TC John
Chihcago
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What would be a real help on this forum is to have the real weights of campers that are ready to camp..water/passengers/groceries etc.
It would be easy to get the weight of the truck for example full of fuel and then weight it after your packed.....
I am trying to buy a camper and cannot find dealers that really know....they all kind of skirt the issue and go to the published weight which from what I understand is not true/or very misleading.
I have a SRW 2500 HD with some #3750 tires and would like to know how big I can go in a camper without being too stupid in size.
Maybe this is listed somewhere and I have not caught it....it would be a good sticky.
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skipnchar
Topeka Kansas USA
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Good idea. Now how many passengers should we use? How MUCH groceries? With what equipment IN the camper? The REASON these are not in official specifications is because they are vastly different for each person and often for each trip taken.
2004 F-150 HD 3,050 lb. payload
Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer
We have enough YOUTH...how about a fountain of SMART
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trails2004
Wyoming
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As a rule of thumb- add 1000 lbs for gear, water, food, and people to your DRY camper weight.For reasons above each camper is a little different- some may pack a toaster, coffee maker and TV- while I do not.
If you would like to review some common options please look here.
Remember they say "honesty is heavy"
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Nemo667
Louisiana
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We weighed the truck and camper in my signature. The truck first with a full tank of fuel and my wife behind the wheel=
Front: 4680#
Rear: 3220#
Plus me @ 210# = 8110#
Next we weighed the camper with my wife behind the wheel ready to camp full of water, propane, generator, etc.=
Front: 4800#
Rear: 6180#
Plus me @ 210# = a grand total of 11,190#
My GVW is 11,400# so I'm under by 210# loaded and ready for a road trip. The truck handles this weight VERY well with just the stock suspension. The Apex 8 is little heavier than my original estimate of 2915# but, not by too much...
2007 F-350 SRW 6.0L Auto CC SB 4X4
2006 Outfitter Apex 8, 220W Solar and 3 AGM's
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Reddog1
El Dorado, CA (above the fog & below the snow)
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I think you will discover, is that there are at least two popular thoughts on what we think the weight limits should be based on.
One thought is using the door sticker or glove box handbook (manufactures suggested capacity) as a start point, and then modify various parts of the truck to carry our TC of choice. I think it is reasonable to say, care should be used with this method, simply reading manufactures hype may not get you the results you expect. Lots of research, with emphasis on looking at trucks like your own to see what works and what does not. Simply because a truck is a 2500, it does not mean it is like yours. Look at the details.
The other thought is using the door sticker or glove box handbook (manufactures suggested capacity) as the sole authority of the TC we can carry. This is very easy to follow. weigh the truck, subtract the truck weight from the numbers on the door sticker. Do not load a TC that weighs more than the result. You may choose to modify the truck to meet you own idea as to how it handles on the road, but do not add more weight to the TC.
It is frequently argued as to which is the best way. The debate is frequently becomes very heated. If you do a search for weigh, you will have hours of information. Actually, you will find Threads that have the wet weights of many of our TCs.
If you decide which weight limit method you want to use, I think you will receive more information on that method by stating you prefer no post on the other method.
If you want to know only what peoples TC's weigh, be very specific. You will avoid a lot of unrelated post.
Typically, I see posts of 300 to 1000 pounds of stuff added to the TC weight. This will vary greatly from one family to another. Most (not all) manufactures of TCs do not take the weights of seriously, in my opinion. The same is true on the trucks. Two trucks can look the same and one weigh 800 pounds (or more) than the other.
My TC as seen in my signature is 4200 pounds, full dress and ready to go.
Wayne
blog.rv.net - Your daily guide to the Open Road.
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96 Dodge (DSL), 2500 (6200#)
88 Bigfoot @ 1500# per decal, Stable Lift (w/remote), 130 watts solar, 100 amp AGM, Polar Cub A/C, EU2000i Honda Gen.
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SKnight
Georgia
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Subtract 1000 pounds (Your stuff, water, food, extra fuel, whatever you'll carry.)from your GVWR, run your truck across a truck stop scale full of fuel with passengers, and subtract that from you GVWR -1000. That's a number to start with. Subtract another 500 for better ride quality, but that's MHO. Local scale to me charges $8 a couple of years ago, it's pretty cheap.
