Ram 1500 with a cabover camper

[AH64ID]

Lance Campers are known to be MUCH heavier than published weight. My dads 850 is almost 400lbs heavier on the rear door sticker than brochure weight, and it's almost 1400lbs heavier on a scale loaded for a week of camping without anything too crazy in it.

I wouldn't put that camper on a 1/2 ton and expect to be able to maneuver in an emergency.

Unlike a 2500, a 1500 is as good as the ratings get for the components. A 2500 has the same axles (engine dependent) as the 3500 and 3500 DRW big brothers, and up until 2014 a similar suspension without much change in rating. A 2500 can easily be overloaded based on a door sticker, but underloaded for the realistic ratings of the frame/brakes/axles/suspension...everything is rated much higher, except the tires. The tires are any HD SRW trucks limit, the same cannot be said for a 1500.

Your tires are not your limit, your rear axle is.. and air bags don't do anything for that. After the rear axle it's suspension and frame, then tires.

You can convince yourself all you want, but it is what it is... but more importantly it isn't what it isn't and it isn't enough truck.

Some folks think the specs on a truck are simply recommendations.

In many cases they are, and in many cases they aren't.

There is nothing legally binding about door sticker weight limits.

A 1500 shouldn't exceed them, a 2500 or 3500 SRW is a different animal and there is plenty of information available to back it up.

 

[Houser]

Some people dont feel safe unless they
Are riding in a tank. Others ride motorcycles with
Their kids in the side car. Some people try to force
Their personal fears off on others. Some dont.
Others are just pointless dorks that want to win
The agument.

 

[AH64ID]

Sure looks like the only one you are trying to convince is yourself. A tank in this thread would be a F-750, and I haven't seen one of those listed here.. Noting is being suggested other than the proper vehicle for the job, plain and simple.

That camper will place several key components above their safe working limit, and you know it.

That liability is on you.

Show your wife this thread and ask if she would still put kids in the truck with the camper and head down the road.

 

[Houser]

Ok enough with the corn. This is starting
To sound like that fakey reality show stuff.
No body really talks with that much goofy
Drama corn.

 

[Bob4x4]

How does he get denied warranty when the camper is several hundred pounds under carrying capacity? Sounds to me like a lot of you are tying to justify the purchase of a 3/4-1ton diesel to tow your car trailer.

Let me explain............I see overloaded trucks and trucks that are not every day.Do you have a clue witch ones have any life left by 50k .The 1500 is a light duty truck with a light duty engine.Good luck with that
.

 

[Grizzly]

What im trying to say is. That 11'3" lance camper you have in your truck sig weighs 2000lbs
More than your truck is rated to carry.
How are you able to do that without
Wrecking your truck ?

My truck, which is completely stock, is rated to carry 3700 lb. My Lance camper, which I sold 6 years ago, was 3400 lb wet. My truck handled the camper with the greatest of ease.

 

[AH64ID]

My truck, which is completely stock, is rated to carry 3700 lb. My Lance camper, which I sold 6 years ago, was 3400 lb wet. My truck handled the camper with the greatest of ease.

I would have thought it would be more than 3700 lbs. I have the SRW version if your truck and my door sticker says 2888, and with an additional 2,300lbs of GVWR and only a couple hundred of lbs for the DRW I would have guessed your payload to be just over 4500lbs.

 

[Houser]

The reserve combined axle capacity
Of a 2014 ram 1500 is 2391lbs. The weight
Of the camper is distributed over both
Axles. If lance was misrepresenting their
Camper as half ton rated. They would
Have been sued out of business long ago.

 

[Houser]

Thanks for the backup but i think the camper will put me about
5-600 over gross. Thats why i will have to upgrade the tires
And add air bags. Sway bars are also recommended to reduce rocking on corners The
truck comes with those.

I guess its not actually over weight
My bad.

 

[Houser]

How does he get denied warranty when the camper is several hundred pounds under carrying capacity? Sounds to me like a lot of you are tying to justify the purchase of a 3/4-1ton diesel to tow your car trailer.

I guess you were right. I should learn to let people
Agree with me.

