I am considering the purchase of a slide-in camper.The model I am interested in has a dry weight of 3000 lbs. By the time its loaded, it would probably weigh in at 3500-4000 lbs. I'm sure I need an F-250 or possibly an F-350 to handle the weight.

Can anyone advise as to what truck to purchase and what engine would be best?

 

I have a '71 camper(very heavy,cause they were made with real wood back then) that I put on my '89 F250 4X4 light duty version. It handles good & doesn't sag much at all. I only have a 5L though. It halls the camper great around town but it really dies on the big hills. My camper is definitely not aerodynamic it almost acts like a big sail(talk about air brakes on the highway). I would recommend a bigger motor (even though it will haul the camper around all day) it really has to work hard & fuel consumption is doubled(although partly to do with the sail effect). Especially if you do a lot of hills.

Rich

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 22-Feb-01 AT 06:36 PM (EST)[/font][p][font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 22-Feb-01 AT 06:25 PM (EST)[/font]

The first decision is whether you want a duelly or single rear wheel pickup. Do you want four wheel drive? I have a slide in camper that brings the Gross Vehicle weight to 8,700 lbs weighed on a scale. The camper weighs about 2,700 lbs. An Onan 4kW generator on a custom hitch mounted platform is about 275 lbs.

Duelly pickups can easily carry your load, about 10,500lbs gross vehicle weight rating. The penalty is a stiffer ride and a truck that is very wide running empty.

You need about 230 HP for pleasant acceleration and cruising. I have a 360 its plenty. I towed a 22 ft travel trailer and the camper and generator and it lacked power on one very windy stretch with a headwind. My speed was limited to 60 mph. It was a 30 mph headwind though. Speed is not a problem without the extra trailer. Stability is not a problem. I added rear sway bar and rancho adjustable shocks. The shocks are only set on number 2 out of five now. Get the camper package if its offered. you get the rear sway bar and heavier duty springs. Dodge offered one in 95. Mine is a 94. Ride is good. Acceleration is satisfactory with the extra trailer in tow. I also towed a 26 ft twin 150 HP outboard offshore boat with the camper on board. No Problemo.

Heavier engines reduce the weight rating. 4x4 reduces the weight rating. crew cabs reduces the weight rating. In each case you are hauling more iron before you even put the camper on. A one ton F350 Powerstroke 4x4 single rear wheel crew cab has less load carrying capacity than my Dodge BR 2500 regular cab 4x4. Ditch the diesel and get a lighter gas motor. If you go 4x4 the solid axle on the dodge reduces tire wear from camber change when you put the camper on. The one ton F350 single rear wheel has a similar front axle setup on the 4x4. The one ton can tow more with the camper on due to bigger diffs and transfer case. The dodge one ton was unavailble in a single rear wheel. I also added 16x8 Mickey Thomson wheels and 285's all terrains for some extra performance in the sand and some extra track width. Also have the Ramsey 9,000 lb winch installed plus an extra battery in the diesel tray that I bought for the right side of the truck.

Be glad to send a photo by e-mail JohnStranahan(No Email Addresses In Posts!)

 

So here is some more recent data on the big Fords from a showroom brochure. The F250 super duty seems to be available in a solid front axle now. Springs are described as leaf on the 4x4 , coils with twin I beams on the 4x2. Unfortunately the front springs are not coils with the 4x4. Maximum gvwr with the F250 single rear wheel is 8,880 lbs. Same as my truck. The F350 SRW is 9,900 lbs. Heavy options reduce the payload capacity. Payload capacity is calculated by subtracting the weight of the truck, passengers and full tank of gas from the gvwr. The F350 dual rear wheel gvwr is 11,500 lbs.

Now here is my view. Back in the sixties people carried 3,000 lb campers on half ton trucks by adding helper springs and better wheels and tires. My personal opinion on this is the brakes are barely adequate for the empty truck on a half ton. On a 3/4 ton they are huge and powerfull. You can stop quicker with the camper on than with it off due to the extra rear wheel loading on a 3/4 ton. This was tested in trailer life mag.

On my truck the tires are rated to carry 13,200 lbs total, BFG Radial all terrain 285,s. The wheels 12,00 lb total. The axles are rated about 6,500 rear, 4,500 front (Dana 60,s) giving a total 10,900 lbs. The truck is only rated at 8,800 lbs. When you reach this load the rear springs are pretty close to the bump stops. Slapping the bumpstops increases the shock loads on the axle. If you keep enough springs on the truck seems to me it should be able to carry at least what the axles are rated at if you only do it once in a while. Prolonged overloading will reduce the service life of the truck. The one tons have basically the same driveline with maybe a heavier duty transfer case a tad bigger brakes than the 3/4 ton.