We ordered an Arctic Fox 990 last week. I believe I now have a fairly good idea of the estimated weight (a lot!). The base weight does not include any of the options - including the mandatory Fox Value Pack. The weight stated on the back of the model camper included this base weight plus the weight of water and propane (3426#).

Total weight of our camper (estimated) will be around 4,500# - give or take.

I weighed my truck on a CAT scale last week - just the truck, full tank of fuel, no tail gate, tie downs, rubber mat or suspension upgrades (i.e. just the stock truck less the tailgate) and it weighs 8,460# (5,060# front, 3,400# rear). My truck has a stated GVWR of 14,000# so I will have approximately 1,000# of margin prior to adding any of our stuff - including my wife and I. So in the end, we will be fairly close to the GVWR of my truck. I was hoping I'd have more margin - so it goes.

I plan to weigh again when I receive my camper (i.e. with propane, batteries, tie-downs and mat, but without water). I may then go back and weigh with just the water added. Finally, I will weigh loaded up and ready to go. Once I get that done, I'll post a fresh thread as there seems to be quite a bit of interest in this topic.

With regard to the manufacturer truck camper payloads, I'm not sure I will ever understand how the manufactures arrive at their ratings.

Kevin

I understand the use of GVWR and CAT scales and plan to step through the entire process once the weather clears. My question relates to the Camper Guides published by the manufacturers and why the Camper Payloads are lighter than the max payloads - and ultimately less than the GVWR of the truck.

Thank you,

Kevin

Last summer, I purchased a 2014 RAM 3500 Laramie DRW, 4x4 Crew-cab with the Cummins diesel and the stock automatic transmission.

According to the RAM Brochure (2014 RAM Pickups), my truck has a maximum payload of 5,830#.

But according to the 2014 RAM Builder's Guide (under 2014 Camper Guide), the maximum weight of a camper I can place on my truck is 4,631# - an approximate 1,200# reduction!

Can anybody explain the discrepancy in these two numbers? I suspect that part of this is based on the estimated weight of passengers (5 seating locations in my case - Ford uses 150# per position) which would account for 750#, but that still does not explain the additional ~450#.

We are considering the purchase of an Arctic Fox 990, but I'm discovering that the estimated wet weight (4,375# - not including any of our "stuff"), may not leave as much margin as one would expect.

I know plenty of people successfully haul these campers (and larger). I'm just trying to understand how it is that I could potentially exceed the limits of my truck with this camper.

Thank you,

Kevin Taberski

I just wanted to follow up.

I ordered a 3500 Ram 4x4 Crew-Cab Dually Laramie Diesel with an 8' box today. I settled on the dually, in-part, due to the feedback I received on this forum (thank you for that), but also based on the information provided in the 2014 Ram Body Builder's Guide, under the Ram Camper Guide section. It takes a bit of study, but the recommended maximum weight of a slide-in camper for a SRW 3500 4x4 Laramie crew-cab (diesel, 8' box and bucket seats) is 3,206# and only goes up to 4,631# for the DRW.

I know that these recommendations are quite a bit lower than the maximum payloads (4,460# and 5,780# for SRW and DRW resp.) than these trucks are rated, but it's one more piece of information. I decided that stability, safety and a bit of extra payload "margin" were worth the additional aggravation in parking.

What I personally don't want to happen is to purchase a truck and then wish I had gone bigger after the fact. I guess I won't know until I get my truck and ultimately purchase the camper - which is likely to be heavier than what we've already considered.

Thanks again,

Kevin

I didn't know that the Ford Truck Camper Loading guides existed, but now that I do - I did a search and found a list of Ford trucks from 2002 through 2015.

http://www.fordtechservice.dealerconnectio...ding&nomenu=yes

Dodge/Ram has the Body Builder's Guides - for 2014:

http://www.rambodybuilder.com/year.pdf

And pre-2014

http://www.rambodybuilder.com/yearold.pdf

Note: I can't seem to get this to work with Firefox, so I had to use Internet Explorer.

I have yet to find as extensive of a document from Dodge/Ram as what Ford provides. I have not (yet) searched for Chevy/GMC.

Kevin

I don't know if this works with used vehicles, but here's at least one site that will provide some information:

http://researchmaniacs.com/VIN-Number-Look...dowSticker.html

Try a search on "VIN Window Sticker" or just "VIN Search". Add Ford, etc. to narrow it down. The individual manufacturers may have their own sites as well.

Kevin

Once again, thank you both for the additional information.

Based on your CAT Scale measurements, it seems as though it's quite easy to add 1200# to the dry weight of a camper. It's weird to me that the dealers I've visited with (both camper and truck), insist that an SRW is adequate, but it's all opinion.

Granted - you "can" get an SRW truck with a GVWR rated to 12,200#, but is it the correct choice? I'm thinking not.

