An inlaw is giving away an older Vanguard full size camper its a 10ft with 4 foot extension so it uses bumper extender,


My truck: 1988 F-150 Super- Cab Long Box. Firestone air bags in rear. 351W with C-6 tranny Not sure of the Ford ratio but around 3:55 gears in pumkin.Load "C" rated tires 235-75-15.

This sounds like to much camper for my half-ton I guess eh?

IF i do get it I think I will get him to deliver on his 3/4 ton then trade someone else for a smaller one. What size camper will I be limited to on my truck , an 8ft max? And should I upgrade my tires?, if so to what size and rating ?.Take it easy on me, obviously I have little experience with campers. Thanks guys!~

 

I would sure be afraid of it, read the sidewall rating on the tire, it will tell the max weight, I am uncertain of your rating, (I always have to look, memory banks not functioning!!) Basically, your limitations will be determined by your Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, posted on the sticker on your door or door post. You need to know the weight of the camper to decide. I had an old 10 footer on the back of an 89 250 351 5 speed,and it was squatting pretty bad. I had to pull a flatbed of hay behind it, and it was well overloaded. I was in no hurry, good thing too, as it wasn't either!!!

 

I would look to see if there is a metal tag hanging from one of the bolts on your differential cover. This has a series of numbers that tell the ratio/size of your differential. Call a local rear end shop and see if they can tell you the ratio. Reason being, gear ratio plays a HUGE part in how much you can tow. For example, in my 2000 f150 with a 3.08 rear end is only rated for 2000lb but if you go to a 3.55 you are rated for 6900! I made the mistake of THINKING I had a axle ratio capable of pulling more...I would look into it before hand.

 

Sometimes give aways are great and sometimes you have to spend a great deal to be able to use it. Then you might as well have bought what you really could use. The advice before me is good. Check it out. You might be getting free problems.

 

Amen trike1946, I already spend about $400 on my truck so it would pull better. Then I found out I have to replace the rear end and get some guages (another $600-700) in my truck and I have spent several weeks researching. A real PITA but it is either $1-2K on my old truck or $25+++K on a new truck.

 

As I read this, I was thinking my F-250 Crew Cab would have issues carrying this camper (I assume it is a slide-in)... Then I saw your truck was a 150. Just a guess, but I think you will be over your published weight limit. Most big slide-ins need a DRW truck to carry the load and still be within published GVWR limits.

To see if it is too big, follow these steps:

1) Determine your truck's Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR). Look inside the driver's door post for the vehicle safety compliance certification label (read: sticker) and it will be listed.

2) Determine your truck's empty weight. This weight includes you, passengers, and everything you will normally have in the truck while running down the road... Full tank of gas, extra tools, cooler of beer, etc. You can get your truck weighed at truck stops, many landfills, and moving companies.

3) Subtract your truck's actual empty weight from the listed GVWR. This will be how much additional stuff (read: camper) you can put in your truck and still be within the manufacturer's certified limit.

Look on the left front side of the camper for a sticker with its weights.

Many people run down the road over their GVWR and think nothing of it. You will always get some story of the guy who pulls his 34' 5th wheel camper with a 4 cylinder Ranger and he "doesn't even know it's back there". Just because someone else exceeds limits doesn't make it safe (or legal). Do things smart and remember hauling big loads will put a lot of strain on your truck, especially the drivetrain and brakes.

Edmo

 

So true. The people who exceed the limits always seem to flaunt it like some sort of badge. Somehow I always have a hard time believing their post about how it handles though.

 

Checked that I have the 3:55 gear set.
Thanks to others for all the replies . I'll check the camper sticker and my truck door sticker. Then go to the dump and get my truck with all my normal gear minus camper weighed. Which I'm sure means I'll have to pass up on this offer and look for something smaller. What size camper would suit an F-150?

 

Personally, I went with an ultralite (4200 lbs dry). You figure after you load it with all your gear you still want to be well under the tow rating on your truck. Even if I put 1k of stuff in it I would be pulling 5200 lbs but rated for 6900. The weight sticker in the camper is usually on the back of one of the kitchen cabinets.

You can still get a nice trailer even if it is an ultralite. Mine is a 25' Jayco kiwi 25E hybrid (beds fold out like a pop-up), sleeps 8, kitchen and coutch are on a slide out, Full bathroom and a shower you can actually use.

 

Sorry I should specify I'm referring to slide in campers. What's the max size generally that a half ton could haul safely ? I was thinking a 9ft probably max?

 

Coplin, I will agree with that about 9' being about the biggest. It's more the weight than the size, as some campers can be alot lighter (or heavier) than others of the same size. My old 10.5' camper (measured by the floor length, not including the over-cab) weighed about 2500 lbs dry and empty. Figure min 3000 lbs loaded, probly more. My dually hauled it quite nicely . I wouldn't have wanted to have it on a lesser truck, and definitely not a half-ton. With a half-ton, you're probably limited to about 1500 lbs in the bed, maybe 2000, but that's about the max. Most 8 to 9 footers weigh close to that empty. If you travel light, you can make it work. Check out www.six-pac.com they make some campers for 1/2 ton trucks, even shortbed 1/2 tons .

Also, your rear axle ratio doesn't have any effect on your truck's GVWR or payload. It does help with power to get the weight moving though, and it's certainly not a bad thing to have a low (numerically high) ratio. What Lardman was referring to was for pulling trailers, the axle ratio makes a difference in the tow rating and GCWR (total weight of truck and trailer). It's a power thing, not a payload thing.

 

Sorry, I guess I am stuck in my own world SoCal has it right.

 

No worries lardman! Out here in the west a 'camper' is only something that fits in the bed of a truck. At first it took me a little while to figure out that in the rest of the world a 'camper' can have wheels. I couldn't figure out why everybody talked about 'towing' a camper, since in my world camper's don't have wheels, LOL!

 

Yeah it took me a bit to get used to that idea too. I thought at first, man there must be alotta people who put thier campers on top of utility trailers and tow them... LOL. ...Although, that is not a bad idea, if the camper is tied down and placed right for fore/aft weight relationship on a 2 axle flatbed, plus you get some extra storage space under the overcab and a patio porch on the rear.... I've seen a few that way. Maybe that's an option for Coplin to check out. Buying a used flatbed tandem trailer would be less than buying a newer-model overcab camper.

 

it has been done, if done right works well.