New Arctic Fox 1140 on my rig ?

[wild4stangs]

Greetings folks, I am thinking of purchasing a 2005 fully loaded Arctic Fox 1140 truck camper. The dealer says my rig will handle the weight fine, when prepped properly (air bags, Torque lift's, titan 5 hitch w/ 48" extension bar, Isolator). I also pull some trailers, boat, bikes, and car trailer.



This camper is pushing 5000 pds fully loaded... . :--)



My truck is an 03 quad cab dually 4x4, 3:73 rears, Ramifier, Volant intake, 4" DPP exhaust, TAG.



Any advise from th eexperts here ?

 

[GFritsch]

These looked like nice campers when we were purchasing a couple years ago. They are heavy, and that was one reason we went with the big foot. http://www.bigfootrv.com/campers/index.html



The other top of the line camper to check out is the Alpenlite http://www.wrv.com/html/alpenlite_lim_about.html



Set up as you described any cab over will work on your truck. There has been some discussion on the legal ramifications should you be involved in an accident while being "overloaded".



Good luck,

Greg

 

[wild4stangs]

I like the Bigfoots, and they are in the top tier of manufacturers. The problem is that here in the NE, there are very few truck camper dealers. And the ones that are here have slim pickins on their lots. The other camper I liked alot was an Alpenlite 950. The only problem is that it is stripped, and I would have to add the gen set, solar panel, swing out brackets, AC, fantastic fan, awnings... :{ Still might go with the Alpenlite... But when my wife sees the interior on the AC 1140, she will love it immediately...



JCM

 

[DPelletier]

Don't know that I qualify as an expert but here's a couple of thoughts:

- My '03 is very similar to yours. With a bed mat, camper tie downs, etc. etc. and me and a full tank of diesel I'm at 8,338 lbs. I imagine you'll be 1000 lbs over GVWR before you put a trailer behind you. Whether or not that bothers you is your decision.



- My camper is 3217 fully loaded with extra batteries, 50galls of water, etc. a 25C10. 6 is about 500 lbs more.



- My friend Mark, has the identical truck and hauls a 3000 series bigfoot, which weighs 4500 lbs or so and he is happy (but over his legal limit)



- consider carrying some of the weight in the trailer. My generator (Honda EU1000) is in my trailer. Remember only 15% of what you haul on your trailer adds to your truck's GVWR in the form of tongue weight. I'm close to my 12,000 lb GVWR, but way under my GCWR of 21,000. By putting stuff in the trailer that you might put in the camper storage compartments, you can help some, ie. extra propane, water, chairs, campstoves, etc.



- and finally, NEVER show your wife a camper unless you know you already want it!!!!!!!!



Dave

 

[wild4stangs]

Dave, I guess I will have to get the rig weighed, and soon... I am not comfortable with being that much overweight... Man, why do they make these things if you have to buy a Freightliner of a Ford F550 to haul it legally ????



Funny, my wife was looking over my shoulder ang read your last comment... And you are CORRECT ! :{ OOOps too late now !



As far as trailers, I agree, although I need to worry about the many times we camp with no trailers, and I have to haul everything in the rig...



John

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

"The dealer says my rig will handle the weight fine"





AHHHhhh - you mean, the guy who stands to PROFIT from the sale assures you all will be well..... HMMMmmm, now SURELY he wouldn't make a false claim to make a sale, now would he?

 

[Bill Stockard]

I also have about the same truck as you except mine is a 2WD. I haul a 11'6" Lance 1121 (with a slide out) on it and the truck handles the camper fine even in strong cross winds and rapidly passing trucks. I'm about 500-600 lbs over the truck's GVW; however, I don't tow anything. You can check my signature for the modifications I did to my suspension.



Bill

 

[DPelletier]

... Man, why do they make these things if you have to buy a Freightliner of a Ford F550 to haul it legally ????



John

John,



Because they know that people want the dry bath, slide out, queen bed, skylight, xtra large fridge, air conditioned unit with a generator! ... ... . and they don't care if you are over your trucks GVWR! Its a constant one-upmanship between manufacturers and it works because too many RV buyers are ill-informed. Many don't find out they are way overweight until later and most NEVER know. There are a few knowledgeable guys that know how much they'll be over and don't care and I'm not knocking them, it's thier choice.

In Bill's example above, for instance, he has the very best Dodge for the job (a 2wd dually) and has added some nifty components for extra piece of mind AND he doesn't haul a trailer. That's all you can do if you want that big of a camper and don't want a Ford. But the unfortunate reality is that almost all of the largest top-of-the-line campers are legally too heavy for a 1 ton dually pick-up.



