2005 Lance 845

[Rhodesia]

I just bought a 2005 Lance Camper with extended cab for the queen bed and it has the rear bumper. The manual says it's dry weight is 2,190 lbs and wet weight is 2522 Lbs. I have a 2016 Ford F250 Super Duty Power Stroke Turbo diesel 3/4 ton truck 6.7L it came with Air lite air springs 5000 series and a tow rating of 15,500 pounds (Trailers). I have a short bed truck due to having a crew cab and this 845 is a short bed label says Lance 845 lite 8' 6". before I bought it I had Ford dealership make sure I can carry this camper on the back weight wise that is and they conformed yes I can and the Lance dealership also said yes due to it coming off of an older Ford F250 Super Duty. To get a third opinion I took the truck down to the RV suspension shop that only deals with Motorhomes and Trucks undercarriage. They found that in order to carry this they recommended the air springs which I have already installed and Super springs Overload Leaf's, and a Rear Sway Bar since Ford does not install these on their trucks. anything else anyone out there would recommend? Because the RV Suspension Shop said if I add anything else would be an over kill for the undercarriage. Thanks for any input. as a note I have seen these Lance model 845 on a Ford F150 on a 1/2 ton truck. Lance does not specify saying what trucks this will fit.

[wintersun]

Your dealer provided remarkably good advice. You are also fortunate in having a 2016 year truck as that was the first year that Ford provided a much stronger truck frame.

Also check the tires on your truck. With my 2500 truck the factory tires had a load rating of 3095 lbs or 6190 for the two at the rear axle. The truck itself weighed 3200 lbs at the rear axle when empty. The weight of the truck and the camper was going to be more than 6200 lbs.

I replaced the factory tires with Nitto tires rated for 3750 lbs (similar tires fron Toyo and Goodrich) each and increase the load capacity at the rear to 7500 lbs which was more than enough. The local CAT scale costs about $15 to have the truck weighed with and without the camper and then you know exactly how much weight is being carried.
I discovered that 80% of the camper load was being supported by the rear wheels of the truck.

The Supersprings double leaf set (4 leaves in total) cost me $450 and provided the support needed for the heavy camper. They took me an hour to install and greatly improved the handling of the truck. In a turn more than 50% of the weight of the camper is being supported by the wheels on one side and so adding more support adds to the stability.

Another change I made was to replace the factory shocks with Rancho XL adjustable shocks. I found that having the front shocks at 5 and rear shocks at 10 provided the best ride with minimal porpoising. With the camper off the truck I would only change the rear shock setting taking them to 5 or 6. Thirty seconds and no tools needed to change the setting on the shocks.

[Geo_Boy]

Grit, 3 cases of Budweiser really:S That stuff is nasty!

[d3500ram]

Beans, schmeans...
...I am more concerned with how many cans of BEER that I can carry.

[mkirsch]

It's good to know HOW to count cans of beans and gallons of water, but you have to actually DO it and not just wave your hands in the air with some vague warning about having to count cans of beans and gallons of water.

If you actually sat down and did the math, you would see that the OP's truck can haul ALL the beans and ALL the water. Just like Grit dog says, no problem.

Just for giggles, what does the door sticker say about the RAWR/GRAWR rating of the truck?

[Grit_dog]

monkey44 wrote:
Remember too, carry enough water for your travels, then fill tank at destination. Thirty-six gallons equal 270 lbs. Save yourself 200 lbs with less water on the road. Shop main groceries often. Take minimal heavy tools. A few necessary tools, fine, but you can load up a few hundred pounds of metal if you overdo it. Pack light, laundry more often. Little things like that make a lighter load. You could save 500 lbs if you load TC and truck with a little forethought.

Think also, heavier weight cruising around local camping area roads at 30 mph is a lot less dangerous than heavy weight on a highway at 65 mph too. Load water and groceries at your location, and dump before you leave. Fill water at next CG.

Except for the fact that, that camper on a newer F250, there is no real need to count cans of beans and gallons of water. Truck is up to the task. Period.
I understand many folks have limited experience with trucks, campers, towing, etc and due diligence is required. But in this case, it's black n white. Other than the administratively low gvw rating and rear axle rating, there are no physical or design issues with this setup, even if he packs food for 2 weeks, 3 cases of Budweiser, full tank of water and some tools.

