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Oscar
post Dec 7 2012, 09:28 AM
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Posts: 32
Joined: 7-December 12
From: Bethlehem, PA
Member No.: 6,383
Favorite Truck Camper(s): Lance, I think.
Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: Chevy 3500HD CC LB DRW DmaxAllison
Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift With Fastguns
Truck and Camper Setup: Chevy 3500 Dmax CC DRW. Torklift tie downs. 2012 Lance 1191



Greetings,

New to this forum, not new to forums.

Have a Chevy 2500HD DmaxAllison6 Crew Cab short bed and currently pull a Keystone Cougar 29BHS ultralite with it, and we love it and use it a lot.

But, sometimes we just go somewhere for one day or night and it's quite a bit of work to get it out of storage and out of the gate. Also the one night is often at someone's house for a party when driving home is ill advised, and with an overall length approaching 50 feet that is not always practical.

Soooo, we've been looking for something smaller and more nimble. LOVE the Winnebago ERA's......don't quite have a 100 large laying around. blink.gif The low to mid 20's is more doable.....

So then I (re)discovered truck campers. Yesterday looked at a Livin Lite 8.5 Neat little setup and it sleeps a couple and two grown children. Not for a week, but a day or two will work just fine. Also found the Truck Camper Magazine site with the buyers resource. Working my way down the list.

Have read a lot of what's on this forum, and understand what GVWR and axle ratings are. With the Keystone it's not an issue as it is around 8000 pounds on it's own axles, with about a 1000 pound tongue weight.

Today I will have the truck weighed, as well as the individual axles so I know exactly where I stand.

Questions..... I mentioned a couple and two grown kids. The Livin Lite has the optional drop down bunk over the dinette. Does anyone know of any other brands that have his option? Also, do I have to remove the tailgate on my short bed? Or can it stay down with the camper in it?

Thanks.
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Oscar
post Dec 7 2012, 08:39 PM
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Group: Members
Posts: 32
Joined: 7-December 12
From: Bethlehem, PA
Member No.: 6,383
Favorite Truck Camper(s): Lance, I think.
Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: Chevy 3500HD CC LB DRW DmaxAllison
Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift With Fastguns
Truck and Camper Setup: Chevy 3500 Dmax CC DRW. Torklift tie downs. 2012 Lance 1191



Thanks for the warm welcome.....

The numbers are disturbing..... GVWR for my truck is 9200

The scales today said I was 7680, with two people, a truck cap and some stuff in the bed.

So, minus the cap, tailgate and the stuff it's the two of us and minus, say, 250 pounds..... That's 7430......

That would leave 1770 for a DRY camper.....

That really doesn't leave me anywhere to go does it?

Is EVERYONE out there illegal?
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Sailor Dave
post Dec 8 2012, 10:05 AM
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Group: Members
Posts: 67
Joined: 11-April 12
Member No.: 6,005
Favorite Truck Camper(s): Arctic Fox
Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: F350, Extended cab, 8 foot bed,DRW, 4X4, 6.2L, camper package
Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift with Fastguns
Truck and Camper Setup: Arctic Fox 1150, wet bath, solar



Oscar,

I congratulate you for doing your homework BEFORE you decided to purchase anything. It can be tough when you already own a truck that wasn??¢â??¬â??¢t designed for most truck campers.

Is everyone out there legal? Hardly. There are those in your position who add springs, shocks, air bags and anything else they can find to try and increase their load capacity. Truth is you can't increase the GVWR of a vehicle once it leaves the factory. Sure you can add after market suspension but you won't be legal and that can lead to expensive litigation. To say nothing of pushing your truck past what it was built for.

Check out Four Wheel Campers http://www.fourwheelcampers.com/

There may be other pop-up style truck campers that will work for you. Truck Camper Magazine has a complete list of manufactures.

