Low GVWR

[notron46]

I have an 05, 3500srw,4x4, 6spd, quad cab, HD truck and cant believe the gross carrying capacity is only 2727 lbs. I am thinking of getting a truck camper and do not know how heavy I can go. I was told that the weight is shared by both axles and I will not exceed either axle rating, but will be over the gross. Is this a safe thing to do. Is there any add on I can get to increase the GVWR. Is the manufacturer keeping the GVWR low just to protect themselves. I need help

.

 

[Andersonville]

Northwood/Arctic Fox makes a nice unit that weighs about 2k. Non slide. Alaskan Camper does as well. I think the low GVWR is more a liability and center of gravity issue than an actual truck issue. You can add air bags,springs and stabilizers but it won't change the manufacturers stated numbers. You can add E rated tires too.

 

[DBentley]

Most truck campers i have had seem to put the weight over or behind the rear axle to make matters worse.

 

[AABEN]

You might look at a pull camper. There is a bunch out there at a good price. You can check with Banks and Loans. I am in AZ. bunch out here for SALE Cheep.

 

[wcjp]

I have an Arctic Fox with slide/Gen. Most of the weight appears at the rear axle. Don't forget the factory GVWR includes people, fuel and water. Not many Truck Campers on the market that can meet the factory requirements. Your limiting factor is tires. Two guys in my Offroad club are running slightly oversize Toyo MT tires to increase tire capacity. I'm running 19. 5" tires.

 

[RVTRKN]

wcjp hit it right on the head, it is your tires that limit your rating, a 3500 with DRW has two more tires the same rating which can double your capacity. It is the downside for the 3500 SRW.

 

[HBarlow]

A 3500 SRW is not the same truck as a 3500 dually when it comes to carrying a load.

If you're serious about buying a slide-in truck camper you should start by filling your fuel tank(s) with fuel and putting your normal travelling load of passengers, dogs, tools, etc. in the truck and take it to a public scale or truck fuel stop with a scale and get an actual weight. Then subtract that weight from GVWR. You will probably find you have less actual carrying capacity than the factory brochure indicated.

Likewise, before you sign on the dotted line you would be smart to weigh a slide-in camper on your truck or the dealer or seller's truck and determine what it actually weighs. Salesmen tend to tell you what you want or need to hear. Don't forget to add the weight of food, water, bedding, clothing, hunting/fishing gear, whatever you and your family would probably carry.

When you've completed this exercise my friendly advice would be to buy a travel trailer. A srw 3500 will pull very heavy travel trailers.

 

[RVTRKN]

Following HBarlow's advise is good advise, but I dought the dealer will install one on your truck and weigh it before the deal is signed. If your so close to the limit, it is not the camper you want. A good way to estimate, is to weigh your truck as HBarlow described and then take the dry weight and calculate the liquid weight from the tank sizes, (per gallon weight, you can goggle that) for the camper your going to buy. I would leave a 5% margin for error, remember if your over, your illegal. Buy a 5ver or TT and your better off and more room. You can cheat if your tanks are full when not underway, but that doesn't always workout for you when you can't dump them at times.

 

[LesStallings]

I have an 05, 3500srw,4x4, 6spd, quad cab, HD truck and cant believe the gross carrying capacity is only 2727 lbs.

Yes, who would think that a one ton truck would only carry 2,727 pounds??

 

[FOXY005]

Yes, who would think that a one ton truck would only carry 2,727 pounds??

Now that made me chuckle :-laf:-laf

 

[RPelletier]

There are two schools of thought. Some guys are worried about the GVWR and other guys are worried about axle/tire ratings. I tend to worry more about axle /tire ratings.



The 11. 5" AAM axle in your truck is rated for almost 11,000lbs. Dodge rates it at 6400 because of the tire rating. If you upgrade tires and wheels to 19. 5" like a lot of guys do you can utilize more of the axles rating.



The other issue is how its going to handle the weight. My father in law has an '05 3500 SRW. He bought a huge Lance camper last year. I tried to tell him that he wouldn't like the way the truck handles the camper but he didn't listen.



Now he has a 4000lb camper and doesn't like to haul it because its not comfortable to drive. He has air bags and Ranchos and they helped,but not much.



Now he is talking about converting his SRW to a dually.