Truck and campers

[persistent]

Hey guys
I'm looking to buy a camper for my dodge diesel 3500. To my surprise almost every camper I've looked at would put it over weight. What does every one do? Ignore the gvrw? Is there any way to increase what I can legally carry in the box of my truck? I see lots of these trucks on the road with campers so I'm not sure if I'm misssing something.

Thanks

 

[spring fever]

No you are missing nada-That same truck with a gas engine will have the same gvrw giving you an almost unlimited choice of campers. Very unfortunate the way the auto companies do the gvrw but it is a fact of life. Most guys with a truck that size(i have a 1 ton duramax diesel dually) just ignore it-never seems to make any difference to the truck-but it is something that keeps eating at you because technically you are overweight and the highway patrol and the weigh stations not to mention ICBC made me give up on campers!!!

 

[abl]

Talk to your insurance agent and up the GVW of your truck. My friend did it for his GMC 2500 HD when he bought his new 5th wheel. He was concerned about all the legals if something happened. He now has commercial plate on his pick up, but is insured when towing his 5th wheel

 

[adrianna3]

Like SF said, it's the diesel and drive train that's killing you. Two years ago DOT had a roadblock near Prince George with portable scales. They were nailing a ton of guys coming back from hunting.

Dave

 

[TheTugistheDrug]

How big of a camper you looking at? For a 3500 you should have lots of room. Take the curb weight and subtract it from the gross vehicle weight rating.
My dually is rated for 12500lbs. The curb weight is about 7500lbs (a guess). So that's a 5000 lb difference. That would make for big camper.
Unless I'm missing something, seems simple enough.

 

[persistent]

The gvrw on my truck is 10100lbs empty it weighs 7854lbs. That only leaves 2246. Most campers are over 2500lbs. Plus the tongue weight of my boat is another 150 or so.

 

[MRACER]

Talk to your insurance agent and up the GVW of your truck. My friend did it for his GMC 2500 HD when he bought his new 5th wheel. He was concerned about all the legals if something happened. He now has commercial plate on his pick up, but is insured when towing his 5th wheel

They will love a commercial plate in the USA- now you will need a CDL and a log book---not the way to solve the GVW problem....

 

[spring fever]

Persistent-your math seems about right-you must have had a full tank and perhaps some tools. I don't think there is any way around it. A 4x4 diesel 1 ton does not really have the legal capacity to carry many campers. The hi-way patrol will usually allow you 10% and if you have a 1/2 tank of gas and your wife and dog get out for the weigh -in-you might make the dry weight of a small camper. We don't usually travel like that-so in the end-it was either sell my diesel and get a gas truck or live with the knowledge I would always be travelling with an over weight vehicle. Something to think on-it is not only a fine but you can't travel over weight once they catch you so the camper has to come off before you move-not too much of a problem if you are 10 miles from home but what if you are 300 miles. I sold my camper-couldn't stand the stress of what could happen-not to mention the ICBC implications of an accident while travelling over-weight!!

 

[Canso]

I had to buy a new truck, I tried it for a few trips with air bags but it never felt right.
Now my GVWR is 14,500lbs, the camper is 8.5ft and 3000lbs empty according to the decal.
With camper front axle 6200lbs, rear is 6900lbs which includes boat tongue weight and 2 weeks’ worth of camper stuff.
When I’m towing a 20' boat my GCVW is 16,500lbs

 

[ziggy]

Went through this a few years ago. You can't change the GVWR, it's what the initilal manufacturer rates it at! Its the total weight of the vehicle with its load,passengers etc..I asked the guys at the weigh scale if there was a way to up it and they said no. If the scale says your loaded weight is greater than what the door sticker says your GVWR is, you are overwight .They also said that unless you're vehicle looks overloaded, you likely won't be stopped but if you have an accident it could become a factor. Another problem to consider is braking, your trucks brakes have to be able to stop the load you're carrying

 

[spring fever]

I found that the truck itself will not be the problem-my truck (a 1 ton diesel dually with overloads etc) and I suspect Persistants dodge will not even notice the weight-it is just the legality of the whole thing. Ziggy's right-you are unlikely to be stopped because your lights won't point in the air and you won't sway dangerously-but whenever I saw a cop or a roadside commercial hiway patrol stop of commercial trucks I sweated bullets-cause one trip over the scales and that's where the camper would sit until you could find some legal way to get it home.

 

[leaseman]

Just did a double check on my truck and with my options etc., (2008 GMC 3500 crew cab diesel!)......

I am allowed (from dry weight) just shy for 4100 pounds payload......

My camper (slumer queen, 9 1/2' "oversized")is 2,000 pounds dry, loaded I am close to the limits.....

I lease vehicles (usually corporate) for a living, this is something I do follow cloesly.

Yes, you can "play" with your GVWR, if you have a non expiring plate on any of your trailers, you need to adjust you GVWR to include the trailer weight and carrying weight, more smaller businesses and contractors are unaware of this. brings on a new meaning for your pickups....

A few years ago a lot of people changed their GVWR's to get away from aircare in the LML!

But it still comes down to the specs your truck was built on. That tells the whole story.....!