Thank you for your time.

Kevin

The Adventurer 90FWS is the size and style of campers that we are considering - with a listed dry weight of 2576# and I see that you also drive a truck very much like I am considering.

Do you happen to know what the wet weight of your setup?

How do you like your 3500? In my case, one of the factors in the DRW vs SRW debate - is that this truck will likely replace my daily driver for at least a year or so. Which means that I will be driving the truck empty quite a bit. With the camper on, it seems like a DRW is a no brainer - it's the non-camping time that is the issue. Can you comment on the handling (especially in snow if it applies in your case) when empty? The other thing I'm a bit curious about is - how much do owners just leave the camper on the truck for extended periods of time and just drive it with the camper on? Is this scenario common?

Spanky - a 2003 Lance 1030 weighs 2770# (dry), so the same questions apply (except perhaps for the snow ;~). The other truck I'm considering is a Ford F350 (except Crew Cab).

Thank you both,

Kevin

I've been researching trucks and campers for quite some time - with the hope of purchasing a truck soon followed by a camper at a later date (likely next season) - but I'm really on the fence regarding a DRW versus SRW truck. I realize that this topic has likely been discussed ad nauseum, but I'm thinking of the trade-off in terms of safety margin and stability with the potential inconvenience of driving and parking (and so on) a dually as opposed to pushing the limits of GVWR.

The campers that I'm looking at are in the 2500# to 3000# (dry weight) range. I also occasionally tow a trailer (2 horse trailer with 2 ~350# llamas) which I'd like to combine with camping. Using the 1000# rules of thumb that I see mentioned, that puts a potential payload of #3500 to #4000 on the truck pretty easily. Even for a 3500/F350 class truck, this is beginning to get pretty close to the maximum GVWR of these trucks.

My question is, how reasonable is it to operate a truck near it's GVWR? Especially given that the weight is not evenly distributed? Most of the weight of the camper is on the rear axle and that weight is likely not centered side-to-side.

My inclination is to just get a dually to gain enough margin in GVWR so that I'm not potentially bumping up against the GVWR. Then, if we decide to get a heavy camper, tow a trailer or add more than a 1000# to make the camper "wet", I might be all set. It seems to me that "more is better" might apply in this case.

On the other hand, the camper and truck dealers (not to mention family and friends) are all suggesting that an SRW truck is adequate - almost to the point of ridicule when I suggest getting a dually.

In their defense, they point out some of the shortcomings of driving a dually - mainly parking - especially when running empty.

So my other question is - for those of you that own dually pickups - is the additional hassle of driving and parking a dually pickup (especially when not used with a camper), combined with the added costs (of the truck itself, reduction in fuel economy and increase in cost of tires) worth it?

My fear is that if I accept the argument and buy into the relative convenience of driving and parking an SRW truck, I will be disappointed with the experience once I get a camper and load it up.

For a frame of reference, we liked the Northern Lite 9'6" Q Classic Special Edition(2625#), but we also looked at the 10'2" CD Special Edition (2980#) and my wife liked the Eagle Cap 850 (3117#) - I'd prefer to not have a slide (but you know how that goes ;~). But the truck will be used as daily driver for the near term (until I can justify the purchase of a 3rd vehicle). In other words, I will find myself driving this truck empty 80+ percent of the time.

Any experiences with owning and driving a dually while not camping, along with thoughts about payloads under the GVWR are greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Kevin

Thank you all for the quick replies.

Next time out I will certainly carry a tape - the notebook I had.

Good information on the blocks. I will be sure and study all the dimensions of the campers we're considering.

The 2014 Ram 3500 DRW has a GVWR of 14K - check out the 2014 Ram Brochure - which is the same for the 2014 Ford F350 - see: 2014 Ford SuperDuty Brochure.

There is certainly much to consider!

Kevin

Hello,

This is my first post to this forum. I'm in the market for a truck and a camper and am still in the information gathering stages.

Though I have a few candidate campers in mind, I've been actively researching and test driving trucks. I'm currently considering the Ford F350 and Ram 3500 - both Crew Cab, 4x4 with 8 'bed and diesel - possibly DRW.

It "appears" to me that the Ram 3500 sits higher than the Ford F350, which would place the bed higher and therefore the camper floor (not to mention the whole center of gravity) higher.

I found a "spec" for "Load Floor Height" in Ford's 2014 Super Duty brochure (37.7"/35.6" for SRW/DRW, Crew Cab, 8' bed, 4x4), but have been unable to find this information for the Ram. Does anyone know if this information exists?

Lacking a spec, does anyone know the difference in bed height between a Ford F350 and a Ram 3500 - perhaps just from personal experience? Also, how does this height vary empty versus load - it's difficult to test drive a fully loaded pickup!

Thank you,

Kevin