What I did to make sure I was OK with my TT was I packed it full bore for a trip a couple of days before we left, water, clothes, food, genset, everything. Then I went to the local truckstop with scales. Filled the fuel tank and hit the scales. While we came in fine (And suprisingly well balanced.) my plan was if I was too heavy I could adjust accordingly. Now I know that at max I'm OK. I imagine if you do the same with your truck camper you could trim accordingly.
I don't get lost, I investigate alternative destinations.
See a guy in the campground with a telescope, that may be me.
2001 Dodge 2500 Cummins HO six speed.
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TC John
Chihcago
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Thanks for the replys....I am a pilot and maybe some of you are....we always do a weight and balance if we are taking passengers/luggage otherwise we could get killed.....pretty serious....and overweight camper has some serious considerations as well.
If you look at my glove box door it says: Slide in Camper weight not to exceed #2171 pounds...
Now I suppose this is with 4 passengers and a full tank of gas? Not sure. I have an extended cab so I am not sure if its 4 passengers or 2....but I will assume 4 at an average weight of 150 pounds each....So if its my wife and I then I can add 300 pounds for the missing passengers.
So now I am at #2471......which pretty much limits me to a pop up or less!
This is why it gets confusing...I know most on here carry more weight than the quoted amount on their SRW trucks......I am not going to go buy a dually.....but the bottom line is that you really need one to be in compliance to the weights or a ford 450/550 etc.
I would like to go down the highway with some piece of mind in regards tires/etc. I went to the 3750 load range because buying the Ricksons would be just a reason to buy too much truck camper...rationalizing "well I have the tires for it"
So I will be happy to post my real truck weight on here loaded with two passengers and a full tank of gas...to start with. I am going to have to do this anyway..........this is the week I am going to buy a TC because of all the deals out there......just have to be careful because there is alot of selection and alot of inventory.
I am sure the 1000 pounds is about right for gear/water etc. So I guess I can weigh my truck and add the 1000 pounds.....then buy a TC that wont exceed my GVW of 9200 pounds...
Food for thought....a Chevy 3500 hd with only one extra leaf the GVW goes to 9900 pounds.......so I am going to assume 10,000 is about correct for a truck with air bags etc...maybe I am PIE R SQUARE ing this too much........but you have to start somewhere..
So with a truck weight of 6000 pounds and 1000 pounds of baggage your pretty much limited to a TC that weighs right at 3000 pounds.....
Am I missing anything?
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wcjeep
Tacoma, Wa
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Look for a 8.5 or 9.5' length TC no slide.
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Frank_EP
Fountain Valley, CA
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Chevy 2500 HD with a few mods...
about 11,500 with a moderate load.
2003 Lance 1071 maxed out plus 200 watts PV, accumulator and bottle opener
2004 Chevy 2500HD Duramax 167", Hellwig, Reese Titan, Reese Front, LineX, AirLift, bed mat, Rancho9000, Rickson 19.5" Eliminators with Mich 225/70 XDE M/S
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Steve_in_29
29 Palms (SEMPER FI), CA 92277
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TC John wrote:....I have a SRW 2500 HD with some #3750 tires and would like to know how big I can go in a camper without being too stupid in size.... If you want to stay within the limits of your GVWR then the answer is not very. Unfortunately most 3/4 ton trucks (while they can tow a large amount) are not rated to carry much weight in the bed. There was just a recent thread by an owner who found this out after-the-fact unfortunately.
A realistic camper would be something in the 8-9' range WITHOUT a slide. Unless you want to spend a lot of money doing suspension/tire mods to your truck.
A pretty accurate rule of thumb is to add 1000lbs to the dry weight of the camper to arrive at your wet and loaded weight when ready to camp. This includes you and wife, truck fuel, LP, water, food, supplies, equipment, clothes, etc. This assumes a fairly standard camper and obviously a smaller hardside or pop-up TC would have less room to put things in and therefore less total weight.
Unfortunately most listed dry weights are wrong (sometimes appreciably so) and need to be verified before you put your faith in the numbers.
2007 F350,SC,LB,4x4,6.0/Auto,35" tires,16.5 Warn,Buckstop bumpers
2007 Outfitter Apex9.5,270W solar,SolarBoost2000e,2 H2K's,2KW inverter,2 20lb LP on slide out tray,4 Lifeline AGM bats,Tundra fridge
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91 Jamboree 21' ClassC sold
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