Dave
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Oscar
post Dec 8 2012, 10:32 AM
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Group: Members
Posts: 32
Joined: 7-December 12
From: Bethlehem, PA
Member No.: 6,383
Favorite Truck Camper(s): Lance, I think.
Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: Chevy 3500HD CC LB DRW DmaxAllison
Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift With Fastguns
Truck and Camper Setup: Chevy 3500 Dmax CC DRW. Torklift tie downs. 2012 Lance 1191



Thanks for the reply. I'm afraid mama won't go for a popup. It's starting to look like I need to get a bigger truck first........
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Sailor Dave
post Dec 9 2012, 09:27 AM
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Group: Members
Posts: 67
Joined: 11-April 12
Member No.: 6,005
Favorite Truck Camper(s): Arctic Fox
Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: F350, Extended cab, 8 foot bed,DRW, 4X4, 6.2L, camper package
Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift with Fastguns
Truck and Camper Setup: Arctic Fox 1150, wet bath, solar



you might already know this but, if your going for a new truck watch out for the extra weight of the desiel (approx 700 pounds) and the 4 door crew cab (approx 200 pounds) as well as some other options that can eat away at your load capacity.

I'm looking at ordering an Arctic Fox 1150 next month and estimating the dry weight with options to be about 4400 pounds. Then add another 950 pounds for gear, 2 passengers and 15 gallons of water for traveling. Thats darn close to 5400 pounds.

I'll be pushing close to my GVWR of 13300.

Dave
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Oscar
post Dec 10 2012, 10:04 AM
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Group: Members
Posts: 32
Joined: 7-December 12
From: Bethlehem, PA
Member No.: 6,383
Favorite Truck Camper(s): Lance, I think.
Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: Chevy 3500HD CC LB DRW DmaxAllison
Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift With Fastguns
Truck and Camper Setup: Chevy 3500 Dmax CC DRW. Torklift tie downs. 2012 Lance 1191



Your point is taken. That said, I enjoy the diesel I have now too much to forego it. The torque and economy are just too nice not to have. I also need the crew cab as I have two kids that travel with us on occasion.

Also I don't want TOO large a camper. This is for us a "short mission" vehicle. One, two nights tops. The Lances we're looking at all come in wet at around 4000 pounds, with another 800 pounds of us that should be no problem for a dually.
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aqualung
post Dec 10 2012, 11:40 AM
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Group: Members
Posts: 165
Joined: 3-February 10
Member No.: 3,725
Favorite Truck Camper(s): Adventurer 90FWS
Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: Dodge 3500 Dually Quadcab 4x4 6.7L Cummins
Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift
Truck and Camper Setup: 2008 Adventurer 90FWS Torklift Tiedowns with SuperHitch and SuperTruss Firestone Air Bags Torklift Load Stabilizers Fastgun Turnbuckles



I have noticed that the Ford truck's tend to have more available cargo payload that Dodge and GM. This may not be for every configuration but in general they beat out the others. Of course I found this out after I bought my Dodge. But at that time I got a deal on the Dodge that Ford couldn't touch so I am still happy.

And yes, once you have the diesel, its really tough to go back to gas. All of my vehciles are diesel now, including the car.
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Sailor Dave
post Dec 12 2012, 11:36 AM
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Group: Members
Posts: 67
Joined: 11-April 12
Member No.: 6,005
Favorite Truck Camper(s): Arctic Fox
Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: F350, Extended cab, 8 foot bed,DRW, 4X4, 6.2L, camper package
Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift with Fastguns
Truck and Camper Setup: Arctic Fox 1150, wet bath, solar



Aqualung is right about different configuration. For me, the Ford had the best payload but that might have been different with another truck configutation. And I might have chosen a differnt configuration if I was towing a trailer or fiver.

FTI, when I speak of configutation I mean the length of the bed, cab style, engin type and 4x4 vs 2x4. Dont be fooled by the ads about the "largest cargo capacity" or "biggest tow capacity" as these are usually figures quoted on stripped down, regular cab models.

D
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Oscar
post Dec 12 2012, 11:31 PM
Post #9





Group: Members
Posts: 32
Joined: 7-December 12
From: Bethlehem, PA
Member No.: 6,383
Favorite Truck Camper(s): Lance, I think.
Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: Chevy 3500HD CC LB DRW DmaxAllison
Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift With Fastguns
Truck and Camper Setup: Chevy 3500 Dmax CC DRW. Torklift tie downs. 2012 Lance 1191



OK pulled the trigger today....

For once the gods of commerce were smiling on me and I WASN'T in the market for the same darn thing everyone else wanted.....

One ton duallys are aplenty right now, especially the 2012's and they are NOT flying off the lot.

So, beating the 12/31 deadline I signed up for a 2012 1 ton Chevy 3500 Crew Cab Long Bed Dually with the DMax and Allison 6 Speed. LT trim, so basically the same truck I have now with a fat rear end. Irony is that after the $6000 in rebates and such and the top dollar on my 2500 trade I am paying less than I paid for the 2500 three years ago....and with interest rates in the basement the payments are less too.....