I wish they'd spend more time on stronger, lighter units and focus on the very best use of space and features rather than trying to make 4' crawlspaces underneath and have a sunken living room (OK, I am exaggerating, now )



One thing you may want to consider, is to have a small utility type trailer to use just for those times when you don't take your boats/bikes/cars. They are fairly cheap and it really does help with the GVWR issue. Just a thought.



Take care and happy shopping.



Dave



ps. Tell your wife I was just kidding!

 

[JJ Jackson]

We have a Lance Max 981 that "says" 3850 dry. We pull a 25ft enclosed trailer loaded to 8000lbs, got a Super Hitch with 36" extension. Gotta get the quads and dune buggy to the sand dunes some how! Do the air bags increase your GVWR?

 

[Eric_77]

We have a Lance Max 981 that "says" 3850 dry. We pull a 25ft enclosed trailer loaded to 8000lbs, got a Super Hitch with 36" extension. Gotta get the quads and dune buggy to the sand dunes some how! Do the air bags increase your GVWR?

Air bags do not increase capacity, all the do is give you a level ride when fully loaded. This can help in handling and braking whcih should make truck safer with side benfits of lights still be aimed properly but there is nothing you can do that actually raises the GVWR of these vehicles, that number is set by Dodge when truck is built. You may be able to get rating increased by one of the aftermarket upfitting compaines that would replace certain parts to bring up to new rating but they have to have a builder license of some sort from USDOT (I think that is who does it) sort of like the people that make caddies into limos they have the certification for doing the mods they do.

 

[klenger]

This camper is pushing 5000 pds fully loaded

That's a heavy camper. I had a 21' TrailLite TT that was just over 3K empty and 4K fully loaded. I'll stick with towables.



Good luck.

 

[wild4stangs]

Bill, which Helwig sway bar kit did you install ? I am interested in installing what ever suspension mods will make this combo as safe as possible.....



So, can I take it that I should move on the following:



Helwig anti-sway bar kit

Energy Suspension bump stops

Rancho 9000x shocks all around

Air lift are bags



( I was thinking of replacing the shocks anyway as I have 44k on the originals... Is there anything else I should consider ? Anything for the front suspension ?



John

 

[RJOL]

... The dealer says my rig will handle the weight fine...

Ah yes... . I can still remember the call I made to the Western Recreation factory(Alpenlite) in 1995. I was buying a 31RK with dual slideouts and had a 1986 Ford F-250 (non-turbo diesel gutless wonder). I told him I was a little concerned about the weight of the fifth wheel and wondered if the Ford could handle it. He said... and I quote... "Don't worry... we use 3/4 ton trucks all the time to haul these trailers. You won't have any problems. " Wish I had a recording of that...

 

[Bill Stockard]

Bill, which Helwig sway bar kit did you install ? I am interested in installing what ever suspension mods will make this combo as safe as possible.....



So, can I take it that I should move on the following:



Helwig anti-sway bar kit

Energy Suspension bump stops

Rancho 9000x shocks all around

Air lift are bags



( I was thinking of replacing the shocks anyway as I have 44k on the originals... Is there anything else I should consider ? Anything for the front suspension ?



John

John,



I installed the Hellwig part number 7658. It's an easy bolt-on job. For more information, here's the Hellwig application chart: http://www.hellwigproducts.com/antiswaybars/domestic4x4_dodge.html



The best improvements were the Rancho shocks (set on 9 on the rear and 7 on the front) and the anti-sway bar. The anti-sway bar helps with cornering when driving the truck solo. Also, the bump stops helped which transfer more of the weight to the much stiffer overload springs.



I could probably get by without the air bags, but I used them in the past to raise the rear of the truck to level. I don't use over 30-40 PSI air in them and could easily get by running the minimum 10 PSI in them. The truck/camper combination handles much better when the truck's spring pack is carrying the load vs. the air bags.



My truck is 2-wheel drive, I don't have any modifications to the front other than the Ranchos. I don't think there is anything you'll need to do to the front suspension other than the shocks.



I run 80 PSI in all my tires. Not only do the tires run cooler, the sidewall "squirm" in radial tires is reduced at this pressure which relates to less sway when hauling heavy high center of gravity loads.



My truck isn't a "daily driver" and sets most of the time with the Lance on it. 95% of the miles on the truck come from hauling the camper and we never unload the camper once we leave home.



