Can it be done with a lifted truck?

[vip]

Ok guys, I've searched the forum and can't come up with much on this. I have an F350 that has a 6" lift running 35" tires - I don't want to push the safety envelope so I'm asking for thought. I'd like to look at purchasing a truck camper in the future and need to know if it's possible with my setup and how much of a pain it would be to load/unload.

Any input is appreciated!

http://www.hutchesonline.com/powerstroke_forum/after.jpg

[FishPOET]

Everything depends on the weight you want to haul. An 8' camper would probably be fine. You would need to build platforms for the jacks to sit on to get the camper on and off.

[Overland Hadley]

I would definitely look for a lighter weight camper. You might not need to go as light as a Four Wheel Camper, but IMO the lighter the better. Just do not overdrive your rig and you will be okay.

[john101477]

Ok guys, I've searched the forum and can't come up with much on this. I have an F350 that has a 6" lift running 35" tires - I don't want to push the safety envelope so I'm asking for thought. I'd like to look at purchasing a truck camper in the future and need to know if it's possible with my setup and how much of a pain it would be to load/unload.

Any input is appreciated!

http://www.hutchesonline.com/powerstroke_forum/after.jpg

Of course it is possible. people run lifted rigs with campers all dang day. I highly doubt your gonna go across the rubicon just be safe about it.
I would probably look into a FWC or equiv

[Regcabguy]

I've witnessed stock height srw trucks with hard sided campers struggle on I-15 south from Vegas in stiff crosswinds. A 6" lift wouldn't help matters. Emergency collision avoidance is an issue also.

I was getting hit fairly hard with my popup.

In contrast the drw trucks were relatively unfazed by the winds.

[77blazerchalet]

One of the newer guys at our Yahoo Groups Chalet owners forum recently bought this, but is about to sell it just as quick. I should ask him what he thinks of the handling, as I thought my former Chalet's stock height still made it feel a tad ungainly. I'd think lighter weight / lower mass distribution is definitely your friend in such situations.....

69315

[FrenchieXJ]

With a question such as this I couldn't answer this until I knew what you wanted to do with this vehicle. Is this just to be a base camp, expedition travel around the world (live in it for extended time (year or months)), is this also be be a daily driver?

[vip]

With a question such as this I couldn't answer this until I knew what you wanted to do with this vehicle. Is this just to be a base camp, expedition travel around the world (live in it for extended time (year or months)), is this also be be a daily driver?

This is my daily driver when I'm not on the FJR so the camper would be coming off when at home. My wife and I would like to start getting out more with weekend trips and a few weekly trips a year. We have a 5000 mile trip scheduled in June next year out west (live in central Indiana).

[WILLD420]

I don't think you are going to be very happy with anything more than a pop-up camper on there unless you are used to driving top heavy rigs.

They don't fall over as easy as you might think, but they sure don't feel very good going down the road with a heavy camper and a lift kit.

[vip]

I appreciate all the advice - we'll be looking for a lighter style camper!

[bob91yj]

I've got a 6" lift on my GMC, truly don't notice any ill effects from the camper.

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w251/bob9iyj/parker4252011006.jpg

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w251/bob9iyj/truck001.jpg

[vip]

I've got a 6" lift on my GMC, truly don't notice any ill effects from the camper.

Any modifications made to the camper's jacks for height when removing?

Love the setup.

[bob91yj]

No, I leave the camper in the truck all the time (I'm inherently lazy), but the jacks (removed) reached the ground with no problem.

[RR1]

http://www.off-road.com/trucks-4x4/project/project515.html

[Overland Hadley]

How stiff is your trucks springs? If they are soft, then you will have some issues with the weight of the camper causing sway. If they are stiff, (and you have a harsh ride when empty) then the weight of the camper will not cause as much sway issues.

[goulou67]

this is my five cents worth!! you have more than enough rig there to handle any type of 7 foot and 8 foot truck camper out there on the market today ,with the proper tie-downs set-up hapijac etc... and the proper suspension set-up timbrens helpers etc... my only concern is the height issue with a lifted truck like yours ,when loading and unloading .you will probably have to make yourself a box setup for every corner jack on your camper, because your jacks will bottom out before your camper is completely cleared from the box of your truck. take it from experience i had with my first set-up i had .and i wasn't nearly lifted as high as yours.mine was a 2004 ford f-250 4x4 with a 3 inch skyjacker lift i had to make wooden boxes for the jacks 3 quarter inch plywood by 12 inches square ,worked just fine hope this helps.

[Mrknowitall]

Remember, too, that a 6" lift under a GM isn't anywhere near as tall as on a Ford. You might think about adding a rear sway bar. Otherwise, stick to campers built for 1/2 ton trucks, hard or soft side.