More truck, less payments..... yahoo.

Lance dealer, here we come.
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Sailor Dave
post Dec 13 2012, 09:23 AM
Post #10





Group: Members
Posts: 67
Joined: 11-April 12
Member No.: 6,005
Favorite Truck Camper(s): Arctic Fox
Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: F350, Extended cab, 8 foot bed,DRW, 4X4, 6.2L, camper package
Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift with Fastguns
Truck and Camper Setup: Arctic Fox 1150, wet bath, solar



Congrats Oscar!

I'll be interested in following your search for a good camper match with your new truck.

BTW, have you gotten a curb weight on the new truck yet? Dont know that the GVWR is on the Chevy DRW and was wondering what kind of payload your new Chevy has.

It's an adventure!

Dave
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Oscar
post Dec 19 2012, 09:06 AM
Post #11





Group: Members
Posts: 32
Joined: 7-December 12
From: Bethlehem, PA
Member No.: 6,383
Favorite Truck Camper(s): Lance, I think.
Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: Chevy 3500HD CC LB DRW DmaxAllison
Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift With Fastguns
Truck and Camper Setup: Chevy 3500 Dmax CC DRW. Torklift tie downs. 2012 Lance 1191



Hey Sailor Dave, think I asked this elsewhere, don't remember the answer. Do I know you from L&A, now CO????

Anywho, haven't gotten a weight on Super Max yet as I'm not taking delivery until noon.......

But, roughly the empty truck is 8000, and the GVWR is a little over 13, so payload around 5. 4 for the wet camper, plenty left for 4 peeps.

Will take it to the scales tomorrow.

Ordered about $700 in Torklift products yesterday....... blink.gif

I am also mounting a fifth wheel hitch for the fiver we're planning on getting for long missions. (Have a TT right now, will pull that in the meantime). So, have done all kinds of thinking about how to build up the floor around the rails that will be bolted into the bed for the fiver hitch. Settled on making grates out of Trex, and then a rubber mat on that for when TC is in. This allows me to take it all out for cleaning etc, but the TC will be properly supported.

Plywood not good. Looked at spray in bed liners, expensive, and not without drawbacks. Drop ins not good with the holes cut out for the fiver hitch, water would accumulate under, bad. So a grate will keep stuff out of the water and allow for plenty of air circulation. Also gives me a place to screw in tie down eyes......

When neither TC or 5ver are in play tonneau cover will keep it all dry.
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Oscar
post Dec 19 2012, 04:09 PM
Post #12





Group: Members
Posts: 32
Joined: 7-December 12
From: Bethlehem, PA
Member No.: 6,383
Favorite Truck Camper(s): Lance, I think.
Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: Chevy 3500HD CC LB DRW DmaxAllison
Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift With Fastguns
Truck and Camper Setup: Chevy 3500 Dmax CC DRW. Torklift tie downs. 2012 Lance 1191



This oughta do it......
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Spanky
post Dec 19 2012, 06:59 PM
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Moderator


Group: Moderator
Posts: 320
Joined: 24-June 06
From: Silver City, New Mexico
Member No.: 144
Favorite Truck Camper(s): Lance 1030
Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: 1999 F350 Power Stroke Dually SuperCab
Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift
Truck and Camper Setup: 1999 Ford F350 4x4 Super Cab 1 ton Dually Lance 1030 Torklift tiedowns



Dang nice ride.........for a Chevy......lol........congrats..


--------------------
1999 F350 Power Stroke Dually Super Cab, 2003 Lance 1030
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Sailor Dave
post Dec 20 2012, 04:23 PM
Post #14





Group: Members
Posts: 67
Joined: 11-April 12
Member No.: 6,005
Favorite Truck Camper(s): Arctic Fox
Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: F350, Extended cab, 8 foot bed,DRW, 4X4, 6.2L, camper package
Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift with Fastguns
Truck and Camper Setup: Arctic Fox 1150, wet bath, solar



Hey Oscar,

Nice truck you have there. Been to the scales yet? I'd like to know the curb weight and the weight on the front and rear axles.

