How long is too long for camper

[DieselBurps]

I am in the research phase of purchasing a Ram 5500 and I am trying to decide what camper length I can go with that won't result in a poor handling and ride of the truck with camper on. It will be a regular cab truck and my options are either the 60" cab to axle or the 84 " cab to axle length. I believe 60" allows for about a 9.5' flat bed and the 84 around 11 or so.

I am pretty sure if the camper bed length was 12' I would need to go with 84" cab to axle lenght, but if I could get away with an 11' camper on the 60" cab to axle I could benefit from the increased turning radius and ability to fit into tighter spots.

I believe with a regular cab configuration with the 84" I come out to about the same wheelbase and length as a typical Ram 3500 crew cab with long bed.

[Kayteg1]

Last time I check the bigger CA sizes did not come till you hit 550/5500 trucks?
I have 11-11' camper on my F350 and when the new truck handles it just fine, my holding tanks are about 7 feet behind rear axle.
200 lb of gray water makes big difference in handling.

[DieselBurps]

I think I really need to nail down the details of the custom flatbed camper and work from there to decide what cab to axle length I need.

[HMS_Beagle]

When I was contemplating this, I was going to go for a Supercab (Ford only, RAM doesn't do that) and the 84" CA. Then put a custom camper on it with a side entry. One problem you will have with a camper or a 5th wheel on a flatbed is it comes out pretty tall. Flat beds are typically several inches higher than pickup beds, and a 5th wheel is taller than a camper. I really liked the arrangement of the Bigfoot 5th wheel, most livable floor plan I have every had in any RV. The Escape is similar.

[markowwes]

I wouldn’t advise going longer than 60” cab to axle, The F550 I use is just about maxed out on the steering axle with this camper. You have all kinds of room on the drive axle.
I am pushing 5,600 lb. (2,530 Kg.) on the steering and 11,000 lb. (5,000 kg.) on the drives. The Diesel engine is heavy too, but if you start adding a pile of camper weight to that you may be too heavy. If anything add length after the rear axle.
“Just Saying”

[Bedlam]

Yes, mine is a crew with 60” CA and 9’ deck.

Your Honda Trail is lighter than my trailer tongue weight, so rear axle capacity or unloading the front axle is not a problem.

Remember that the rear of Eagle Caps and Hosts have the large storage compartment and a rear slide. You will need to take your bike carrier position in consideration for both of these - You do not want to have to unload the Honda every time you want access.

[DieselBurps]

Thanks Bedlam, your set up was one of the ones I was thinking of when I started researching.

Am I correct that your truck is a 60"?

I am thinking I should put all the heavy items I can as far forward as possible with the camper design, but would still have considerable weight in the back with a Honda CT 110 and the rack to carrier it along with a spare tire on the back.

[Bedlam]

I can get just under 9' of my 11.5' Host Mammoth on my flat deck. I was able to load 7.5' of my short bed Arctic Fox 811 on the same deck. The camper will sit over the axle the same way whether you choose the 60" or 84" CA option due to the rear overhang that holds the primary fuel tank. A custom flat bed camper throws out all the assumptions because you have more control of what is hanging from the underside. If you want storage between your cab and camper, get the 84" CA model. If you want the shortest vehicle with the tightest turning radius, get the 60" CA model.

[DieselBurps]

I am leaning toward the 84". Like I said the total length and wheelbase is about the same a regular crew cab with 8 foot bed, but instead with a 10.5' or so flat bed.

I am looking at a company called camperlogic.com for the camper, they have a build thread on this expeditionportal website, and it seems like its' pretty well built and insulated.

[kohldad]

Since you are going custom build, the 84" CA would be my choice. Longer wheel base does ride better and will allow you to have the COG in front of the axle for sure.

However, look at the front axle capacity and see if how much it has to spare. Then do some calculations on how far forward you think the COG will be and make sure the front axle can handle the weight. You may find the shorter CA would work better.

[KD4UPL]

I've been considering exactly what your thinking about: buying a 5500 series truck with a flatbed to haul a large camper. I like the idea of the better ride and balance of using the 84" CA with the 11' bed. Not all of the big campers can be put on that because many of them do drop down in the back beyond the 8' mark. However, many of them don't do this. It seems like a lot of the larger campers that have the floor at the height of the truck bed sides are flat on the bottom all the way to the rear.
My preference would be to find on of those campers that is flat on the bottom and put it on an 84" CA truck. This would also allow for towing with a much shorter (or none at all) hitch extension. The only real downside is that when driving just the truck it would be longer. However, I really wouldn't drive it much without the camper so that's not such a big deal.

[Boatycall]

I'm going to chime in and say length alone will have little bearing on handling.

I, like many others here, have had several TCs over the years. I had an 11.5' Real-Lite on an F250. I've had a 9.5' on that same truck, then moved on to single-slides, and now my dual slide.

I can say without a doubt that height and weight are far bigger factors than length. Length on it's own won't be a factor since most all are designed with a mostly normal COG. Add slides, now it's heavier. Make the inside floor go over bed the rails like mine, vs inside the box like my previous Arctic Fox's, and now you have a taller TC, which tends to sway more.

All but one of my TC's were 11.5'. Weight and height made me go from an F250, to a 350, and now a 450. Length alone was not the factor.

[woodhog]

Don't forget about these people for a custom flatbed camper....
Custom camper for flatbed

[mike_kellie]

The longer campers drop in the back so it's not like you can position the camper anywhere on a flatbed. If you were to get the longer cab to axle wheelbase, the storage would be in front of the camper. I'm having a 9' low profile camper body built on my Ram 5500 and picking it up next week. The 9' body gives me a nice 10" wide storage space up front (think oversized cookie sheets) that's designed to carry the tailgate. I have an acquaintance that has the 11' body with a Host Mammoth. He has a huge front storage cabinet in front of his camper set-up that almost looks like a sleeper. Google Douglass Truck bodies in Bakersfield to see different campers on different makes and wheelbase trucks.

[Lwiddis]

Ok, whatever you want. Personally I'd pick a camper I liked and then buy an appropriate truck. Difference in handling and ride won't be that much.