how big can I go??

[wonderfulremark]

Hey folks,

My wife and I are looking for a TC.
Our truck is a 94 GMC K3500 6.5L Diesel SRW 4x4 CCLB.

How big of a camper could I carry around???

We found a Vanguard 11ft camper for a great price.
But by looking at it, I don't know if my truck would handle the camper??

I am very new to this, so I do not know much about it. But my gut tells me the centre of mass will be way too far back in the rear. Am I correct??

[BCHauler]

Well, I'm not even close to being an expert, but the truck you have (1 ton long bed) is about as big as trucks get, so I would think your truck will handle it just fine. The only other setup you could have is dually, and that would just help with stability I think. If your suspension is good and you install airbags or (like I did) Timbrens and your brakes are good, I think you'll be just fine. If its a Vanguard, it's probably an older camper so it was probably designed for a truck just like yours.

All that being said I'm fairly new to campers and the ones I use are 8' and 8.5' respectively hauled in a 6.75' bed so I'm NOT speaking from experience.

[cnynrat]

You need to figure out whether the camper is within the weight limits of your truck by checking the GVWR of your truck and comparing that to the weight of the camper. Most (maybe all?) campers have a tag listing the serial number and weight near the door. Without doing that analysis it's tough to tell what is or is not within the limits of your truck. While you do have a big truck, the heavier diesel engine and 4x4 drivetrain will reduce GVWR compared to a comparable truck set up with 2WD and a gasoline engine.

Be sure to think about your tires as well. On many SRW trucks tires end up being the limiting factor. Depending on what rating tires you are currently running they may need to be upgraded as well.

I can tell you that my 10-1/2' Bigfoot camper is right on the weight limit of my 1999 F350 (super cab, long bed, 7.3L diesel, 4WD). We run good quality shocks and have air bags in back to help level the truck when the camper is installed. We take it on fire roads from time to time, but I would not want to do anything more challenging than that in this rig. My point here is what is acceptable to you may be less than what your truck is rated to carry depending on what you want to do with the rig.

[redthies]

I just bought an '07 Adventurer 10T today! I will post pics as soon as I pick it up, which will have to wait until I get a bigger truck. What cart? What horse? I'm actually going to look at a '97 F350 cc PSD tomorrow.

Won-remark, you should be ok. As others have said, get the weight of the camper, and go from there. Airbags are a great thing in my experience.

[wonderfulremark]

I though I'd update this thread.

I ended up buying a $1000 special camper

9.5ft Okanagan.

Just perfect and exactly what I was looking for.

Because it is our(my family of 4, including the dog) first camper, I thought I buy used and go big next time around.
She's got working fridge, stove, shower and furnace.
Will post some pictures soon

[redthies]

Congrats on the new camper! Okanagon made a good camper. What year and model did you get? Do you know how much it weighs? Did you get airbags or Timbrens for the truck?

Should you care, I ended up getting the 97 F350, and have pics of it with my new camper in post #1 of "Redthies 97 F350" thread in the domestic forum.

[wonderfulremark]

Congrats on the new camper! Okanagon made a good camper. What year and model did you get? Do you know how much it weighs? Did you get airbags or Timbrens for the truck?

Should you care, I ended up getting the 97 F350, and have pics of it with my new camper in post #1 of "Redthies 97 F350" thread in the domestic forum.

No modifications to the vehicle yet.

Just a cheapo tie downs for now.

Will add some airbags first then new shocks.