Camper upgrade to 19.5" wheels and G rated tires

[wiley75]

If I by a new 3500 it will be a SRW. If I start loading beyond 7K on the rear axle it will be 19.5 LRG's. I just do not WANT a dually as my daily driver!!!!!! If it was not for the fact that I like 8" bed and have a truck trunk and V-Box for a long bed truck I might even consider a sawed off bed!!!!! SNOKING

That's fantastic. But the OP of this thread said that his truck would not be his daily driver. This thread was about what is the best fit for him, not you.

 

[SnoKing]

That's fantastic. But the OP of this thread said that his truck would not be his daily driver. This thread was about what is the best fit for him, not you.

And that is what I said, if I overload SRW tires I would go with the 19.5 LRG he asked about!!!
Reading Dynamics! SNOKING

 

[Electrojake]

Even 3 years later its a bit like comparing apples to oranges, but since this has morphed into SRW vs Dually I'll give it a go...

I've been on both side of the fence...
Previously an 07 F250 short bed, an 89 Chevy 3500HD dually, and currently a 2016 Longhorn 3500 SRW shortbed.
I currently haul a 3800# slide-in camper. With the RAM my GVWR is 11,700# and I hit the CAT Scales at 12,280. Note that the vehicle is registered at 12,300#

What I have learned over the years, miles, and wasted $$$...

1.) Airbags make top-heavy sway worse!
(Exactly as @Imabey mentioned at the top of the thread)

2.) Aftermarket rear anti-sway bars do little to help and I assume that is because a lot of that sway is coming from the soft LT type tires our truck's come equipped with.
(Exactly as Imabey also mentioned at the top of the thread)

Ten pounds of poop in a five pound bag,
or...
Why I specifically chose a RAM 3500 SRW for slide-in camper duty...
During my pre-purchase research I had the opportunity to park a short-bed 2015 Ford F350 next to a 2016 RAM 3500 and truly see the differences side by side. That big bad Ford made the RAM 3500 look like a child's toy! The Ford was bigger in every dimension in a way that cant be realized simply by comparing the posted specs in a sales brochure. After seeing that comparison I knew I wanted the little RAM 3500 for my next camper hauler.

Getting back to Dually vs SRW...
Dropping the camper off at a campsite and then using the SRW shortbed truck to go touring, shopping, off-roading, etc... is a level of freedom that simply cant be had with a dually truck. Plus I do NOT have to tow a dingy as with a big dually because the big beast is near useless in every situation "except" hauling the camper on a paved road!
Oh wait, did I mention that ATM and drive-thru windows are a breeze with a 'little' 3500, and that in mud & snow the back end actually stays behind you with a SRW truck?

While it may appear that I'm turning this DRW vs upgraded SRW thread into a big truck vs little truck issue all I'm really trying to point out is that I fully understand why a person with a smaller SRW truck would go through the effort and $$ to upgrade it rather than simply buy a DRW truck.

The closer...
My "little" SRW RAM 3500 stickered at $70,310.00 so believe me, with that budget I could have bought any slide-in camper truck I wanted... and the smaller SRW vehicle still won by a mile!

Rickson's anyone?
Happy camping,
-Ej-

 

[AH64ID]

1.) Airbags make top-heavy sway worse!
(Exactly as @Imabey mentioned at the top of the thread)

-Ej-

How were they plumbed?

 

[Electrojake]

The RideRite remote controlled valve body has separate controls for left/right & auxiliary outputs.
So...
The answer is that the left & right airbags are NOT tied together. They are separately controlled with separate PSI readouts in the cab of the truck.

Since my 3800+ pound camper isn't heavy enough to get my rear springs down to the overload shackle I decided to lower my airbags from 50 PSI to 15. The side-to-side sway was noticeably reduced! I honestly had no idea that my top-heavy sway was actually being irritated by me over filling the airbags.
<live & learn>

I could remove the entire RideRite system to save a few pounds but I do use the separately controlled airbags to level the camper once I'm parked at a campsite. It only buys me about 3 inches of front-to-back & left-to-right adjustment but that's usually all I ever need to get the camper level enough to live in.

So...
For now the airbag system stays on the truck.