Dave
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Oscar
post Dec 20 2012, 08:39 PM
Post #15





Group: Members
Posts: 32
Joined: 7-December 12
From: Bethlehem, PA
Member No.: 6,383
Favorite Truck Camper(s): Lance, I think.
Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: Chevy 3500HD CC LB DRW DmaxAllison
Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift With Fastguns
Truck and Camper Setup: Chevy 3500 Dmax CC DRW. Torklift tie downs. 2012 Lance 1191



QUOTE(Sailor Dave @ Dec 20 2012, 05:23 PM)
Hey Oscar,

Nice truck you have there. Been to the scales yet? I'd like to know the curb weight and the weight on the front and rear axles.

Dave
*




Not yet..... will soon though.
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Oscar
post Jan 7 2013, 06:00 PM
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Group: Members
Posts: 32
Joined: 7-December 12
From: Bethlehem, PA
Member No.: 6,383
Favorite Truck Camper(s): Lance, I think.
Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: Chevy 3500HD CC LB DRW DmaxAllison
Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift With Fastguns
Truck and Camper Setup: Chevy 3500 Dmax CC DRW. Torklift tie downs. 2012 Lance 1191



OK, have all the Tork Lift receivers mounted on the chassis today..... (whilst brewing 20 gallons of beer, how's that for multi tasking)....

Ready to make a purchase....

And yes, SD I am heading for the scales. Have the fiver hitch rails mounted too....(part 2 of my plan for world domination)......all I have to do before weighing is to put my grates in the bed to make a level floor for the TC....

I will post pictures at some point, it will all be clear....
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Oscar
post Jan 9 2013, 02:48 PM
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Group: Members
Posts: 32
Joined: 7-December 12
From: Bethlehem, PA
Member No.: 6,383
Favorite Truck Camper(s): Lance, I think.
Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: Chevy 3500HD CC LB DRW DmaxAllison
Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift With Fastguns
Truck and Camper Setup: Chevy 3500 Dmax CC DRW. Torklift tie downs. 2012 Lance 1191



Well, I've put money down on a 2012 leftover Lance 1191.......

Hope to take delivery later this month. Can't wait!
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Sailor Dave
post Jan 9 2013, 04:40 PM
Post #18





Group: Members
Posts: 67
Joined: 11-April 12
Member No.: 6,005
Favorite Truck Camper(s): Arctic Fox
Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: F350, Extended cab, 8 foot bed,DRW, 4X4, 6.2L, camper package
Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift with Fastguns
Truck and Camper Setup: Arctic Fox 1150, wet bath, solar



Congrats Oscar!

Keep us posted with stats and pics.

SD
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Oscar
post Jan 11 2013, 04:38 PM
Post #19





Group: Members
Posts: 32
Joined: 7-December 12
From: Bethlehem, PA
Member No.: 6,383
Favorite Truck Camper(s): Lance, I think.
Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: Chevy 3500HD CC LB DRW DmaxAllison
Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift With Fastguns
Truck and Camper Setup: Chevy 3500 Dmax CC DRW. Torklift tie downs. 2012 Lance 1191



Ordered hitch extension and cable splitter from Torklift today. Planning on occasionally pulling the cargo trailer too. And, put together a spreadsheet for weight calculations.

Anticipate taking delivery on the 25th.
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Oscar
post Jan 24 2013, 04:09 AM
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Group: Members
Posts: 32
Joined: 7-December 12
From: Bethlehem, PA
Member No.: 6,383
Favorite Truck Camper(s): Lance, I think.
Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: Chevy 3500HD CC LB DRW DmaxAllison
Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift With Fastguns
Truck and Camper Setup: Chevy 3500 Dmax CC DRW. Torklift tie downs. 2012 Lance 1191



Three more days..... oh boy oh boy!

The dealer is Campers Inn in NH. Timing is working out perfectly. We were going to Manchester NH anyways, as there is an SCA event there this weekend. So, we are killing two birds with one stone.....

Have a hitch extender for my cargo trailer to schlepp all the stuff to the event, and have a place to put it on the way back as the bed will be unavailable. In fact the bed is empty except for the grates and the rubber mat. Also, the tail gate can go in the cargo trailer on the way home....

The grates were added (pressure treated 3/4" true for the stringers and 5/4" cedar which is light and rot resistant for the boards) to compensate for the fifth wheel hitch rails. The hitch comes out and then a filler piece goes in. A 4'x8' rubber mat and the TC should not slide anywhere....

Also, bringing it all up just under two inches leaves room for the tonneau cover rail.
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