advice on slide in camper requirments...

[jack-green]

lance camper

I have a lance 8' slidein on my 4. 5 sb, works great, added firestone airbags and had no steering or weight problems on a 1500 mi trip down the oregon coast this summer.

 

[EEdmondson]

In '91 before I bought a half ton truck, I went shopping for a camper. I found out that I needed a 3/4 ton truck for a 1400# pop-up camper. One dealer told me that people come in all the time with new 1/2 tons and want to buy huge cab over campers. Of course, he couldn't sell them an unsafe rig. It's better to have more truck than you need than vice versa.

 

[jponder]

Dpelleteir> Not adressing you specifically, glad you got a rig you feel good with I am happy as heck with my ETH/DEE cant wait to get the Ranchos and airbags and usgear exhaust brake.



PJ> the people that scare me are the ones that check all their weights and feel safe and rip snorting down the road at 70 MPH. The highways would be much more safe with overloaded prudent drivers than green horn over the hill dont have a clue rvers. But if being perfect on your weights make you feel safe then by all means continue with your fantasy.

 

[PJ]

my wife and i are borrowing a 2004 lance slide in camper. i know our 2004. 5 short bed 4x4 isnt set up to accomidate the camper(it said so in the glove box) the question is:

what are you guy's doing to prepare your rig's for slide in's? i need all the advice i can get. do i need a sway bar? how bout air-bags? thanks in advance... . james

My advice would be that you contact the local Lance dealer and have them approve the instalation of this truck / camper. I personally feel it is an unsafe application. Life is too short. I have a 3500 swb srw Dodge and the local dealer here says there is only a limited few that would be safe on my truck. That is why I bought a travel trailer. Ive been in the wind with a Lance model 400 back in the 90's and I had a Crew cab Duelly. When the wind hit on I-5, I felt I was still on my way over on the side. That was with a Duelley! Anyone that would do a temp install for the weekend to save the $$$ for a rental trailer, needs to completely check out the safety of the install. Never take anyone's word on the net that it will be safe. It is sort of like the guy that buys a new ATV and asks to buy a $10 helmet. The guy behind the counter asks "do you have a $10 head?"

Best to be safe than sorry!

 

[jponder]

I am going to start another topic about sidewinds as a couple people have mentioned this and frankly I have not faced it in an RV. I dont want to hijack this topic, so br looking for it.

 

[geusterman]

Agree with DPellitier on using Rancho 9000's for sway. Used them and sway bar on my 02 Camper Special 2500 (two overload springs). Have Fox's on my 04 and no sway but does fine with BigFoot 9. 5. I am considering a sway for those real bad wind days but so far ok. I use a spacer between the overload spring and stop to catch the load early. The 3gen 2500's have no overloads so a Timbren or bags would help there. Might be good to go with that. If sway is issue go with Rancho's. Amazing shocks. George

 

[bkaiser]

My experiences... First truck - '90 D350 dually 360 gasser. First camper - '73 wooden behemoth - stood almost 11 feet tall in a two wheeler! This combination was subject to crosswinds and body roll (no sway bars). Second camper - '96 Coachman 115 SE - 3100 pounds wet. In the '90, I was well under the 10,100 GVWR, but without sway bars I still had a lot of body roll. Second truck - '03 3500 DRW. I'm close to, maybe a little over GVWR if too much stuff is in the camper, but the ride and handling of the '03 is much better than the '90. I use a belly bar in the front and stake pocket brackets in the rear. The only other 'modification' to the truck is the addition of reinforcement to the front of the bed - the steel is too thin to take the camper pressing aginst it.



tabaccogrower - If a 1500 hasen't been crushed by this camper, your 2500 should have no problem. Have respect for what is under your butt and enjoy your trip!

 

[jsimpson]

For the life of me, I can't figure the fascination on this board with Rancho shocks. Why anyone would pick an oversized, overpriced Monroe with a brightly colored boot over a Bilstein. Is it the macho name, "Rancho", compared to the nerdy name, "Bilstein"? Anyone who researches the shocks will see that the Bilstein is clearly a better-desined, better-built shock. Oh well, to each his own!

 

[Drue]

I have a 99 LWB 4wd with a pop up slide in @ ~2k lbs. My truck has the camper package and handles great. Went 2500 miles this summer and had lots of fun. Just remember to slow down in windy areas and down hills! My wife and I have found we save fuel by slowing down a little and enjoy the ride, after all, if we really wanted to be there yesterday, we would have flown!

 

[Eric_77]

I agree totally about the tires. Why would anyone buy a 6400 lb rated tire and then put it on an aluminum wheel. I'll never understand that. GO WITH STEEL!! They are indestructible and hell if need be they can actually bend.

Steel is actually less desirable. They are not used on Haz Mat trailers or tankers because they catastrophically fail without warning. Granted a Semi truck is loaded much higher and due to the tandem duals have a sheer action on them that pick-up truck does not. Bent wheels are not good as they are not noticed and fail further down the road.

 

[DPelletier]

For the life of me, I can't figure the fascination on this board with Rancho shocks. Why anyone would pick an oversized, overpriced Monroe with a brightly colored boot over a Bilstein. Is it the macho name, "Rancho", compared to the nerdy name, "Bilstein"? Anyone who researches the shocks will see that the Bilstein is clearly a better-desined, better-built shock. Oh well, to each his own!

