3 tons
NV.
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Joined: 03/13/2009
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Grit dog wrote:Taking a significant financial hit on vehicle in any recent years back to the last recession shouldn’t be blamed on upsizing a camper since the vehicles for each are very similar in value.
You are somewhat correct, but this assumes that I ‘took the hit’ recently (e.g. before incurring a bunch of depreciation, though a repeat of wasteful acquisition fees are a consideration too)…
In my case we were initially very happy with our non-slide camper, but after only about 2 years of ownership we found that we loved the activity but desired more room, and more storage and bigger tanks for extended off-grid camping were also high on our re-do ‘wish list’ - this was in the mid 2000’s, and campers with single slides were relatively new to the camper marketplace…So my only point here was (because one’s needs often change…) that given a do-over, I’d only wished that I’d avoided need to do a costly repurchase…
3 tons
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stevenal
Newport, OR, USA
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Joined: 03/16/2004
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Lots of weight related answers here that avoid the height question. I live where lots of TCs pass through, and continue to be amazed to see campers that double the overall height over the truck alone. Of course they have big ACs on the roof, and are on SRW trucks. They lean from normal road crowning, and sway like crazy.
I like my SRW, kept the camper low and light weight, and added suspension enhancements.
'18 Bigfoot 1500
Torklifts and Fastguns
'17 F350 Powerstroke Supercab SRW LB 4X4
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srschang
Western NY
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Joined: 08/23/2005
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One more "1000#" stuff weight believer. I bought a 2020 Ram 3500 CC SRW to haul our new Northstar 12STC camper. The truck payload sticker was 4340#, so should be able to haul a good size camper, right? We bought the 12STC because we wanted the lightest true dry bath camper we could find. The 12 STC came in at 3330# dry (as weighed). Add water, propane, batteries, solar, the wife, and the camper was at 3945#. When I did the Cat scale camper and truck, then took the camper off and reweighed the truck, the final camper weight was 4780#, a full 1450# more than the dry weight!
So I did what many folks do, air bags, adjustable shocks, Torquelift Stableloads, 19.5" tires. It actually handled very well, even though it was 440# overweight.
I took my truck to the dealer for the annual safety inspection, and they asked me if I was interested in trading it in. They said they would give me a smokin' deal if I would order a new 2022 truck and trade in the 2020. They did, and I did, and now I have a the same truck with dual rear wheels, and haul the camper just fine with zero accessories.
2022 Ram 3500 Dually Crewcab Longbed Cummins, 2019 Northstar 12 STC
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Geo*Boy
Unknown
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Joined: 04/27/2020
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srschang wrote:One more "1000#" stuff weight believer. I bought a 2020 Ram 3500 CC SRW to haul our new Northstar 12STC camper. The truck payload sticker was 4340#, so should be able to haul a good size camper, right? We bought the 12STC because we wanted the lightest true dry bath camper we could find. The 12 STC came in at 3330# dry (as weighed). Add water, propane, batteries, solar, the wife, and the camper was at 3945#. When I did the Cat scale camper and truck, then took the camper off and reweighed the truck, the final camper weight was 4780#, a full 1450# more than the dry weight!
So I did what many folks do, air bags, adjustable shocks, Torquelift Stableloads, 19.5" tires. It actually handled very well, even though it was 440# overweight.
I took my truck to the dealer for the annual safety inspection, and they asked me if I was interested in trading it in. They said they would give me a smokin' deal if I would order a new 2022 truck and trade in the 2020. They did, and I did, and now I have a the same truck with dual rear wheels, and haul the camper just fine with zero accessories.
That is the truth about about MFG. weight and the true weight of a TC.
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HGF Iowa
Clarksville, Iowa
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Joined: 12/07/2022
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I have a 2022 F-350 Super Crew, SRW, 7.3 gas, XLT model, 4x4, long bed, Firestone Air bags, Torklift tiedowns, 11,500GVWR. Camper is a 9.5 North Star Igloo. Total weight with gas and water half full, two propane tanks full, plus gear and one person is 11,280 on CAT scale. It handles just fine alone or also pulling a 3,000 lb. boat. Handles much like my old 2014 King Ranch with the 6.2 gas, other than the 7.3 gets a little better gas mileage than the 6.2 did. I'm guessing I'm slightly over the GVWR with full tanks and when pulling the boat. I'm happy, going to take it to Alaska next year!
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BeMurda
Canada
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Seems like I should order a DRW, I think I will go that direction and figure out how to live with it.
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cptqueeg
Idaho
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Joined: 04/11/2020
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BeMurda wrote:Seems like I should order a DRW, I think I will go that direction and figure out how to live with it.
No question that is the correct decision. It'll be there when you buy the fifth wheel in a few years!
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srschang
Western NY
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BeMurda wrote:Seems like I should order a DRW, I think I will go that direction and figure out how to live with it.
The only reason I ordered a SRW in 2020 instead of a DRW was driving in snow. I live near Buffalo, NY and take a couple snowmobile trips into Quebec every winter. I was really concerned how the dually would handle in the snow.
In two wheel drive with snow on the ground, it's basically worthless. In four wheel drive on snow, it handles comparable to my SRW. So it just spends more time in four wheel drive than the SRW did.
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Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
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In the OPs case or anyone else for that matter, winter driving lightly loaded, just run the outer dual only to increase tire pressure. No it won’t ruin anything and won’t even look (too) weird like running the inner dual.
Used to do this all the time on light duty dually pickup plow trucks. Only downside is wearing down a pair of the rears more than the other, although N Canada, winter, tire wear should be almost non existent. Or a cheap set of rims with some winter stud tires would be even better.
At a minimum, lower the pressure in the duals to the absolute min you can. No more than 20 psi in the rears will help traction on an empty or lightly loaded dually.
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold
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Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
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BeMurda wrote:Seems like I should order a DRW, I think I will go that direction and figure out how to live with it.
Hard to understand someone else’s thought process and frankly NOMB (none of my business). But I’d suggest if you can drive someone’s srw setup and get a feel for it first, that’s better than the potential buyers remorse of having a “hippy” truck that you otherwise don’t want or need.
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