camper front shocks

[DBelshee]

This is my first time back on here in several months, and I seem to have forgotten my way around the site. My wife and I just ordered a new Lance 992 camper with double slide (weight about 4,000 lbs) to go on our 2003 Dodge dually. The dealer recommended we put the front mount shocks on the camper which goes to the body for better support. Have any of you done that, and what were your results. I don't like drilling any extra holes in the body, and one set I saw actually mounted to the hood hinge mounts. It seems to me that over time the movement would bend the hood. We've had other extended cab-over campers before, and although there was some movement noticed as the cab and camper flexed going down the road, it didn't seem excess. Any ideas or input? Also, the dealer recommended a class V hitch if we were going to tow anything behind the camper. Any ideas. I believe the truck came with a factory class IV hitch. You guys are still the best resource in the world! Thanks, Don. popeye@99w. us

 

[Grizzly]

You don't need the shocks with a Lance. Your dealer just wants more of your money. I had a 11' 3" extended cab over Lance for 10 years and I never needed the shocks nor did my dealer recommend them. I never towed anything with my camper, again the dealer is gouging you.

 

[Bill Stockard]

I haul a '03 Lance 1121 (one slide out) on a '03 3500 DRW. At the time I purchased the truck and camper Lance didn't have the mounting brackets available for the third gen Dodge. I hauled the camper for about 3,000 mikes without the overhead struts. After we returned from that trip, we had the overhead struts installed. They made a big difference in softening the harsh shaking of the truck cab/body when traveling on rough highways.



The brackets do not attach to the hood hinges, but attach under the hood with a couple of self tapping bolts. The upper end of the brackets protrude up through the gap between the hood and the windshield cowling. The shocks do not eliminate the cab/body movement, only subdue it, so there's not a lot of stress on the brackets.



I hauled a '94 Lance 990EC 11'3" camper (aluminum sides) thousands of miles on a second gen truck ('00 3500 DRW) and didn't need the struts. I traded the '94 Lance for a '01 Lance 1140 11'6" (fiberglass sides, no slide out) and hauled it with the same second gen truck. As soon as we got on the highway after leaving the dealership with the new camper, we knew we needed the overhead struts. The cab/body movement was much more severe. After installing the struts, the ride was much better and the camper and truck felt more like a single unit.



Try hauling the camper without the struts, and after you put some miles on the rig, if you think you need them, you can always have the struts installed.



Bill

 

[rwitt]

If you are going to tow anything you'll need to extend your hitch. The factory hitch is not rated to be extended therefore you'll need to upgrade to a class 5 hitch. Below is a Tork Lift Super Hitch I installed on my Dually. It actually uses the factory hitch and bolts to it along with frame rails attaching to the frame:

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I use a 30" extension which gives me 650lbs tounge weight and 6500lbs trailer weight. Use an equilizer hitch and it goes up to 1000/10,000 weight rating.

Rich