Can I put a slide in camper in an F-100 without any problems or can they only be used in heavier duty trucks like an F-250? This is what I had in mind..........

http://richmond.craigslist.org/cto/1311320374.html

 

You probably can, the link is broken, but the weight of the camper, the type of tires and air pressure that they can hold will all factor in.

Bill should have extra info but you need D or E range tires, extra leaf springs, to help keep the 1/2 ton stable.



John

 

Most of the slide in campers I recall from this era have a hinged door at the back, which means the tailgate has to be removed.

The ideal slide in camper sold back then was made by ALASKAN.

Not only did it slide in, but it could be cranked up, so a 6' footer could walk around inside, cranked down to the height of the cab when not in use.

There were 10's of 1000's of these Alaskan campers sold from the 1960's thru the 1990's, so it's prolly possible to find one today.

Where to look: Ads on Super Market bulletin boards, ads in throw-away rags like the Penny Saver.

 

I'd think they would be awfully heavy for a half ton suspension. You'd likely want to upgrade the springs at a minimum, and definately add some sway bars (Addco makes some).

Depending on the level of luxury you want in your camping, they do make some nifty tents designed for truck beds now. You can find them on Cabela's web site I think. Read the customer reviews to find one that works best for you. No weight or storage issues with something like that.

 

I didnt see the CL link...says its been flagged for removal...
If you are referring to a regular 8' cabo ver camper...no way would I do it...but from what Bill describes, those kind of campers around like they were meant for the 1/2 ton trucks..
I had a 10 footer on mine...a crank in camper...a Security circa '68 ...man I was never so glad to have that sucker off of my truck...but boy did it ride like a Cadillac with it on there...the one drawback...the crank mechanism required drilling holes in the bed floor at the rear for its installation...

- cs65

 

I had a guy ask me about a camper on a 1/2 ton after he saw the camper I have on my 3/4 ton. I said I've seen alot of guys do it, some obviously over the truck's gvw. I would figure an 8 or 9 footer to weigh around 1500 to 1900 pounds. Most will hopefully have overload springs or airbags. ND or CS65 will know the numbers for sure, but it seems the F100 had a gvw rating of between 4200 and 5000 lbs depending on sring options. Figuring the curb weight of one of these at around 3800 lbs, does that mean you are over gross with 401 lbs in the back of a F100 with the 4200gvw package? If so, I'm sure alot of these things are running overgross alot of the time. So, if you've got an F100 with the 5000gvw springs and it weighs 3800, then you've got 1200lbs to play with.? So you put in a camper that weighs 1500lb and you're 300lb overgross. Probably do-able. I guess it depends on how comfortable you are with being on the fat side of the borderline.
With the guy that was aking me about it, I asked him back, "What rearend does your truck have?" ND can probably tell us if the traction-lok equipped F100s with the Dana rearend had better axle bearings than the 9" Ford equipped trucks. I'm not sure, but if you're going to be running overgross for any length of time, I'd want to know I've got wheel bearings that can take it. The brakes are something that of course are going to be questionable, but attentiveness and common sense go along way with old vehicles. I have Model As so I know about watching what traffic is doing way ahead of you. The tire rating as mentioned before is important for sure.

 

With overload add a leafs etc it can be done. The main issue I would wory about after the springs would be the brakes. Drums fall a bit short when you are going downgrade with an auto trying to stop. Alot of half ton trucks with a 1500 pound camper in the bed a boat in tow and two kids sitting in the camper have plied the nations roads. A 250 would be a better choice for a cabover. C rate tires are fine. I have overloaded several half tons with C rates and never had a problom.

My opinion is this. Buy a pull behind popup. You barely notice the camper as they usualy only weigh about 1400lbs. You have your bed open to load a few coolers, stove, half a cord of wood, two kids, a dog, and all the other junk one needs camping. A 240 will pull that load efortlessly with good gears. A 352 wont notice its back there.

Can your truck do it..........Yes. Just it aint the safest.

 

Agreed! I perfect match for a '66 F 250 or two '66 F 250's.

 

What did the F100 CamperSpecial have as far as heavy towing capabilities?

I'd like to find one like this.

 

Oh, one of these days I'll find a photo of the rig we had when I was a kid, shortly after buying our one year old '64 F100 CrewCab. Yeah, an F100 CrewCab. Custom ordered in Sacramento, built buy Crown. I've been to the dump enough times to know that with the extra cab grafted in there, the offical load capacity of my truck is a mere 500 pounds. Ignorance is bliss. The bed is only 5 1/2 feet long. Dad had a customer camper built for it that was 8 feet long, with a full overcab as well. It weighed 3/4 ton by itself, let alone the six of us plus gear. Dad had overleaf springs and slightly oversized rear wheels installed. Fordomatic transmission with a standard 9 inch rear end and the stock 292 V8. We put over 200k miles on that rig in that state. The truck now has over 350k miles with everything original. Well, one piston and one valve at the top of the Grapevine (LA area).

So, yeah it has been done. Braking was always dicy though. I'd love to have that camper again.

 

It isn't IF you can use a F100 to haul a full size 8 foot camper...it is at what cost. I did that for several years and went through the following even with overload springs on the back:
-two axles. The bearings heated up, the race expands and then the axle wanders out of the rear end. you don't want to hit the brakes when that happens.....if found out the hard way.
-blew two tires
- had several wild rides down the mountain as BRAKE FADE is a fruit of the loom moment.
All that said overall it was a mostly positive experience that I would not try to repeat. I now have disc brakes and pull a trailer with a 3/4 ton.

 

You do know the truck in the photo is a 250, right?



John