NEED ADVICE - MATCHING CAMPER TO TRUCK
- Thread starter dougers
- Start date
Steve Fleming
New member
Bigfoot 2500-8.11.
Hey Dougers,
I have a f350 with a Bigfoot 2500-8.11.
I use e rated tire THEY are a must
BILSTEIN shocks.GREAT UPGRADE WELL WORTH IT
HAD AIR BAGS BUT WHET TO A HEAVIER SPRING PAC AND THAT WAS THE ANSWER
THE BIGFOOT IS A HEAVY AND NOT A GOOD CHOSE FOR OFF ROAD USE
3000 LB AT THE SCALE
BUT ARE A WARM AND WELL BUILT
No problems after 3 years of use.
STEPHEN
Hey Dougers,
I have a f350 with a Bigfoot 2500-8.11.
I use e rated tire THEY are a must
BILSTEIN shocks.GREAT UPGRADE WELL WORTH IT
HAD AIR BAGS BUT WHET TO A HEAVIER SPRING PAC AND THAT WAS THE ANSWER
THE BIGFOOT IS A HEAVY AND NOT A GOOD CHOSE FOR OFF ROAD USE
3000 LB AT THE SCALE
BUT ARE A WARM AND WELL BUILT
No problems after 3 years of use.
STEPHEN
Mundo4x4Casa
West slope, N. Ser. Nev.
The commonly held belief around off-road truck camper circles (XTC's) is that you want to aim for too much truck and too little camper. The other common belief is that you select the camper first and then buy a truck that can handle it.
I just got lucky one day when I happened to look at the "Recycler", an L.A. used stuff rag, and there was a 3 yr. old Lance Lite 165-s for a short bed for sale . We met the same day and made the sale. $6500. It had been used 3 or 4 times and looked brand new. Everything worked and has kept working. It wasn't the condition that was most important, in the long run for me, but the 1742 pound wet weight with nothing on the roof that has saved me over and over again. I've owned 14 4WD's. We do a LOT of bad roads and trails and driving the 10K white box is just another extension of our now 3 season wanderlust (we don't do summer). So, even with a rather light, narrow, and not-so-tall camper, there was a period of adjustment, mostly to the truck's suspension and drivetrain. Our 01 HO Cummins with the camper package came with the upper secondaries (overload springs), unusual for a 2 series, SRW truck. The tires and wheels, as mentioned above, were the weak link and defining factor in the payload numbers. This was also the first year they used the Dana 80 with the 35 spline, full-floating axle shafts. Here she is in the first year I owned the lash-up: Stock everything. Within the gvw limits. Notice the ride height is fairly flat; no rr droop.
So, here is the capsule version of what we did to up the ante on what the truck could actually haul:
1. put 3" lift springs (coils) on the front with the snow plow rating to carry the 15K pound winch and grill guard. Upgrade single action shocks.
2. put another set of secondaries on the rr axle in the stack with the others.
3. put a 3" lift helper spring in with the main pack, making the rear leaf count at 8 per side.
4. Also, that black block on the end above the secondaries is a stable load.
So, I get very little deflection with the TC on, and approaching no sway. For off road, i disconnect one side of the rear anti-sway bar to get a lot more articulation.
5. I went to 3995 load rated super singles on the rear axle. 375x55R16, 15.5" wide tires on 12" wide rims. They take the place of a set of duals, but with a lower load rating. The ride and stability is great with these.
6. The front axle uses 315x75R16 tires on the stock rim. I did a whole lot to the front axle making it a defacto Dana 70. Only the housing is Dana 60.
7. recently re rubbered all the anti sway bars, front and rear. It is as tight as a drum now.
