Camper special ho ho

[JLehman]

At the gas station the other day, this brand new chebby with a brand new Bigfoot camper came in. My God, scared the crap outa me and I wasn't even in it. 3/4 ton srw it was rockin and rollin dipping and doinkin sooooo bad, those smooth ridin chevys uh huh. I'm real happy to have a Dodge with my camper on got rid of what sway i had with bags and a sway bar. even without it was nothin like that chevy. gonna give them a wide wide berth on the road from now on.

 

[DAN V]

drw the only way

I think that the only way to haul a camper is to have a dually. You are more stable and have more rubber on the ground to support it. Not that i would get a camper. I have thought about it a few times though.

 

[Prairie Dog]

I think that the only way to haul a camper is to have a dually. You are more stable and have more rubber on the ground to support it. Not that i would get a camper. I have thought about it a few times though.

I used to do the camper thing with a SRW 2wd, there's no way I would do it again with anything but a dually either ~ and my camper only weighed 1800 Lbs.

 

[Regcabguy]

Duallys

I used to do the camper thing with a SRW 2wd, there's no way I would do it again with anything but a dually either ~ and my camper only weighed 1800 Lbs.

Ditto on that. Camper salesguys will sell you anything. I'm pretty confident with my truck and the popup but if I had a hardside,it'd be mounted on a dually.

 

[Jumbo Jet]

I've had my 3,300 lb. camper on both a dually and SRW.

Roll is at the contact points of the springs and frame, and has very little to do with 4 tires on the ground.

4 tires on the ground provide better maneuverability in an emergency and that extra tire, should you somehow blow out a tire or have a sudden deflation, provides a margin of safety.

I am VERY comfortable with my SRW and Lance 1030. Traveled 3,800 miles in January, and some of those miles were on ice and snow.

The extra capacity and offset of the Rickson wheels seem to provide good stability.

 

[TEasley]

Years ago, I carried a 9 1/2' 3500# Tejas cabover on a SRW Chebby 3/4t Camper Special. Sway and tracking were major problems on our first trip. When we got home, I talked to a friend at a tire store and he found me a set of load range F bias ply tires for front and back. Not supposed to mix them with radials. The bias ply tires had sidewalls that were so stiff it tamed the crazy handling. The camper was so heavy that the ride was still very comfortable. I don't know if bias ply tires are even still available, but those worked.



Tom



The radials were load range E Michelins.

 

[Grizzly]

With the size camper I had, I wouldn't have anything but a DRW. We made an 11,000 mile round trip on it last summer to Alaska. No problems at all, not even a rock chip. Only problem was the price of diesel.

 

[WestTN]

I have a SRW truck. I optioned it with camper package, sway bars, etc. I have an 8' camper and very little sway. Drives great even in high winds. BIG sway bars are the controlling factor. DRW's usually have them already. That is the reason for the differnce in stability.

 

[Big A]

I'm probably going to get flamed for this, But my 01 2500 with the camper prep, hauls my Northland 880, better than my buddys 05 3500 dually hauling his 990. Yes, his camper is a foot longer, but they weigh close to the same. I think the difference is, I have the sway bar, and tork lift frame tiedowns, and he does not have a sway bar, and happi jack bed and bumper tiedowns. His truck sways and rolls quite a bit more than mine. I think all new 2500 and 3500 trucks should have a sway bar.

Big A

 

[RAlberg]

Question: Is a sway bar a substitute for airbags? What are the trade offs?

 

[Big A]

If I understand correctly, do not put airbags on, unless you air them independent of each other, and add an expansion tank to each. I really believe that the antisway bar, and the proper tiedowns, is important. Also a 10ply or better tire, to reduce sidewall flex.

Big A

 

[WestTN]

Air bags add weight capacity. Sway bars transfer weight. Big difference.

 

[Bill Stockard]

Question: Is a sway bar a substitute for airbags? What are the trade offs?

No. Air bags are not a substitute for an anti-sway bar.



The third gen trucks aren't factory equipped with an anti-sway bar. I haul a large heavy slide-in camper and the addition of an anti-sway bar (see signature) improved the handling when turning, driving in cross winds, and when being passed by large trucks on the interstates.