#ad


Heavy camper on a little truck (that puts me well over GVWR) but with no noticeable font or rear spring squat.
... ... . <go figure> #ad

Regards,
Jake

 

[AH64ID]

Haha, yes too much air can be horrible. I've been trying to tell my dad that for years with his slide-in and airbags. He just sets them at max and goes for it!!

Have you tried something between 50 and 15?

Years ago I dropped from a 2" level to a 1" level and could use 50% of the air to keep the truck level and it was MUCH more stable. My load isn't as high as a slide-in but it is 2 4wheelers above the bed rails and causes plenty of sway.

 

[Electrojake]

I've learned that letting the truck squat a little when heavily loaded creates a more stable driving experience than having it jacked up and aggressive looking.

On the interstate at 75 MPH a top-heavy overloaded truck will ride like a dream but go off-road in an off-camber situation and it gets ugly fast.
And think about it... A truck-camper is an obnoxious load for a Class-3 truck to be carrying. Often described visually "like a gorilla on a football"
Tall, heavy, over-hanging, plus tremendous wind resistance, and all on the back of a little truck.

As for experimenting with PSI in my airbags, I've tried various levels from 10 to 70 PSI.
Anything above about 35 PSI starts to lift the elevation of the truck and as you can see from the photo in my above post, that's completely unnecessary, even counter productive.

Side note...
Watching you guys load them 4-wheelers on those high truck platforms is nuts. Plenty of YouTube videos showing what can happen if you dont get it just right.
Regards, #ad

Jake

 

[Mspenc45]

SO I have a 2007 Dodge Ram 2500 5.9 Cummins 4x4. Just pulled the trigger on a 3981lb Arctic Fox, fully loaded, water, gas, but not my personal stuff in the camper. Bought some Airlift Load Lifter 5000 bags, and Torklift spring stabilizers to start, but I believe my LRE tires will be found wanting. I like the Vision 81A wheels for sure, but torn over tire selection. My tire shop likes the Herculese H-702, any suggestions?

 

[seafish]

I REALLY like my Toyo M920 tires--

https://www.toyotires.com/commercial-truck-tires/tire/pattern/m920-regional-and-urban-drive-tire

 

[Mspenc45]

Any issues with these up front? They look like great drive tires.

 

[Mspenc45]

I really like these:
TOYO M608Z

 

[seafish]

Any issues with these up front? They look like great drive tires.

NOPE...they run quiet and true with a near 4000# each payload. PLENTY of traction too.

I really like these:
TOYO M608Z

Those are also GREAT tires.

 

[JPM]

I REALLY like my Toyo M920 tires--

https://www.toyotires.com/commercial-truck-tires/tire/pattern/m920-regional-and-urban-drive-tire

with load range of "G" what does the sidewall say about max pressure and load on your M920's? 245/70/19.5's?
looking for new 19.5"s next year since I had a monster blow out Thursday

 

[Cummins12V98]

What brand tire blew?

 

[JPM]

Dunlop, but the blowout might have been age related or a road hazard so please don't rate the tire negatively

 

[algonaman]

I think most tires have a 5 year life span, but its like grocery expiration dates, you can stretch it a little, cracks on the sidewall usually a good indicator.

 

[seafish]

with load range of "G" what does the sidewall say about max pressure and load on your M920's? 245/70/19.5's?
looking for new 19.5"s next year

The Toyo M920 245/70/19.5 LRG single axle are rated at 4540# at 110 psi on each tire.

They are still running quiet and true on my truck are are showing very good wear characteristics!!!

 

[JPM]

The Toyo M920 245/70/19.5 LRG single axle are rated at 4540# at 110 psi on each tire.

They are still running quiet and true on my truck are are showing very good wear characteristics!!!

the Dunlop's are 4900 at 120 , different load rating?

 

[JPM]

I really like these:
TOYO M608Z

Whats the max load and pressure that shows on the side of your tires?

https://www.toyotires.com/commercial-truck-tires/tire/pattern/m608-regional-and-urban-drive-tire

 

[JPM]

I think I figured it out by finding a load chart , a #136 16ply = 4900lb so that's what I think I'll get, same as the dunlops

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyo-M608-245-70R19-5-136-134N-H-16-Ply-Commercial-Tire/303089018657

http://www.flashoffroad.com/features/Tires/loadrating.html