OK,

I'll do this discussion one more time;



- The Rancho shocks are NOT Monroes. I sold Monroe shocks for several years and they are a good OEM type replacement shock, but that's all. There is no Monroe, triple tube, cellular gas, adjustable shock. The whole "Ranchos are just rebadged Monroes" is an urban legend.



- The Bilsteins are good shocks. Never said otherwise BUT the Rancho RS9000X's on level 9 offer the stiffest dampening available. This level of dampening makes a noticeable difference in sway with a large, top heavy, slide-in camper. I use the RS9000X Ranchos on the rear of my truck, but still have the stock shocks up front. I am considering Bilsteins for the front. IF Bilstein ever decides to make an adjustable shock, I might consider them for the rear of my dually, but until then, I guess I'll stick with the Ranchos.



- I know what good suspension is. My six motorcycles all have much better shocks than any factory automobile or truck. Try Nitrogen charged with high and low speed compression and rebound adjustments. If you want really good shocks, try the Fox or King shocks; the Bilsteins are second rate compared to those. Of course only someone racing offroad really needs shocks that are that good.



Cheers,

Dave

 

[PHarris]

I have a bigfoot 1500 which is mounted on my 2002 1500 360 gas I know but Im waiting for a diesel power wagon and my lease to run out. anyhow i put airbags, rancho 9000 adjustable shocks, bfg 33 tires and torqlift camper holder which come off frame. I have been across death valley in major cross wind and it was a little touchy but I slowed down and no big deal. I would for sure have a 3/4 ton when I trade up but for what you are hauling you will be fine. The airbags and rancho shocks turned up to max make a huge difference as long as tires are up to the task truck will handle the load fine. If you do major offroading yea it might be a bigger problem but you just take it easy. Also you will proably need a little height to clear cab if you want a cheap fix that really keeps the camper situated and gives height too go to a feed store and get a horse stable rubber mat they work great and protect your truck and the camper without a whole lot of money. p. s. happy jacs suck in my opinion and have been the cause of many of screwed up bed.

 

[tobaccogrower]

well, i ordered the rancho 9000x front and rear. i figure if they crap out they have a good warantee. got them from sams off road. i'm going to put the camper in and hook to the boat and see how bad it sag's. if it's bad i'll order the air bag's. camper is lance model 815. does anyone know the laws for sleeping in one of these campers for a few hours at a truck stop? were going from connecticut to key largo in february. we drive down interstate 95 most of the way till we get to fort pierce where we get on the flordia turnpike. i love the ride especally when we get past richmond heading south! thanks again guy's for the advice given!... james

 

[DPelletier]

James,

I think you have a handle on your situation. As far as the rest stops go, we've done it several times. I would make sure it is a well used and well lit rest stop though, as I would worry about all kinds of bad things happening in an out-of-the way rest stop where you are much more vulnerable. I feel much safer with a dozen tractor trailers and a couple of other RVers around.



Cheers,

Dave

 

[EEdmondson]

James,

At the rest stop if someone is hanging around your rig, there's nothing like the sound of a pump action shotgun.

 

[Big Rig]

I was in the 30 mph sustained winds with gusts to 45 mph last summer that Jumbo Jet spoke of. I drove in it all the way from Omaha to KC. The semi-trailers were leaning pretty bad. I was driving my 3500 Dodge dually with a 920 Lance camper that I had just picked up 2 weeks before. The suspension on the Dodge is stock. I was amazed at how well it handled. I knew I was in a crosswind but there was no sucking up of the seat. The dual wheels and the heavy suspension do a great job. I guess people have driven lots of miles with no problems with overloaded trucks, but when it comes to my safety, I prefer to have a truck that will hopefully handle emergency situations a tad better. I am sure there are some things I can do to improve my truck's handling such as air shocks, but as it is, it is a pretty stable machine. You can put all kinds of campers on all kinds of trucks but when push comes to shove the truck that is built to take the load will do a better & "SAFER" job.

Big Rig

 

[earlcoombs]

Slide-in VS 5th wheel

I bought a 2004. 5 in March 2004 (engine manufactured in Aug 2003) shortbed, 2500, automatic with the idea of pulling a 26-28' 5th wheel when I retire next year. Then I got the urge for a slide-in in the meantime. I was all set to buy a SixPak (www.six-pac.com) SC-150RD. The price seems right and the weight seems right (around 1800#). Now you guys got me nervous again - maybe I'll just look at a pop-up or go back to original plan of a fiver.

Any suggestions?

Earl

 

[InThinAir]

Earl,

That will be fine in your 2500, you will need some sort of Sway Bar and Overload set up. But if you want to hook up another toy to the hitch I would say you will be pushing it, unless it is a jet ski or little trailer of some sort.



---Doug

 

[earlcoombs]

Thanks Doug. That gives me more confidence seeing you have a 2500 and you must get some heavy winds in Colorado. By the way, my 2500 is a 2WD vs. 4X4. Do you think that this is an advantage or diadavantage? Seems like I have more power for pulling (no extra differential to turn). Does anyone know the status of adding a Jake brake to an automatic? The last time I checked, Dodge said it voided the Warranty.



here's my stats: 2004. 5 2500, 305 engine, 2wd, shortbed, white ;^)

 

[Jumbo Jet]

A Lance factory representative contacted me from Dallas, TX. He stated that a good Lance dealer would make sure the truck was setup correctly before selling and installing a Lance camper. He spent about 40 minutes on the phone and pointed me to a Lance dealer in Springfield, MO. He said it takes a special dealer to deal in truck campers due to the requirements of the truck.



He sounded like the kind of person you want to deal with.