Mike

 

[spring fever]

Anyone out there who is the least bit concerned about this topic do not make the mistake of eyeballing so called published dry weights for stuff ie -trucks ,campers and boats. If you think it could be close -run it over a scale-you will be shocked at how much more stuff weighs than the so -called dry weight. Scales can usually be found at Dumps,cement plants -you maybe able to sweet talk the hiways guys on a good day lol. The published dry weights have minimum equipment-if it has extra's those aren't in it.

 

[ReelSlim]

Lots of good points made so far. I went through this about five years ago and ended up going with a 3/4 ton Dodge gas engine for a lot of the reason's already mentioned. I was ANAL and I mean ANAL when I was selecting a camper knowing that on a lot of trips I would be pulling my boat. I bought a Lance lite 8'6" camper and stuck to all the guidelines before making my final decision. But......like it has been mentioned......posted dry weights mean nothing and the only true test is drive it over the scales. I know I'm over by a bit and I would guess anyone that isn't driving a dually is over as well......way over! The scale weighs everything including the 3 or 4 buddies you have crammed in you already over weight rig.....lol Again it's a lot like other posts on pulling larger boats with half tons. It's not a problem till there's a problem! lol I'm not sure what the best route is just try and keep it close I guess? Good Luck!

And I also installed air bags on the truck and it rides flat with about 25lbs in the bags. It doesn't point at all and drives nice......

 

[sly_karma]

Diesel owners feeling a teeny bit cheated? All those glossy ads in mags touting the latest greatest heavy duty diesel trucks but the towing and GVW claims always have an asterisk (* applies to gas engine version only). Great towing power/torque and fuel mileage but the sales guys rarely remember to mention the extra weight and its effect on the legalities. Or the $125 oil changes. I had a good look at diesel last time I was buying a truck and decided not for me.

 

[ReelSlim]

Lol......I'm not "hatin" on the diesel's........but they have there purpose which is towing and even stopping abilities. I will most likely go diesel next time around but I'm fully aware of the payload implications. I have to admit I never even considered it until I was getting a camper. I was suprised that my 3/4 gas model only had a payload cabality of 150lbs less than the 1 ton diesel. If I had gone with a 3/4 diesel it only had a bout 400 lbs more payload than the 1/2 ton I was trading in. I think most people would be really suprised if they drove just their truck across the scales full of fuel with just the family in it. I definitely know what was stamped inside the door wasn't what the scales showed. Just my two cents!

 

[ziggy]

You have to be read the door sticker carefully even when buying one ton or 3/4 ton truck if you are concerned about payload. For example Ford may have several different GVWR and payloads listed for their trucks depending on model. In other words all one ton or3/4ton trucks are not created equal.IIRC there was a 2-3 thousand pound difference in one ton Fords for the year I purchased.
I also asked once what the difference was between a one ton Ford and a 3/4ton and was told one leaf spring . This makes how manufactures arrive at the GVWR even more mystfying,although I'm sure braking must also be part of the secret formula.I added SuperSprings on my truck to improve the ride under load and they work great, but don't change my GVWR,nor will any other add on The best answer I ever got was that the manufactures set the GVWR high enough to sell the vehicle but low enough to avoid warranty issues or lawsuits.
One final thought on trucks and campers. Before buying, check for clearance height between the cab-over and the trucks roof. I have a Ford and had to build a small platform in my box to get sufficient clearance.Also make sure your box is wide enough to accomodate the camper you plan on buying.Box width varies in Chev's Fords and Dodges as does the width of some makes of campers. Nothing worse than buying a truck and or camper and finding they don't fit.

 

[Blue]

Most trucks you see with campers are over the max weight rating for their vehicles GVW, rear axel weight and/or tires. Like it has been mentioned......posted dry weights (truck, camper, boat and trailer) mean nothing and the only true test is drive it over the scales. I’ve been playing the weight game and found the following site to be helpful:
http://changingears.com/rv-sec-calc-trailer-weight-tt.shtml

It’s surprising to note that even if your truck is flirting with the max GVW, you can still have a hefty load under tow………..end of the day, I am most interested in having BOTH a camper and boat.

 

[Sharphooks]

Like Blue said, most trucks you see are over the max weight rating, especially if they have 4x4

It's just part of the deal---the GVW is the line in the sand and you won't be able to toe it with just about any camper on the market, especially after you start adding propane and H2O and Blue Label. Once I figured out that it pretty much is what it is, I figured if I'm going to exceed the GVW I might as well try and load the truck up with as much SAFETY equipment as I could to make for a reasonable SAFE ride.

The two mods that fit the bill:

1)) AIR SHOCKS (AIR BAGS)--installed them myself on a 2007 Tundra---make all the difference in the world--put the air nipples back by the license plate for easy access---carry a bicycle pump and adjust as necessary

2)) ANTI SWAY BAR--the best $ 200 I ever put on that truck. Night and day when carrying a load

Taking the above into consideration, though, you guys gave me heart palpitations when you describe road-side inspections---I didn't have a clue there was a chance of that happening! Now I have a whole new level of anxiety to look forward to!

Here's a pic of my rig:

Where the middle roof skylight sits? That was a 200 pound air conditioning unit when I bought the camper--just stripping that off got me a bit closer to the proper GVW

 

[ziggy]

Not only the roadside inspections I would worry about, when I talked to a guy at the scales (weighing my truck for my own benefit) he told me that if I were to get in an accident and be over the rated GVWR it would have implications on my insurance.