Need experianced slide in camper users, please.

[NIsaacs]

Well, I just finished the 12 volt hook up, so now the camper should provide a much improved camping experience. Instead of running a hot wire from the battery all the way back to the bumper and then all the way back to the front of the camper, I just run a new circuit from the battery to the camper. I used an old heavy duty 25 ft. drop cord (12 gage) and attached the female end to the battery and the male end to the converter with the connection at the same place as the existing cord. Works good.



There is an ID tag on the front of the camper that gives some manufacture info and it says 1700 lbs GVW. Is that the weight of the unit from the factory or total (with personal stuff)? I never heard of GVW without tires and axles.



The truck is about 6,000 lbs empty (standard cab long bed 4x2) with a GVW of 8510 lbs, so if the camper weighs 2,000 lbs that should still give about 500 lbs leeway. I really think she will be okay.



Nick

 

[DonTX]

It always seems to get heated when discussion of dually vs single comes up. I have been driving trucks for 60 years now, and have had my share of good and bad. Several myths seem to come up often, one is the "hassles of driving a dually" crap. I routinely use my dually WITH THE HOST YELLOWSTONE 11. 6 double slide on it, as a second car around town, and think nothing of it. After a half million miles in my Kenworth W900L pulling a 53ft 102 dry van across the USA, it "seems like" a little thing to me.

I am not so concerned with the load carrying capacity some technocrat has said it will carry, to me it is the vast improvement in handling comfort on the road, at speed, in windy or not conditions, not having to chase it over the road like the SRW people do. I have had a lot of truck campers on SRW trucks, and always thought I hated truck campers because of that. I do a lot of travelling, sometimes I get to follow a SRW with a fair sized camper on it, THAT will make a believer out of anyone!

That said, I love the SRW trucks for one reason: I got my over $50K Host for $25k, simply because the original buyer had spent a fortune beefing up his GMC 3/4 ton with every upgrade of tires and suspension he could throw money at, and it still was a handful to handle, and he sold it - to me, barely used! On my dually it drives and handles like a sporty car.

 

[SRath]

The Towing/Carrying Gods have spoken

I just LOVE getting you guys all worked up defending your "fat-bottomed girls"! But I also stand by my statement. :-laf



i about busted a gut laughing at the notion that a 2000lb camper was too much for a SRW. What a joke...



And Harvey, the small cheap tires on the SRW are the only legitimate reason for the weight-rating difference. The dually gets two more of the same. That, and to sucker people into buying extra wheels they don't need. But I certainly won't deny that there are many here who should be required to have extra training wheels on their trucks; even when empty.



But name one thing your dually has that is stronger than my SRW?

Not the suspension; I have 3500 springs from the factory. Not the axles (Dana 80 and 60 on mine). Not the brakes (they both suck). Not the frame. Not the engine or transmission or t-case. Certainly not the crappy balljoints.



You would be MILES ahead in terms of investment spending your money for a set of Rickson 19. 5" wheels and some 14-ply tires than to pay the penalty every day for driving a dually.



Unfortunately, the DOT remains as ignorant as too many other people who know nothing more than what they read on a lawyer's disclaimer label inside their door jamb. The DOT is motivated by revenue, not actual safety and capability.

 

[NIsaacs]

Hey Scott, I am a long time big trucker too and have learned from your posts. I do like my dually for extra heavy loads, however I started in 1969 with an F100 4x2 special ordered 1970 model, 390, 4spd, overloads, 700-15 6 ply nylon tires, westcoast mirrors and cab lights. This was my everything truck for years. I pulled a new 1972 8x35 Mobile Villa park model all over with it following my work. Also an old 1958 Town & Country 8x45 park model. I used the weight distributing hitch. I am probably going to catch heck for this now



Just for the heck of it tho. What do you think of the trend of the big trucks using super singles? This was tried years ago with very little interest, however it seems to have finally caught on with numerous trucks on the road now.



Personally I would not be interested for several reasons. The tires and wheels are super expensive, hard to come by with small dealers, a flat makes you stop plus they look funny:-laf A truck truck should have duals, especially if it is a flat bed, singles and a flat bed just look out of place. Whatcha think?



Nick

 

[Bill Stockard]

I do still need to figure out why the Refrigerator won't work on 110, however it works good on LPG.

Nick

Check the circuit board for a blown fuse. If the fuse is blown, most likely the 120-volt heater is shorted. The other alternative is the 120-volt heating element is burned out. It can be checked with an ohm meter if the power is turned off to the fridge and the heating element is disconnected from the circuit board. The 120-volt heating element is replaceable.



For more information and troubleshooting tips on RV absorption type fridges, go to this web site: RV Mobile, RV and Gas Refrigerators They also have a forum where you can ask a question concerning your fridge and get an answer.



Bill

 

[DonTX]

"Another way to check it quickly, is volt meter the connections on the 120v heater with the fridge turned to 120. You get voltage - element is bad, no voltage - look for fuse or connections. It has been my experience that the 120v heater is probably burned out. Cheap and easy fix.

 

[SRath]

Hey Scott, I am a long time big trucker too and have learned from your posts. I do like my dually for extra heavy loads, however I started in 1969 with an F100 4x2 special ordered 1970 model, 390, 4spd, overloads, 700-15 6 ply nylon tires, westcoast mirrors and cab lights. This was my everything truck for years. I pulled a new 1972 8x35 Mobile Villa park model all over with it following my work. Also an old 1958 Town & Country 8x45 park model. I used the weight distributing hitch. I am probably going to catch heck for this now



Just for the heck of it tho. What do you think of the trend of the big trucks using super singles? This was tried years ago with very little interest, however it seems to have finally caught on with numerous trucks on the road now.