[BillTex]

I suspect tires may be the weak link...what are they rated for load?

B

[cnynrat]

I agree with the others that you are going to want to stay light. We carry a 10-1/2 foot camper on our unlifted F350 SRW, and you definitely notice the weight even without the lift.

If you are getting a lot of sag from the weight of the camper a common upgrade in the truck camper world is to install air bags that can help level the load when you have the camper on board. We use them along with an on-board compressor which gives us the ability to make adjustments in the cab - very convenient.

With respect to tires, load range E tires will give you 3415 pounds per tire, which should be more than enough for a light camper. You may need to look at upgrading what you have if they aren't up to the load with the camper though.

[motrhed]

Have you picked up a camper yet?
If not, I have some experience with your topic...
I am running a Chev 2500HD crew cab long box with a 4" Rancho lift, modified air bags (to match the lift), and E rated 305 All-Terrain T/A's. I carry a 9' 2" Corsair hard wall and on the truck it's currently 12' from the ground to the top of the vent covers. I recently installed the lift to smooth out the rough riding torsion key lift hoping to actually run at 3" of lift. Unfortunately the lift keys were seized on and I am running closer to 4 or 4 1/2" of lift at the softest setting (this will be a work in progress to correct). I am sitting a bit higher than I had intended, but the truck and suspension seem to be handling the higher centre of gravity and camper height OK. I have noticed that I have to run the air bags at a higher pressure than normal to limit the side to side sway, but it is not unreasonable. I do use 5" blocks under each jack to load and unload (habit), but my "Happy Jacks" are just capable of supporting it unaided.
If you set up the truck, suspension, and camper properly, you should not have any major issues on highways and gravel roads. The truck will wallow around more with the camper loaded, but you will get used to it and modify your driving style to match. If you plan on going down narrow, rough trails on a regular basis, you should consider a small "4x4" style pop-top camper as opposed to a hard wall. There will always be compromises with a slide-in camper, you just have to choose what you are willing to compromise on.
Hope this helps...

[Ugly1]

Here is mine. 6 inch lifted 3/4 ton Dodge on 35" Hankook Dynapro M/T's with 9.5' Alpenlite. I put on airbags before I even drove it since I knew it would sag causing suspension geometry to be off. After my first road trip I realized I need a rear sway bar and after adding that it is very pleasant to drive with the camper on and trailer in tow.

[boblynch]

It's possible to run a 6 inch lift and a hard sided camper. However, the posters that mentioned tire limitations, overall camper height, and driving in cross winds are all correct. If the wheel/tire combo can handle the weight the biggest factor in my view is your driving habits and style of travel. If you want to hit tight trails or blast down the highway at 75mph you won't be happy. However, if you want to stick to well maintained forest roads and don't mind keeping your speeds down in windy conditions it's not a problem. I run a modified F550 and hard sided camper on a 6 inch lift (see signature). The only time I noticed the height was in NE and KS at freeway speeds. The crosswinds were a pain. Most days it's not an issue.

[Capt Eddie]

Boblynch; Do you think these issue would be present if you would have kept the duallys? But still lifted the truck? I have a 3 inch lift on my truck and can not tell a different in the swaywith duals.

[boblynch]

I didn't like the steering feel with the 6 inch lift and the stock dual tires even when it wasn't windy. However, most of the white knuckle experiences I had (and mentioned in my thread) were with the lift, but not the singles. The wheels weren't ready then so we made the run to the west coast with only the lift. It was also my first week on the wheel, so maybe I was just a dumb newbie.

[Ugly1]

Hi boblynch. I just read your build thread. Super sweet setup you have there!

The reason I'm posting is in response to something you said here and in your build thread. You might want to give a nice beefy rear sway bar a try. I had experiences similar to what I think I perceive you describing with crosswinds etc. The Hellwig rear anti sway bar I put on mine made a huge difference. I can drive all day immune to cross winds and it feels fine way past 75 as long as you only go straight. Sharp turning means slowing down for sure. Of course, adding the sway bar sacrifices a bit of suspension articulation. For me the trade off was well worth it.

[orangeTJ]

A friend has an identical truck (with 6" lift and 35s ) with a Lance 915 on it. He runs airbags as well.

I'd highly recommend airbags too.

[saltamontes]

6" lift is too much to be safe for a hardside IMO.
"should be fine" or "good enough" isn't gonna cut it when doing 70 mph w/ a 3K lb 12' shell overhead

i max the jacks just getting my nLite on/off my leveled f350

try rv.net/forums also for helpful TC advice.

[Ugly1]

6" lift is too much to be safe for a hardside IMO.

Have you tried a 6" lifted truck before with bad results or is this a prediction?