Bill

 

[Grizzly]

I'm probably going to get flamed for this, But my 01 2500 with the camper prep, hauls my Northland 880, better than my buddys 05 3500 dually hauling his 990. Yes, his camper is a foot longer, but they weigh close to the same. I think the difference is, I have the sway bar, and tork lift frame tiedowns, and he does not have a sway bar, and happi jack bed and bumper tiedowns. His truck sways and rolls quite a bit more than mine. I think all new 2500 and 3500 trucks should have a sway bar.

Big A

I think you may have some wrong information on your buddy's truck and camper. I have an 05 DRW and I had a Lance 945 11'-3" camper. The Lance 990 and the 945 are the same length and weight, only difference is that the 990 has a dry bath and a smaller dinette booth. I had Happi Jacks and no sway bar on mime and it never swayed. In fact I had the same camper on my 95 DRW before the 05 with sway bar and Happi Jack and it didn't sway, however the 05 handled the camper better then the 95. The difference between the 05 and the 95 is that the 05 has the box beam frame and beefier springs.

I don't know what your Northland 880 weighs or what length it is, but I seriously doubt that it weighs the same as the Lance 990 because no camper weighs more then a Lance that I know of. Another thing, how much additional weight did your friends camper have, such as water, food camping gear and cloth. We took my Lance on my 05 to Alaska last summer and believe me for an 11,000 mile round trip for two months, it was loaded, but no sway. I don't think you are comparing apples to apples here.

 

[Bill Stockard]

I don't know what your Northland 880 weighs or what length it is, but I seriously doubt that it weighs the same as the Lance 990 because no camper weighs more then a Lance that I know of.

Yep, I agree, the Lances are heavy. I hauled a '94 Lance 990 thousands of miles on a second gen 3500 which handled it very well. I installed air bags, but the truck didn't need them.



Our present '03 Lance 1121 is much heavier than the 990. As you noted, the third gen trucks have better frames and beefier springs. If I still owned the 990, all I would need to change on our third gen truck is better shocks.



Bill

 

[jeepit]

Yep, I agree, the Lances are heavy. I hauled a '94 Lance 990 thousands of miles on a second gen 3500 which handled it very well. I installed air bags, but the truck didn't need them.



Our present '03 Lance 1121 is much heavier than the 990. As you noted, the third gen trucks have better frames and beefier springs. If I still owned the 990, all I would need to change on our third gen truck is better shocks.



Bill

I have an 02 with camper special and I think my springs are plenty beefy. I do ok with my setup. See camper below. Yes, a dually would be nice.

 

[Grizzly]

Yep, I agree, the Lances are heavy. I hauled a '94 Lance 990 thousands of miles on a second gen 3500 which handled it very well. I installed air bags, but the truck didn't need them.



Our present '03 Lance 1121 is much heavier than the 990. As you noted, the third gen trucks have better frames and beefier springs. If I still owned the 990, all I would need to change on our third gen truck is better shocks.



Bill

Bill, were you and your wife in Alaska last summer? We met a Bill and his wife in Valdez. They were from Texas and had a Lance 990 on a 2nd gen DRW, 2WD. If you are the same Bill, PM me.

 

[EricBu12]

We used to have a 8' old camper and was pretty light but I agree that equipment needs to be good.



I don't have a camper, just a 5th and on a heavy camper, I would do like I did for towing th 5th. . 12 ply 19. 5 tires, extra weight carry capacity, a good sway bar and good shocks. I have no clue on tiedown styles but if a camper is tied down to a frame spot, I would assume that would be better.

A lot of this takes common sense, if a lance 11' camper weighs --#'s, and that weight with the truck weight maxes out the E tires, guess what?, gotta go beefier. . My 245 70R 19. 5" Michelin XDE-MS 12 ply F rated is set at 4080 # @ 95 psi... these would do wonders for a swr camper.

 

[wcoomes]

My truck is getting Firestone Ride-Rite air bags today. I have a sway bar and added Ranch 9000's a week ago. I still have some roll & sway.

 

[Bill Stockard]

Bill, were you and your wife in Alaska last summer? We met a Bill and his wife in Valdez. They were from Texas and had a Lance 990 on a 2nd gen DRW, 2WD. If you are the same Bill, PM me.

Nope, not the same Bill. We were in the middle of building a new house, shop, and moving last summer. It would have been more fun and a lot less work had we gone to Alaska instead.



Bill