As far as tiedowns, I've used both the Happijac and Torklifts. Both work well... your choice. I use the Happijacs currently because at the time I rigged out my truck, the Torklift tiedown chains interfered with the fuel door. I thought it too big of an hassle to loosen the tiedown to refuel the truck. Be sure and use a rubber bed mat under your camper to prevent from moving on the slick truck bed.



Bill

 

[Rockcrawler]

Have you considered a decent 5er/toybox?



I've had a lot of different campers, my only slide in was 8' 1600 lbs in a second gen 2500 with overloads/Dana 80 and while the weight was fine it was tall weight easily affected by wind.



Luckily, I bought it right (used), ran it 6 months and sold it for the same.



Last I checked the units you're considering are 25k+ and offer the least camper per dollar value on the planet which is almost eclipsed by the resale/ depreciation aspect of these units.



Have you owned or driven a slide in before??



I've got a 38' work and play now with a 17. 75' garage, it tows sweet and has considerably more room than the slide in campers you're looking at.



Not trying to twist your arm, just broaden your horizons. Good luck!

 

[DPelletier]

John,



I installed the Hellwig part number 7658. It's an easy bolt-on job. For more information, here's the Hellwig application chart: http://www.hellwigproducts.com/antiswaybars/domestic4x4_dodge.html



The best improvements were the Rancho shocks (set on 9 on the rear and 7 on the front) and the anti-sway bar. The anti-sway bar helps with cornering when driving the truck solo. Also, the bump stops helped which transfer more of the weight to the much stiffer overload springs.



I could probably get by without the air bags, but I used them in the past to raise the rear of the truck to level. I don't use over 30-40 PSI air in them and could easily get by running the minimum 10 PSI in them. The truck/camper combination handles much better when the truck's spring pack is carrying the load vs. the air bags.



My truck is 2-wheel drive, I don't have any modifications to the front other than the Ranchos. I don't think there is anything you'll need to do to the front suspension other than the shocks.



I run 80 PSI in all my tires. Not only do the tires run cooler, the sidewall "squirm" in radial tires is reduced at this pressure which relates to less sway when hauling heavy high center of gravity loads.



My truck isn't a "daily driver" and sets most of the time with the Lance on it. 95% of the miles on the truck come from hauling the camper and we never unload the camper once we leave home.



As far as tiedowns, I've used both the Happijac and Torklifts. Both work well... your choice. I use the Happijacs currently because at the time I rigged out my truck, the Torklift tiedown chains interfered with the fuel door. I thought it too big of an hassle to loosen the tiedown to refuel the truck. Be sure and use a rubber bed mat under your camper to prevent from moving on the slick truck bed.



Bill

Bill,

That's the best post on campers that I've read for a while. Dead on about the Ranchos, tire pressure and rubber mat and very few people seem to realize the truth about the airbags. If you need them to level the load, great, but they do very little, if anything, for sway control. As you say, it's better with the load on the springs, not the bags.



Cheers,

Dave

 

[Bill Stockard]

Dave,



Thanks... coming from you, I consider that as a real compliment from someone who knows truck campers!



Bill

 

[Rockcrawler]

So..... for someone like me hauling a 5er the use of an airbag system as described should give a smoother ride?? Sounds like you're saying the spring rate is stiffer with the leafs only with 3k+ weight.

 

[Bill Stockard]

So..... for someone like me hauling a 5er the use of an airbag system as described should give a smoother ride?? Sounds like you're saying the spring rate is stiffer with the leafs only with 3k+ weight.

Yes, the spring ride is stiffer especially if there is enough hitch weight to make the frame mounted overload spring bumpers engage the ends of the overload springs.



I have a couple of friends towing 5th wheels who have improved the ride in the truck by removing the overload springs and using air bags to keep the truck level. They are using the main springs in combination with the air bags. Good shock absorbers are necessary with this setup. I wouldn't reccomend this modification for hauling a truck camper because of sway problems.



Bill

 

[Rockcrawler]

Yes, the spring ride is stiffer especially if there is enough hitch weight to make the frame mounted overload spring bumpers engage the ends of the overload springs.



I have a couple of friends towing 5th wheels who have improved the ride in the truck by removing the overload springs and using air bags to keep the truck level. They are using the main springs in combination with the air bags. Good shock absorbers are necessary with this setup. I wouldn't reccomend this modification for hauling a truck camper because of sway problems.



Bill

Thanks,

My intention would be to tweak a kit to be used with the overloads. While inflated for level ride I should have about an inch before the overloads are doing anything. IMHO, sounds like a good way to get a better ride and a level truck without a lot of expense.