I am shopping for a new camper (slide in) and was wondering how heavy I could go. The big luxury units sure look appealing

I have no qualms about adding springs/bags shocks etc if need be.



1995 CTD 3/4 ton 4x4 auto 32" tires.

 

I have a 94 3/4 ton 4x4 I have a 12 foot camper 3200 lbs wet. I have air bags and Rancho 9000 I set the air bags to 70 lbs and the tires to 80 lbs. I live just north of you on the other side of the 49th. So I do a lot of mountain driving. The DOT licensed me for 11000 lbs and they where going to let me go to 12,500 lbs. A nasty cross wind can keep your attention but I have seen semi's laying on there side due to cross winds. The air bags are the big difference , they just firm everything up real nice. Tires are good for over 3000 lbs. each so that is not a problem. Last summer I was all over the province all the way up to Alaska and down to and along the 49th on Highway 3. Getten ready to do it again and go to the places I missed last summer.

 

Whats your payload 1500lbs??? Keep it under that!

 

On a '95,good luck stopping it! I've got a '99 w?pacbrake and DTT w/Northstar 1800lb. popup and I feel it!

 

Good luck.....most well equipped large slide-ins are well over 1500 lbs.

My 11.5' Coachmen is nearly 5000 lbs wet.

I had a 3500 lb wet 10' slide-in with my 2500 and never had any trouble with it but it did have bags, a rear swaybar and 9000's. Stopping was never a problem with that load either.....crosswinds are another story, though.

Just make sure you have the appropriate tires and suspension mods and if the DOT has their eye on RV's in your state, make sure it is licenced for the appropriate GVW.

 

For a real shock, those of you with campers on your trucks now, go and weigh them - with and without the camper. I have a 9'10" Lance Squire camper on mine, and as best I can read the badly faded spec plate, it looks like it's s'posed to weigh 2475 lbs. I can say, after a trip to the scales, that the spec plate is about 1,000 lbs too low........and please don't try to tell me I carry 1,000 lbs of water or somesuch. I'm well equipped, but I do travel lightly.

Lar.

 

I used to have a '95 Fleetwood Caribou 11K (a couple pics in gallery) on my old '95 3/4t 4x4 V10. Traveled all around AK with that setup for two years, and at the same time pulling an 8x12 flatbed with sleds or 4wheelers on a 36" hitch extension.
I put airbags on the truck and ran them at 75-80 psi loaded. That camper didn't look quite right being on a standard cab SRW but it got us where we wanted to go everytime. I even had to mash the brake pedal once when some blind woman pulled out in front of me on the Seward Hwy....we didn't hit her but I bet she needed to go home and change after that
On the other hand when i upgraded to the '01 3500 CTD I sometimes forgot the camper was on there. Last time I weighed it with week long provisions and the dogs onboard it was about 4700lbs.