[NRALIFR]

Rhodesia wrote:

jimh425 wrote:
Everybody needs a F450. Gotta have it just in case, right? 😄

You are funny, that's why you only do one show a night, LOL

Wut??? :S

Everyone knows F450’s make the best camper haulers. It’s just common sense, like wearing two masks. If one is good then more must be even better, right? :W

:):)

[monkey44]

Remember too, carry enough water for your travels, then fill tank at destination. Thirty-six gallons equal 270 lbs. Save yourself 200 lbs with less water on the road. Shop main groceries often. Take minimal heavy tools. A few necessary tools, fine, but you can load up a few hundred pounds of metal if you overdo it. Pack light, laundry more often. Little things like that make a lighter load. You could save 500 lbs if you load TC and truck with a little forethought.

Think also, heavier weight cruising around local camping area roads at 30 mph is a lot less dangerous than heavy weight on a highway at 65 mph too. Load water and groceries at your location, and dump before you leave. Fill water at next CG.

[mkirsch]

StirCrazy wrote:
there are lots of gvwraitings, and phisical weight differences with the 3/4 ton trucks.

The only differences are INCREASES in payload capacity ratings as the years go by.

The majority of the weight differences are UP FRONT. Empty rear axle weights are pretty consistent given a particular box size.

[StirCrazy]

I would just add a sway bar, that will help with the ride and corners, but be carfull of the trap "it came of a 3/4 ton so it should be just fine". there are lots of gvwraitings, and phisical weight differences with the 3/4 ton trucks. just year could change how much payload it can carry and how well. your right "generaly" you'll be fine but there are situations depending on the spec of the truck where you might not, so the only way to know is to put it on and try it out and decide what you need to do to get the ride the way you want it.

Steve

[Rhodesia]

jimh425 wrote:
Everybody needs a F450. Gotta have it just in case, right? 😄

You are funny, that's why you only do one show a night, LOL

[Rhodesia]

monkey44 wrote:
We have a 2008 Lance 845 ... We pack fairly light, but still run about 3000 lbs loaded. We haul it on a Chevy 2500HD w-60K miles on it and the only mod is Bilstein shocks. Never have an issue, highway or off-highway, although, we don't off-road much anymore.

BFG 285 AT 'E' Tires ...

Not sure why anyone beefs up a truck so much unless you have trouble hauling the weight you carry. Yes, safety is always an issue, and if it felt unsafe, we would beef it up. It doesn't. Could trucks hauling TC's use a few 'beefs', sure, but not always necessary. Driver training and driving care is always helpful if you need it.

Thank you very much for your input this is my first camper set up

[Rhodesia]

Grit dog wrote:
Glad to help Rhodesia.
I still wouldn’t do the super springs either though unless you’re wanting to get rid of the airbags.
But again, drive it first before moving further with more mods.
Admittedly, that generation of F250 has fairly compliant rear springs. Based on the 2012 and 2015 models I had. You could lob the camper on there now and drive away and not be sitting on the bump stops. But the springs have a softer initial spring rate compared to what one would traditionally think of a HD truck.
You have more than enough tire (and rim if OE rims or at least not some cheap aftermarket ones) for the camper to sit on the truck for a day or 5 years. 19.5s would be overkill.

For frame of reference, we had Arctic Fox 860s sitting on a 2007 Dodge 2500 short bed.
4000lbs + ready to camp. Yes it needed airbags, sway bar and home made spring wedges. And with that it handled decent. But first trip out of the Gates with the first camper was camper loaded down heavy and a 7klb trailer on a 2’ hitch extension from Seattle to Anchorage. Just airbags and some 4000lb rated Toyos.
Took all 748 frost heaves between here and there like a champ!

I pick up the camper on the 24th I take it down to the RV Suspension Shop and they will weight it with the camper and have the tank filled and so forth. again thank you and I will post what the results are.

[monkey44]

We have a 2008 Lance 845 ... We pack fairly light, but still run about 3000 lbs loaded. We haul it on a Chevy 2500HD w-60K miles on it and the only mod is Bilstein shocks. Never have an issue, highway or off-highway, although, we don't off-road much anymore.

BFG 285 AT 'E' Tires ...

Not sure why anyone beefs up a truck so much unless you have trouble hauling the weight you carry. Yes, safety is always an issue, and if it felt unsafe, we would beef it up. It doesn't. Could trucks hauling TC's use a few 'beefs', sure, but not always necessary. Driver training and driving care is always helpful if you need it.

[jimh406]

Everybody needs a F450. Gotta have it just in case, right? 😄