hey guys I 've got an 87 f 150 4*4 I 6 putting an 8 ft camper approx 1800 lbs
plan on helper springs or air bags heavier tires of course just looking to see if anyone had any other ideas or experiences hauling a camper with a half ton. Hows the ride an power?etc.

 

I haul a 2000-lb Six Pac slide-in with my F350 4x4 CrewCab and the truck handles it fine, but I would not recommend it on a half-ton. The camper squats my truck down to just about level or very slightly below, and the F350 has a bit more spring capacity than an F150 has. It also has very thick sway bars front and rear, rear overload springs, and a stronger rear axle, higher capacity tires, and bigger brakes that are designed to handle carrying and stopping the extra weight.

If I were you, I would make due with the F150 untill I could upgrade to an F250 or F350 in the future, you'll appreciate how the bigger trucks handle the weight going down the road, especially on curvy roads and in cross winds.

If your truck is a short-bed, it is advisable to get a camper made for short-bed trucks. The fore-aft center of gravity of campers for shortbeds is further forward than on the longbed campers to better balance the load on the truck.

I also recommend a rear sway bar, stiffer shocks, E-rated rear tires pumped up to max pressure, and either helper springs or air bag helpers on the rear. Changing out to polyurethane suspension bushings is also a plus. I changed both my front and rear sway bar bushings to poly and it made a noticeable difference in the lateral stability of the truck. Check out www.energysuspension.com.

A good frame-mount tie down system for the camper is also a good thing to have on the truck. The stake-pocket type tie-downs allow alot of flex, like to work their way loose, and can lead to bending the bed sheetmetal over time. Check out www.torklift.com and www.happijac.com for tie-down anchors and related items.