After using our setup in its current configuration for 3 seasons now, I'm convinced that getting good results are merely a matter of having everything set up appropriately. The camper plus trailer tongue weight is well over 3K loaded and 70 mph plus (very much plus in some instances) isn't a problem at all. It actually handles better than my parents motor home I borrowed one year IMO. The high CG on properly set up rig is easily manageable.

The only way to go is to spend the money to get everything set up the right way. Having proper suspension geometry with the rig loaded, eliminating sway, using appropriately weight rated components, and following a proper maintenance regimen are all key. It's the same story with any vehicle really, only in this case you are taking on a bit of the engineering yourself.

[Buliwyf]

A Superduty with only a 4" lift would be a bit easier to make work well, and still clears 37" tires.

-rear air bags with rather high pressure
-rear sway bar (you can still disco it offroad)
-tires cranked to max psi +10%. And you'll want less aggressive tires in hot weather. I've had good luck towing with BFG All Terrains.
-keep the cargo down to a minimum, avoid an entire wardrobe, heavy dinnerware, TV's, full water tank, etc.etc. I would usually avoid filling my tank until I was at my destination. I had a good water filter on my hose for filling, and also had a electric pump and filter setup for pulling drinking water out of a pond.

My parents truck had a bar that bolted across the truck frame that the front camper mounts would mount with long chains that reached down to the bar under the truck. That way the camper would be more secure and chained to the frame, not bed. It was more solid for sure, but I'm not quite sure if flexing the truck offroad would hurt the camper with such a strong mount.

It's doable. I've driven trucks with campers and 4" lifts and the above setup. But never a 6" truck. Firestone offers airspring kits for lifted rear springs now. I think most Superduty 6" lift kits are a 4" spring and a small block.

[adam88]

It's all about the center of gravity. A 4" lift doesn't seem like much but it makes a huge difference. Still, earthroamer has a 4" lift and makes it work because their center of gravity is low. Big heavy batteries and tanks need to be mounted below or close to the frame. I have heard a lot of people with just SRW and no lift complain about heavy winds so I do agree with the above poster, with a big hard side on that lifted truck you'd be asking for it in windy conditions.

[Ugly1]

I have heard a lot of people with just SRW and no lift complain about heavy winds so I do agree with the above poster, with a big hard side on that lifted truck you'd be asking for it in windy conditions.

Everyone has. Getting good results isn't impossible but finding people with the necessary common attributes of want/know how/means of doing so are kinda rare. SRW trucks aren't usually set up from the factory to haul a real load with high wind drag and CG. The commercial offroad aftermarket can be a quagmire of brohan extreme, 4 chrome shocks per wheel poser monster rock crawling desert dawgs wasteland. Making a good rig is hard at least when it's more than just for show anyway. There are lots of land mines to avoid on the way.

[Balzer]

Something to think about is the fact that lift springs are almost always stiffer than factory springs. So someone saying they felt uneasy with the camper on their stock truck may find out it does BETTER after its lifted. Just my 2 cents worth.

[crh]

Here's a 2200 lb. Lance 845 Lite camper on our Dodge Cummins 2500 4x4... 285 E-Rated BFG T/A's (33" O.D.) and 4" lift, Rancho HD steering damper and Rancho 9000 shocks, rears cranked up to '9', rear sway bar and Firestone air bags pumped to 70 PSI make it a non-issue, no matter what the on-road (or light off-road) situation... and I have a REALLY heavy foot... excellent accident avoidance. 11' 7" clearance... great rig, but gotta go a little bigger in the Lance line... too small for 2 parents, a huge 9 year-old *and* a huge dog! One thing I learned using this rig is that *power and brakes*, and lots of 'em, is MANDATORY, maneuverability is helped IMMENSELY by the ability to accelerate and brake well even with a one-ton+ camper... to that end, we equipped the Cummins 24V H.O. motor with an extra 100 HP and 300 ft/lbs of torque without hurting mileage and reliability and longevity at all... that seemed to do the trick... ;^)


114766

[redthies]

Nice looking rig crh... And welcome to ExPo! As you and many others have stated here, with proper parts and set up, lifted trucks are great for campers. My F350 hauls the camper much nicer with the suspension upgrades.

[ib14a69]

I original used my srw f350 to haul my 990 artic fox. Had over loads, air bags and toyo m55 tires. It was scarey just being at stock height.
Now 99% percent use of the dodge dually is to haul the camper.
I was thinking about eventually putting a lift on the dually or leveling it out and running semi 22.5 wheels and tires on it. Does anyone have a report on how big rig tires handle campers?

[ib14a69]

I would asume it would handle just great since the load rating for the tires and wheels would never get maxed out.
I was at 21k 2 weeks ago headed over to the washington overland ralley in plain.
handled great. The dodge is set up though with air bags, overloads, tork lift stable lift, and rear hellwig sway bar.