8. Probably the most important thing I do is to constantly check the tie down system and regulate same for the road conditions. On the highway I keep the tie downs snug, but not tight. I use a very thin and sticky bed mat which also diminishes sway. I use camper guides on both sides of the box to limit side to side movement. Here's the thing: when the frame starts to get a little twisting motion from twisting up the axles I immediately stop and loosen the rear-most tie down to let them float if necessary. I found by cranking the manual jacks, the camper is front heavy (good thing) when I'm jacking the thing up or down. At least the manual jacks, which I leave at home are good for something. The bed of the truck will indeed twist right along with the truck frame. You do not want a hard side camper to follow suit. If the frame twists enough the loosened end of the box will lift right away from the twisting bed. The only way to avoid this is to have a 3-point, or 4 point diamond shaped, pivoting flat bed to haul your camper. Unfortunately this is big bucks, but I've gotten many years out of my 'system' and haven't pulled the camper apart yet.
9. I also use the Lance camper struts between the over hang and the cowl of the truck. I still like them as they tend to even out the whoops and porposing on the highway. YMMV. Good luck. jefe
I just got lucky one day when I happened to look at the "Recycler", an L.A. used stuff rag, and there was a 3 yr. old Lance Lite 165-s for a short bed for sale . We met the same day and made the sale. $6500. It had been used 3 or 4 times and looked brand new. Everything worked and has kept working. It wasn't the condition that was most important, in the long run for me, but the 1742 pound wet weight with nothing on the roof that has saved me over and over again. I've owned 14 4WD's. We do a LOT of bad roads and trails and driving the 10K white box is just another extension of our now 3 season wanderlust (we don't do summer). So, even with a rather light, narrow, and not-so-tall camper, there was a period of adjustment, mostly to the truck's suspension and drivetrain. Our 01 HO Cummins with the camper package came with the upper secondaries (overload springs), unusual for a 2 series, SRW truck. The tires and wheels, as mentioned above, were the weak link and defining factor in the payload numbers. This was also the first year they used the Dana 80 with the 35 spline, full-floating axle shafts. Here she is in the first year I owned the lash-up: Stock everything. Within the gvw limits. Notice the ride height is fairly flat; no rr droop.
So, here is the capsule version of what we did to up the ante on what the truck could actually haul:
1. put 3" lift springs (coils) on the front with the snow plow rating to carry the 15K pound winch and grill guard. Upgrade single action shocks.
2. put another set of secondaries on the rr axle in the stack with the others.
3. put a 3" lift helper spring in with the main pack, making the rear leaf count at 8 per side.
4. Also, that black block on the end above the secondaries is a stable load.
So, I get very little deflection with the TC on, and approaching no sway. For off road, i disconnect one side of the rear anti-sway bar to get a lot more articulation.
5. I went to 3995 load rated super singles on the rear axle. 375x55R16, 15.5" wide tires on 12" wide rims. They take the place of a set of duals, but with a lower load rating. The ride and stability is great with these.
6. The front axle uses 315x75R16 tires on the stock rim. I did a whole lot to the front axle making it a defacto Dana 70. Only the housing is Dana 60.
7. recently re rubbered all the anti sway bars, front and rear. It is as tight as a drum now.
8. Probably the most important thing I do is to constantly check the tie down system and regulate same for the road conditions. On the highway I keep the tie downs snug, but not tight. I use a very thin and sticky bed mat which also diminishes sway. I use camper guides on both sides of the box to limit side to side movement. Here's the thing: when the frame starts to get a little twisting motion from twisting up the axles I immediately stop and loosen the rear-most tie down to let them float if necessary. I found by cranking the manual jacks, the camper is front heavy (good thing) when I'm jacking the thing up or down. At least the manual jacks, which I leave at home are good for something. The bed of the truck will indeed twist right along with the truck frame. You do not want a hard side camper to follow suit. If the frame twists enough the loosened end of the box will lift right away from the twisting bed. The only way to avoid this is to have a 3-point, or 4 point diamond shaped, pivoting flat bed to haul your camper. Unfortunately this is big bucks, but I've gotten many years out of my 'system' and haven't pulled the camper apart yet.
9. I also use the Lance camper struts between the over hang and the cowl of the truck. I still like them as they tend to even out the whoops and porposing on the highway. YMMV. Good luck. jefe
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