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Truck Camper Forum > General > Matching Truck and Camper
Sailor Dave
This is just my humble opinion after researching my camper and truck choices for the past year. I will be retireing soon and plan on living full time in the camper for a few years, touring this great country of ours so I want it done right the first time.

If your looking a Ford I would highly recommend that you use this guide:

http://www.motorcraftservice.com/vdirs/veh...TruckCamper.pdf
(I know GM publishes a similar guide and I would think Dodge does as well)

Ford put it together for the purpose of matching truck to camper. I was surprised at the difference in load capacity for a truck camper vs straight payload capacity. Weight in the truck bed is not the same as truck camper weight on the truck because the truck camper also affects the front axle.

I thought I had 6200 pound load capicity for a truck camper because the published payload capacity was 6200 pounds for the vehicle I "WAS" going to buy. But after reading the above guide I found that the truck camper capacity on the exact same truck was actually about 5100 pounds and I need more than that. So I'm currently refiguring my truck configuration.

First I picked out a camper to live in full time, an Arctic Fox 1140. 11.5 feet floor length, full wall slide and heavy. Now looking to order a truck that will handle that. I'm also looking to relpace the factory bed with a custom built, aluminium utility / service bed for more outside storage.

Sure you can always do after market suspension add-ons but the GVWR never changes. And in todays litigious society law suits are the norm. Get in an accident with an overweight vehicle and I'm afraid to see what could happen. And that includes being over the GAWR and GCWR as well. I hear about so many people having problems with how the truck handles with the camper, I wonder if the truck they have was really designed to carry the weight of their camper.

I found that you cant trust the truck dealer in most cases. They might mean well but I havent found any that really know the specs on trucks that are going to carry a truck camper or truck campers. Talk to them about camper center of gravity, cab to axle measurements on the truck or camper wet vs dry weight and they look like a deer in the headlights.

My advice is to do your homework and tell the dealer what you want. Work with the RV manufacturer and RV dealer to get accurate numbers on wet and dry weights, weight with options, center of gravity and use realistic numbers when figuring the weight of personal gear.

Then dive into the truck camper loading guides published by Ford, GM and Dodge to get the right vehicle for your camper.

I can tell you right off that you might be dissappointed to find out that beautiful 8 foot bed, crew cab, 4x4, diesel truck you fell in love with isnt designed to carry the weight of the camper you want. But life is full of compromises. And finding the right truck to camper match is no exception to the rule.

Sailor Dave
Night_Sailor
QUOTE(Sailor Dave @ Apr 12 2012, 10:06 AM)
I can tell you right off that you might be dissappointed to find out that beautiful 8 foot bed, crew cab, 4x4, diesel truck you fell in love with isnt designed to carry the weight of the camper you want. But life is full of compromises. And finding the right truck to camper match is no exception to the rule.

Sailor Dave
*



Hi Dave, I'm a sailor too. My 2 cents. Buy a lighter camper. Just like boats, lighter weight is safer, saves on tire wear, handles better, etc. While I like some of these new big campers, size is a disadvantage.
malonetravels2
Excellent post, thanks ! The GM link is here:

http://eogld.ecomm.gm.com/NASApp/domestic/...amper&year=2012

Does not specifically list the Silverado Crew Cab Hybrid which we are interested in, which has an extra hydraulic shock , and whose bed is shorter than 6'6...
Brian Horn
QUOTE(Sailor Dave @ Apr 12 2012, 10:06 AM)
If your looking a Ford I would highly recommend that you use this guide:

http://www.motorcraftservice.com/vdirs/veh...TruckCamper.pdf
(I know GM publishes a similar guide and I would think Dodge does as well)



I can tell you right off that you might be dissappointed to find out that beautiful 8 foot bed, crew cab, 4x4, diesel truck you fell in love with isnt designed to carry the weight of the camper you want. But life is full of compromises. And finding the right truck to camper match is no exception to the rule.

Sailor Dave
*


I am just BEGINNING to research the truck/camper compatibility thing and I'm very discouraged by what I'm finding. For example, I noticed on every single truck on the link to Ford (above) there is an asterisk next to the truck type. At the bottom of each page the asterisk reads *This pickup should not be used for carrying a slide in camper unless F-Series camper package is installed[I]. This asterisk is for every truck in the document, including the last one, the F-450, 4x4 DRW. (???)
Is there somewhere that I can enter a VIN # and find out if a truck has the "camper package"?
From my very newbie position, it looks as if there are very few pickups out there that are actually recommended for carrying a slide in camper. Frankly, makes me want to throw in the towel on the whole idea! I'm currently looking at 2 trucks, and F350 shortbed and an F250 long bed. Both single wheel, crew cab. Both around $36-37K. Hate to invest that much money only to find out that there are about 5 slide in types that I can chose from, none of which are available, pre-owned, in my area!

