2012 Super Cab long bed and with a full tank of gas and just my wife and I we are right at 7,400 pounds for our 6.2 gasser. The discussions as to whether to go by the factory sticker has been beat back and forth so much, I have concluded folks are going to do what they are going to do.

Steve