Yup there is a sweet spot for the handling. Usually putting most of the weight right over the axles.

 

Lance's web site is not talking about GVRW or camper fit on a 2011 or 2012 pickup. They are using current production year GVWR and a camper with few, if any, options. To see weights for your 2012 you have to go to the owners tab and select up the brochure for 2012 (in the case of your pickup.) LANCE_Camper_2012.pdf (lance-camper.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com)
But, having said that, I think they all take Liberties with weights. Lance has a build your own section where you can see weights of a basic camper and the weight of the camper with all the options you would want on it. They seem to be pretty close (at least in the case of my 1062) when you pick it up at the dealer and take it home. (I ran it over the scales 30 minutes after leaving the dealer on my way home.) For some reason, just parking it in the driveway adds 1000#'s to it.
When you get a Lance Camper, Lance puts a Center of Gravity and Loading tag in it someplace. I don't know if the other brands do this or not. On the 1062 they put it in the pantry closet by the stove. The one I saw in an 1172 was in a closet just to the left of the entry door. This tag lists the base weight of the camper, the weight "as built" with options. In the case of our 1062, it was within 100#'s. But then, you start adding food, clothes, tools, toys......

 

I would say slightly forward of the axles, but every trailer is different and I've never pulled your trailer.

 

Well the engine with a lot of the weight is in front of the axles. Looking back I realize I didn't say it correctly. I have the bronco mostly centered over the axles.

 

The difference between the as-built payload spec and the camper certification is an allowance of 150 lbs. per person per seat. If your truck has five seats, the difference will be ~750 lbs.

Payload specs vary greatly depending on build configuration. Some options (tires, 4x4) may increase GVWR, but other heavy options (Diesel, CCLB, high trim level, etc.) increase curb weight and therefore reduce payload.

HTH,
Jim / crewzer

 

I have same load capacity on my 2014 f250. With my camper( 8’10 adventurer, 2420 dry,15 gals water,fishing gear and food,camp chair and other typical fishing gear) I scale at 11,200 lbs and am just under max rear axle load of 6100 lbs. No way I could consider towing a trailer that would ad 700 lbs tongue weight. All the additional stuff( hold downs,camper jacks,air bags etc add rapidly to reduce carrying capacity.Oh and no passengers just me in truck and I load back seat to keep as much weight forward as possible

 

Martin to answer your question about the discrepancy between your cert payload sticker and the dealer charts for a F350DRW.
See a body builders Layout for your year like this one for 2020 https://madocumentupload.marketingas...a2f0c&v5=False
The advertised payload is for a stripped no option vehicle. If you add skid plates, this package, that package, a stereo upgrade, floor mats or even cab lights you reduce the payload. The diesel engine option reduces payload even more by the weight of the engine or about 700 lbs. You also need the Body builders layout to compare roof height, side wall height and tailgate opening to match your campers if you are purchasing a pre 97 camper, They were too wide for the newer trucks at 64 inches where new tailgates are 60.5", and you had to raise them about 3 inches.

 

The Adventurer camper mentioned has a floor length of 9'5" and so a stinger or extension is going to be needed for towing a trailer. There is a leveraged loading of the hitch receiver with the extension and this should be factored into the choice of the extension with some having chains to reinforce the extension.

With this heavy a truck with a camper I would opt for the diesel engine. You will get 30-50 percent more miles with a tankful of fuel and that makes a great deal of difference in trip planning. The diesel also makes for a safer truck that can accelerate much faster with a heavy load and merge with freeway traffic (with drivers that very seldom make space for merging vehicles). There are places with long merge lanes for truckers but most places in the western USA have less than 200 feet to accelerate from 15 mph to 60 mph. Having twice as much torque with the diesel and at half the rpms is worth the extra expense.

In terms of the engine weight it is already factored into the payload calculations. When I had a heavy lb slide-in camper load in the bed of my truck the CAT scale showed that the front wheels carried an additional 220 lbs and the rear drive axle carried 3,840 lbs with this load. 94% of the camper load was supported by the rear wheels. This is why none of the truck manufacturers beef up the front suspension but make 100% of the load modifications at the rear wheels.

Having considered both how much less maneuverable a dually pickup is in actual use and the problems of changing out a damaged inner tire with a camper on the truck I opted for a SRW solution. I managed with 3750 lb rated tires but if I needed more I would have gone with 19.5 wheels and tires to gain a payload capacity of more than 10,000 lbs. The AAM axle on my diesel pickup was rated for a 11,000 lb load and so that was the limiting factor for its load capacity.

Payload capacity is calculated at the factory and based entirely on the equipment package (springs, tires, shocks, etc) when it ships out. An owner can make modifications that increase the payload capacity or reduce it (as with fancy wheels and low profile tires). The advantage of a motorhome is that the owner does not need to think about any of these things.

 

This is incorrect. When you order the Camper Package you get heavier front springs.

 

My rig also only puts 2-300 lbs to frt axle even with loading as much as practical in cab, so 90 plus percent of camper load rides on rear axle