I really would like a truck camper someday, but it seems to me that the truck manufacturers and the camper manufacturers are not working together to make compatibility very easy for us!
taberski
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
taberski
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
tshull
I agree Brian! growing up nobody had a 1 ton let alone a dually! I have a 97 f-250hd long box and all i hear is pop up or Wolf Creek!
dubob
QUOTE(Brian Horn @ Apr 26 2014, 12:38 PM)
Is there somewhere that I can enter a VIN # and find out if a truck has the "camper package"?

Brian,

I had the same issue with my 2008 Chevy 3500HD DRW. I wanted to know what all the options and equipment it came with when it left the factory. The dealer was able to enter the VIN and produce what GM calls a 'build sheet.' I would think that any Ford or Dodge dealer could do the same thing.
Jswharton
New and thinking of moving from a 40' 5th wheel to a TC and could use some (lots) of help.

The truck is a 2011 F350, DRW and tares at about 8900, leaving 4400 payload. Have about 700 lbs available on the from axle and 5000 rear so should be fine with the payload. Ford,s max slidin weight is 4270

As an example use a Lance 855s, tare at 2650, add generator, batteries, tied downs, full FW and 600 lbs of stuff and that gets you to about 4000. So far so good but appears to about the max TC for this truck. Agree, is my thinking correct?

One new item is the COG. I looked up from the Ford 2011 guide, their recommended is 44.5" and the 855s is 47". I think this means is will be more top heavy than Ford recommends but not sure how critical this would be? To meet this spec would have to go to a TC that fits a SB and anything bigger would likely put me over the GVWR.

I will start looking at set ups but appears that the overweight issues are not limited to 5th wheels!

Please tell me I'm on the right track and help me with the COG concept, not sure I got that?

I've read a bunch on this site and like the "vibe"

Thanks. Scott
dubob
QUOTE(Jswharton @ Aug 21 2014, 08:34 AM)
Please tell me I'm on the right track and help me with the COG concept, not sure I got that?

Scott,

I don't know where you got that 47" COG figure from. The specs for the 855s show it as 38". And that would be the front to back COG, not the top to bottom COG. So the COG posted for the camper is not an indication of whether or not it would be top heavy. It's an indication of putting some of the campers weight on the front axle. Keeping the camper COG slightly in front of the center-line of the rear axle is the goal. If you measure the truck bed from the leading inside edge to the rear axle center-line, it should be slightly more than 38" so that you do in fact have some of the campers weight being shared by the front axle. If your bed measurement were say 36", then you would be actually lifting some weight off the front axle and that would not be good.
Jswharton
Thanks, I sure missed that one!
Odyknuck
Ok I am new here and want to match a Truck Camper to my 2013 F250 6.7 diesel with 8' bed. There is a sticker on the door that states tire specs and max payload of 2365#s.
Am I to assume that is the max load for the factory supplied tires or for what ever tires are on it? The GVW is 10K for the truck. The axles are front 5900 and rear 6100#. I also want to tow a 28' cargo trailer behind that could weigh up 9100#. Please advise.
dubob
QUOTE(Odyknuck @ Nov 9 2014, 07:25 AM)
Ok I am new here and want to match a Truck Camper to my 2013 F250 6.7 diesel with 8' bed. There is a sticker on the door that states tire specs and max payload of 2365#s.
Am I to assume that is the max load for the factory supplied tires or for what ever tires are on it?  The GVW is 10K for the truck. The axles are front 5900 and rear 6100#.  I also want to tow a 28' cargo trailer behind that could weigh up 9100#. Please advise.
*

Ody,

Your truck has a GCWR of 23,500 lbs. It can pull a trailer weighing up to 12,500 lbs. The GVWR is 10,000 and you have a max payload of anywhere from 1,499 to 3,033 lbs based on 2X4 vs 4X4 and which cab (reg, super, crew) you have. You can look that up here:
2013 Ford specs. Remember to add about 1,000 to the camper dry weight from the factory to account for all your personal gear, passengers, fluids, etc. You will be very hard pressed to find a hardside camper that doesn't exceed the GVWR/payload for your truck. But then, MOST of the TC's you see on the highways & byways do exceed their capacities at least a little. A pop-up TC might be a better choice for your truck and what you plan to do with it.
Odyknuck
My truck is a 4X4 XLT super cab with 158" wheelbase if that helps.
dubob
QUOTE(Odyknuck @ Nov 9 2014, 01:15 PM)
My truck is a 4X4 XLT super cab with 158" wheelbase if that helps.
*

That truck has a GCWR of 23,500 lbs. It can pull a trailer weighing up to 14,000 lbs. The GVWR is still 10,000 and you have a max payload of 1,709 lbs based on 4X4 and a super cab. So a hardside TC is NOT something you would want to be putting in the bed of that truck - IMHO.
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