Minimum tailgate clearance for campers?

[MThompson]

We have been shopping around for a camper (new and used) and ran into what looks like a fit issue with a 1998 Fleetwood Elkhorn 8. 5' camper. The widest part of the bottom of the camper that has to slide past the tailgate opening of our 2001 RAM 2500 is 59. 5". The tailgate opening is only 60". It seems to me that 0. 5" is just not enough wiggle room but would love to hear from anyone out there with camper experience. What is the minimum amount of wiggle room you would want to work with?



Would also love to hear any feedback on preferred camper manufactures other the existing Fleetwood thread. We are shooting for an 8. 5" to leave plenty of room for turning with the horse trailer.

 

[BV]

Clearance

Our Pastime had less than an inch clearance on the last 3" of the camper which made made it a challenge to load. The biggest factor to hitting or missing the opening was how well the camper matched the angle of the pickup so don't plan on loading it on an uneven surface unless you can match the camper angle to the pickup box.

 

[Deezul1]

On a another truck I had the camper fit at the rear was less than a 1/4" clearance total. What I did was line it up and back it in till the camper just barely moved when the rear of the truck hit the camper and it was always off just a little so I would get out and shove the camper by hand sideways and it would pop right in and then finish backing in. It moves sideways real easy when its on the jacks and moving it an inch or so was no big deal.

 

[roadranger]

Originally posted by MThompson

Would also love to hear any feedback on preferred camper manufactures other the existing Fleetwood thread. We are shooting for an 8. 5" to leave plenty of room for turning with the horse trailer.

We've got an '01 Lance 8. 5ft long model 810.

It has 1 in. clearance each side of our '01 2500.

Lance has a very good reputation and builds truck campers ONLY. We are very happy with ours.

www.lancecampers.com



We too bought the 8. 5ft camper for towing considerations, and found that the rear electric jacks on the camper hang low enough in the full retract position to hit the tongue of the trailer in real tight turns. You can't get that tight going forward (at least with a Quad Cab long bed), just be careful when backing it up and hooking the trailer around a corner.

 

[Shooter]

Arctic Fox

www.nashtraveltrailers.com/campers.html