 

[Grizzly]

I would have thought it would be more than 3700 lbs. I have the SRW version if your truck and my door sticker says 2888, and with an additional 2,300lbs of GVWR and only a couple hundred of lbs for the DRW I would have guessed your payload to be just over 4500lbs.

You are correct John. I checked my brochure and it said that my 3500 Quad Cab, DRW, 4x4, is rated at 4840 lbs cargo in the bed. My truck with the camper never swayed when a on coming 18 wheeler passed me on a two highway. I now have a 27' 5th wheel and too much truck for it.. If I were to replace my truck, which I have no plans to do so, it would be a 3500 SRW.

george

 

[sag2]

OK, I'm confused. So are you ignoring the cargo capacity, GVWR, and going with the axle rating? My truck has GVWR of 6900, and weighs 5800 with the driver. That leaves 1,100 for cargo. You can not legally exceed any one rating, so I wish you good luck.

 

[AH64ID]

The reserve combined axle capacity
Of a 2014 ram 1500 is 2391lbs. The weight
Of the camper is distributed over both
Axles. If lance was misrepresenting their
Camper as half ton rated. They would
Have been sued out of business long ago.

Nearly all of the weight goes on the rear axle, very little will go to the front.

It's well known that all trailer and camper manufacturers understate the truck requirements. They get away with it by using disclaimers and "basic" advertising weights. Go put that truck/camper on a scale....

OK, I'm confused. So are you ignoring the cargo capacity, GVWR, and going with the axle rating? My truck has GVWR of 6900, and weighs 5800 with the driver. That leaves 1,100 for cargo. You can not legally exceed any one rating, so I wish you good luck.

The only legal ratings are tires. After tires its registration and axle limits, which we will never hit. Nothing else is legally binding, but its a guideline for safe and long operation.

 

[Houser]

I do not posess the math skills but if one of you does the CG is about 8" ahead of the rear axle. Figure the weigh distributed to the front axle @ the base all tanks empty weight of 1750. we can argue about were the additional weight gets put later.

 

[AH64ID]

Based on the wheelbase of 140.7" you will get 100lbs added to the front axle and 1650 to the rear.

For every inch the CG is in front if the rear axle you will add 0.7% of the weight to the front axle.

 

[Houser]

Ok great. The lance guy said i would only need airbags
On the rear. Thanks.

 

[AH64ID]

The Lance guy is probably paid on commission.. Of course he said that.

The rear axle only has about 1600lbs of spare capacity, an empty camper(with no options, as the 1750 is a stripped base model) is going to exceed your RAWR. The axle used by Ram on the 1500 is the limit, not the tires or suspension.

It's all been said, stop listening to a salesman and figure out that its too much camper for the truck.

300lbs of passengers in the front seats will put 120lbs on the rear axle, the camper tie downs will be almost all on the rear axle (since one set is behind the rear axle), anything in the back seat puts approx 60% of the weight on the rear axle.

Do you have a bed liner? That weight decreases cargo capacity.

There is no way to put that camper in a Ram 1500 and be safe, and it's much more than tires/suspension.

 

[sag2]

I still don't know where you are getting your weights from. On the scale my front axle weighed 3010 and the truck weighs 5870 (all include driver). That makes the rear axle weight of 2860. The RAWR is 3900 so that leaves 1040 you could place over the rear axle before you hit the axle rating. You are going to place about twice that amount in the bed with some transferring to the front axle, so any way you cut it you are far exceeding the limits (safe, legal, moral, longevity, common sense, or any other way you want to look at it) of the truck, modified or not. You need at least a 2500 to adequately do what you are asking.

 

[Houser]

Thanks for all the great advice you guys are awsome. As dangerous as that truck is going to be
once i get that camper on it im going to have to smoke a lot of pot and drink a lot of cheep beer
when ever i go driving in it. Other wise ill just be to freeked out to leave the dang ol yard.

 

[DonFitzwater]

Thanks for all the great advice you guys are awsome. As dangerous as that truck is going to be
once i get that camper on it im going to have to smoke a lot of pot and drink a lot of cheep beer
when ever i go driving in it. Other wise ill just be to freeked out to leave the dang ol yard.

Well at least the pot is legal here now!!! :-laf