[ Outline ] · Standard · Linear+ 1992 F250 HD 7.5L, Buying a TC

[hhr1315]

First post from a newbie to the truck camper world:

I am shopping for TC and have an opportunity to purchase a 1998 Lance Legend 990 11 ft truck camper. The gentleman I might buy this from says that the camper weighs 3,400 lbs.

I have a 1992 F250 HD with the 7.5L (460 CID) motor. I have weighed my truck with 2 full tanks of gas and myself and I come in at 5,580 lbs or 3,120 lbs on the front axle and 2,460 on the rear axle. My GVWR is 8,800 lbs with a front GAWR of 3,765 and a rear GAWR of 6,084. Lance claims that the dry weight of the standard cabover Legend 990 is 2,850 lbs, not including options, and 2,930 lbs for the extended cabover and I am not sure which one this is.

By my calculations, I can carry exactly 3,220 lbs (GVWR minus curb weight or 8,800 - 5,580 = 3,220). I have the Ford 10.5 full floating axle with 3.55 gears. The springs on the rear end are the same springs as an F350. Even the spring brackets are stamped with "F350" and it is my understanding that this is what makes my truck an HD. It is essentially an F250 with F350 springs in the rear (along with other things).

I have easily hauled 1 ton of rocks in the bed of my truck and couldn't tell anything was back there but I am a little concerned about exceeding the GVWR of my truck. I am planning a 4,600 mile trip with a camper in August and I plan to tow my motorcycle using a hitch extension provided by the seller. My motorcycle weighs around 454 lbs dry and the trailer weighs around 250 lbs. I will be going through the Rockies and Yellowstone and to Denver, CO so there will be hills but the 7.5L should be up for the job.

I realize I might be exceeding the GVWR by several hundred pounds once I had food and luggage but should I be concerned? Buying another truck is not an option after buying the truck camper. The piggy bank will be empty after this. I really like the 11 ft Lance Legend because of the stand up separate indoor shower (mostly wife likes this) and all of the options on the camper some of which were standard on the Legend (electric jacks and generator).

Thanks in advance for any wisdom you'd like to share with me.

[Joemcg]

I'm late to the party with this response but maybe it will help someone so here goes:

1. It's easy to tell a "regular" from an "extended cab over" Lance. In the regular the bed is crosswise, in the extended it is in line with the rest of the TC.

2. I carried a newer '05 Lance 981Max on a '91 F350 CC drw for years that had the 7.5L and it was no problem. Again it was a Dually so that added quite a bit to my max GCWR but in my mind the main advantage was increased stability. I had some experience with that since the rig before was a smaller Lance 815 lite on an '89 F250 diesel.