AF990 on F350 CC SRW

[emcvay]

OK, so I've spent gobs of time reading about weights and trucks and what to do and what not to do. I've noticed many DRW owners have 9 foot campers and many have 11-12 footers, I've witnessed a Dodge SRW 3500 carrying a 1140 Arctic Fox (before options it was 3895lbs according to the sticker) and the drive claimed it road great with just air bags and he was pulling a 30 foot TT (to a dealer from the manufacturer).

I've seen the SRW group that says "10 footer, no problem!" and those who say "popups only!" and frankly, I'm only convinced of two things at the moment:

1. Yes the truck is rated for a specific GVRW. Period.
2. Yes the truck can handle more than GVRW.

I've been in different industries and can tell you that '11, 500lbs' GVRW is a nice round number chosen for a reason. Whether or not that reason has more to do with lawyers than engineers is the real question I suppose, but that isn't what this post is about.

I'm being told by the manufacturer (designer supposedly) of the AF990 that it was designed to ride a 1 ton single rear wheel truck and that all I need do is install stable loads on the truck. I also see lots of posts by people who have big campers like the 990 on SRW trucks who seem to do fine with them. I also see MANY SRW trucks rolling up and down the roads around me with big campers on the back.

So my question is for those who actually do this, that is, those who actually have an SRW truck with a 4000lbs+ camper on the back (AF990 starts at 3010lbs which is under my slide in camper weight of 3370 according to my truck but I know options are going to add around 500lbs and putting water in the tank, propane etc will add another 500 lbs (or so anyway): how is it really? Any trouble? Concerns?

Basically, did you put that sucker on and go "oh ****!" or did you think "too easy"? Let me know if you are a first timer, or old hat too (someone who's never had a camper and sticks a 4000lbs camper on a dually might think 'oh ****' after all.

Thanks

[emcvay]

whizbang wrote:
Our loaded camper weighed 4500 pounds. We modified our CC LB 4x4 F350 with sway bars, Rancho 9000 shocks, Air bags, and 19.5 tires. It drove like ****. My wife refused to drive it.

Hmmm what year truck? Our 2010 F350 4x4 CC LB PS XLT handles it very well the way it is set up now. Not at offroading machine but very good ride down the highway.

[emcvay]

jimh425 wrote:
I’m glad it’s working for you. What changes did you end up making?

To the suspension? Stable Loads upper and lower, Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks (on 9 in the rear and 7 up front), Toyo 4080lbs rated tires (285x75x18 Open Country's) at 80psi in the rear and 65psi up front, Hellwig Bigwig rear swaybar, Curt front tow receiver and curt spare tire carrier upfront and Firestone air bags set at 25psi.

It drives great and both the wife and I are very happy with it.

[whizbang]

Our loaded camper weighed 4500 pounds. We modified our CC LB 4x4 F350 with sway bars, Rancho 9000 shocks, Air bags, and 19.5 tires. It drove like ****. My wife refused to drive it.




Our new dually weighs exactly the same and handles like a dream. My wife does 3/4 of the driving.

[Marcela]

I had similar weight on GMC 3500 SRW except it was std cab. I now have the same camper on a CC DRW F350. I can say the DRW is a much more enjoyable ride. The longer wheelbase of the CC probably helps your situation as it does on my DRW.

[jimh406]

I’m glad it’s working for you. What changes did you end up making?

[emcvay]

I thought I would pop back in here and post a minor update 😉

I've put over 4000 miles on the truck and camper since buying it one year ago and that includes two 1200+ mile trips and one 800+ mile trip with a number of 500 mile adventures (the more common variety I think).

The last trip was a quick drive just 30 miles or so from home followed by ~100 miles to Walla Walla, then the 55 or so to Pasco followed by Kennewick and back home to Moses Lake. About 260 miles total for the weekend.

I recently rotated the tires and checked the brakes which were probably still stock but was advised I'm coming up on the time to change them and I'll do so here shortly. Otherwise the truck handles the camper well and the suspension upgrades make it very pleasant to drive even in very windy conditions. It's not slalom car but it's certainly comfortable to drive and my longest single drive is over 600 miles now (meaning straight through).

I'm concerned a little about the wheels since so many believe they will crack so I keep an eye on them and tire pressures but so far no issues at all. I'm just over 7500lbs on the rear axle after moving the spare up front so perhaps that 500lbs isn't quite enough to stress them as much as some believe but I'm sure I'll find out one way or another.

We love the camper and will only say that the only time I don't like my setup is on a rough dirt road with lots of deep potholes. Then, yes, it's very slow going as you do notice the camper up there a LOT more on rough road conditions. I would not recommend this to anyone planning on any offroading outside of fairly smooth dirt roads (I have taken it milling on some rough road and it was not fun). In that regard a dually may be the only answer though it can be done with an SRW and perhaps the suspension work I've done will make a difference as my experience was without the new shocks and swaybar.

Anyway, life is good and we look forward to the next 4000 miles!
Cheers

[Bedlam]

There are rounding errors in scale measurements when making multiple weighting’s, but you should be close.

[Area13]

I have weighed my last 2 truck campers front, back and total. Front and back have always added up to the Total, to the pound. Erik, You seem comfortable with your new “very nice” setup, enjoy!

[joerg68]

At any given time, the weight of the truck is hopefully carried by its wheels and nothing else. If I weigh them with individual scales at the same time, the sum of the weights must necessarily add up to the total vehicle weight. If there is a difference, there was an error made somewhere in the weighing process. I do not doubt that the displayed values don't always add up for whatever reason. But surely the combined axles carry the combined weight of the truck, no?

Not the weight police either here either. You can cheat on many laws, but not the laws of physics.

Whatever weights and ratings... if it handles well, it can not be too far off. Just be aware of your tire loads.

[Grit_dog]

jimh425 wrote:
Not the weight police here. front + rear can equal total or not depending on how they are positioned. My last cat weight added up.

Say it ain’t so Jim! Lotta people gonna get freaked out by a statement like that !!
Lol

[toddb]

ICamel wrote:

toddb wrote:
I appreciate you posting weights, I recently purchased a 992 so I'll see how close it is when I get it prepped.
Todd

Fully loaded with diesel, water, propane, all the necessities, I am at 5,100# on the front axle and 8,650# on the rear axle.

Thank you. I've got a '15 CC DRW.

[jimh406]

Not the weight police here. front + rear can equal total or not depending on how they are positioned. My last cat weight added up.

[ICamel]

emcvay wrote:

So, my point is that the mods we do don't change the door sticker but do change what the truck is capable of handling and I'm ok with that.

I'm with you!

[GeoBoy]

Whatever. People are going to do what they want, regardless.:R