Personally I would not be interested for several reasons. The tires and wheels are super expensive, hard to come by with small dealers, a flat makes you stop plus they look funny:-laf A truck truck should have duals, especially if it is a flat bed, singles and a flat bed just look out of place. Whatcha think?



Nick

The company I was driving for ordered half their new tractors and trailers with super-singles a couple years ago. The s. s. tractors do feel a little different in corners due to the slightly narrower wheel track, not scary - but different (like mushy Michelin steers vs. Bridgestone steers), and we haul extremely top-heavy loads. Unfortunately, we lose a few trucks each year to rollovers because of those tippy loads, but mostly because of inexperienced drivers. There is no significant difference between the number of s. s. rollovers and dually rollovers, though.



I was also very concerned about the ability of the s. s. tractors on snow and ice, but there is little difference there, either. With more aggressive tires, they would probably be superior.



The trailers pull great with no handling issues pro or con over conventional duals.



But there is no getting around the expense and problems a flat tire presents. Even when empty, there is no getting it to the shop for replacement or repair. You are dead-alongside-the-road where you sit until a new one is put on.



Our shop guys HATE changing those massive super-singles, too.



The fuel economy improvement is not enough to justify the expense of the tires, wheels, and the service calls, imo. The cost of an aluminum super single wheel is mind-boggling, as are the tires, and a catastrophic blowout is almost guaranteed to take the wheel with it before you can get stopped if you have a heavy load.



Like you, I prefer my pickups with SRW and my heavy-duty trucks with duals. If all I did for the majority of the time and miles in my pickup was pull or carry a very large and heavy camper or load on the highway, I would probably get another dually. but there is no modern pickup camper made that I would be afraid to go coast-to-coast with on my SRW given the right tires.



In either case, srw or dually, I would prefer to upgrade the stock suspension and brakes. I would put those overload contact pads on that engage the overloads immediately AND I would put rear airbags on. No pickup, dually or srw, brakes or steers or handles properly with the rear squatting.

 

[NIsaacs]

Good post Scott, from obvious hands on experience, thanks.



Thanks for the tips Bill and Don. The next time I work on it I will check out the electric heater element, I am anal about wanting things to work.



Nick

 

[HBarlow]

A set of four new 19. 5 wheels and tires costs about as much, perhaps more than the price differential of a dually Ram over a SRW.

I don't think (correct me if I'm wrong) a pair of 19. 5" wheels and tires will provide the weight carrying capacity of four OEM dually tires and wheels.

19. 5" wheels and tires negatively effect the final drive ratio of the factory gearing when towing or hauling a heavy load. They also ride harder and reduce driver comfort.

19. 5" singles don't provide the improved stability and cornering capabilities provided by duallies nor the protection from a roll-over or loss of control in the event of a rear tire failure.

My personal trarnsportation from 1965 through early 2001 was first a half ton pickup then from '70 on was a 3/4 ton. I test drove a Ram dually for the first time in May of 2001 and was very impressed at the light feel and easy driving/handling of the new '01 Ram 3500 over my slow and heavy handling Furd F250HD. Since June of '01 I haven't driven anything else but Ram duallies. I go through bank drive-up teller lanes (carefully), Sonic hamburger joint drive-in slots, department store parking lots, everything I could do with a compact car. I don't see the limitation of a dually except that the QC dually wouldn't fit in my garage. I have a steel barn now so that is no longer a factor.

Each to his own. I love driving duallies. A SRW would not safely tow my HH fiver nor the previous Travel Supreme. Some do it, I know, but I won't.

 

[steved]

Don, I agree with you on the Happijac tiedown, however they only tie down a heavy camper to the sheet metal of the bed. The Torklift tie down the camper to the truck frame, which is why it's considered the best.



george

Then you may not have seen a correctly installed happi-jack... mine is connected to the frame via the bed bolts?

 

[steved]

... but I think it is clearly unsafe with modern extremely heavy slide in campers.

Agreed.



I saw a F250 with a huge Lance... it was so overloaded that he couldn't even level it with airbags. It actually looked scary going down the road.



With that said, I think mine weighed around 1500#s and was only 8-foot long... the 2500 seemed to carry it alright. Any panic situation is going to be scary, SRW or DRW, with that elevated COG.

 

[jheier]

The dually debate goes on, I had a '97 2500 and a 3000lbs lance camper. The truck had Goodyear AT load range E tires, dual shocks on front and Gabriel load levelers shocks on the rear. I also installed airbags to help with the load balance and to cut down on the sway. I did not feel safe rolling down the highway at 65 mph. So I changed out the original 2500 series springs for 3500 series spring with a 4000lbs load capacity.



Over a $1,000 in suspension up grades and such a harsh ride w/out the camper on, I finally gave up after 2 years and purchased a 2008 3500 dually. No more swaying, I feel safe rolling down the highway. Which did not last long, I bumped up to 4700lbs Lance camper and had to install airbags to level the truck when the camper is on. I still feel safe rolling down the highway.



I feel I have a need for a dually, but I just had to replace all six tires, two of original tires (Amritrac's) seperated with only 25000 miles on them.