Help....advice on purchasing truck camper

[dezldog1]

Hi everybody,
Looking for some advice. We just sold our 33 LCDTS Silverback fifth wheel and are downsizing to a camper. We have a 2010 heavy duty 2500 diesel with Firestone air bags. We have taken a fancy to a...2000 Adventurer 90FWS EXT Camper.. We are going to view it at 10 a.m. tomorrow. Our truck is only a 6' 4" box but the fella said with the tailgate down we should be able to haul it. The previous owner apparently did. I think he said it's 2038 lb. I was just wondering if anybody else owns that same camper or similar to it and if you're happy with it. Also wondering what you are using to haul it with. Any bit of information you care to share with me would be greatly appreciated..
Thanking you in advance.
Regards
Jo

[17oaks]

Grit dog wrote:
"CoG: Your camper should have a marker on it showing the CoG of the camper. You certainly want to get that marker in front of the rear axle. Weight behind (rear) of the center axle put your truck out of balance and results in lighting the front load. This can make steering a bit iffy."

If you hadn't just posted a pic of your truck/camper in another thread showing the CoG sticker behind the center of rear axle, this advice may be more valid to those who don't understand.
Not that anything is wrong with your setup and not that taking a few lbs or a few hundred lbs off the front axle of a HD truck hurts anything, just that folks may think that statement is an absolute.

Grit, glad you brought it up and I knew that when I posted the pic.

That said: Here is a pic of the FRONT of the truck. You might note the front bumper and combo Winch and onboard air setup. All total I have about 500 lbs hung out on the front end. So I set it back just a bit. As long as you are in +/- 4 " of the centerline and you are travel loaded you are going to be good to go.

In addition, the centerline sticker on the AF 1150 does not take into account the forward storage on either side of the bed, which is a LOT.

Your keen observation is well taken.

[Grit_dog]

^ To the newbies (and some oldbies, lol), alot of these type of things are not absolutes even though they get tossed around as if they are.
If one "assumes" the center of gravity of a camper is where it says by the little sticker, that will be close enough if no extraordinary loading conditions exist.
As well, if you need proof, a quick sample moment diagram assuming the CoG location as the rear axle pivot point and the front axle as the other support of the beam, you can throw some weight forward and backwards of that and see how much it affects the front axle. Then compare it to everyday use. IE, if you have 400lbs of front seat passengers and a winch up front, does the truck steer significantly different? Or if theres 500lbs of grout sacks at the back of the truck bed (aft of the axle) does it steer different?
Just relate it to normal "stuff" and it makes campers easier to understand and not so magical.

[Grit_dog]

"CoG: Your camper should have a marker on it showing the CoG of the camper. You certainly want to get that marker in front of the rear axle. Weight behind (rear) of the center axle put your truck out of balance and results in lighting the front load. This can make steering a bit iffy."

If you hadn't just posted a pic of your truck/camper in another thread showing the CoG sticker behind the center of rear axle, this advice may be more valid to those who don't understand.
Not that anything is wrong with your setup and not that taking a few lbs or a few hundred lbs off the front axel of a HD truck hurts anything, just that folks may think that statement is an absolute.

[17oaks]

WOW, some thread, lots of data point:

Not sure about using your truck tailgate to support on its own. Certainly, you can put a lot of weight on it, but how much is ??? I would get a piece of 3/4 4x8 marine grade plywood to supplement that tailgate.

CoG: Your camper should have a marker on it showing the CoG of the camper. You certainly want to get that marker in front of the rear axle. Weight behind (rear) of the center axle put your truck out of balance and results in lighting the front load. This can make steering a bit iffy.

As for "band aides" call it what you will but they are useful in expanding your safety and performance envelope. I replaced my anti-sway bar with a Hellwig BIG WIG, and my shocks with Rancho RS 9000 Adjustable. I added Tork Lift Stable loads on the UPPER overload springs. I suppose if your truck does not have already shocks and an anti-sway bar that would be band aides. My driving style dictates these items on my dually and the AF 1150. Fully loaded out I am around 5,600 lbs.

In closing: If you already own a truck then buy a TC that works with it or sell your truck and buy a TC/Truck to give you what you want.

I have had a motorcoach, 2 5th wheels and a TC, NOTHING has given me more pleasure and make better sense to me than a TC.

your mileage may vary...

[GeoBoy]

work2much wrote:

jaycocreek wrote:

GeoBoy wrote:
What’s with all the band-aids? Either buy a camper that properly fits the truck you have or buy a truck that will carry the camper you want without any band-aids.

I'm not seeing many if any here that do not have atleast one bandage on there truck, new or old whether an aftermarket sway bar or one of the torklift uppers or lowers..

100% stock with a big TC is rare on the internet.

Completely stock. 15k trip over 6 months. We did add a sway bar after this trip when one became available for our truck All TC trucks should have a sway bar IMO.

I don’t consider a swaybar a bandaid. Like you said a swaybar should be standard equipment on a truck carrying a TC.

[work2much]

jaycocreek wrote:

GeoBoy wrote:
What’s with all the band-aids? Either buy a camper that properly fits the truck you have or buy a truck that will carry the camper you want without any band-aids.

I'm not seeing many if any here that do not have atleast one bandage on there truck, new or old whether an aftermarket sway bar or one of the torklift uppers or lowers..

100% stock with a big TC is rare on the internet.

Completely stock. 15k trip over 6 months. We did add a sway bar after this trip when one became available for our truck All TC trucks should have a sway bar IMO.

[dezldog1]

Yes AnEv942, we did go look at it... was a huge no no...Pile of *****
BUT did buy at 2008 Okanagan 90w.
I really appreciate everybody's input and advice...we are seriously consider trading our Laramie 2500 on a one ton...know we can't do it this season but hopefully next camping season. I am really nervous now but will be ever so cautious and pray nothing happens..this camper was an AWESONE deal...original owner looks as new ..VERY WELL maintained..Could not pass it by...??????
****....????

[AnEv942]

dezldog1 wrote:
.. We have taken a fancy to a...2000 Adventurer 90FWS EXT Camper.. We are going to view it at 10 a.m. tomorrow...
Jo

Soooo did you go look at it?

[Grit_dog]

Had a long response typed up but lost interwebbs.
Bottom line the weight is not an issue for that truck with the right mods, regardless of what the rvnet weight cops say.
Tailgate, some say no, I haul the camper with 3' bed overhang and alot of other stuff on tailgates. Just be smart about it.
Length is questionable, would be my biggest concern.
First because it appears to be a long bed designed camper, make sure the camper will handle a 3'+ cantilever (without tailgate).
Second, you want to pull a trailer. You may very well need a 3'+ hitch extension.
Good luck camper shopping.

[jaycocreek]

GeoBoy wrote:
What’s with all the band-aids? Either buy a camper that properly fits the truck you have or buy a truck that will carry the camper you want without any band-aids.

I'm not seeing many if any here that do not have atleast one bandage on there truck, new or old whether an aftermarket sway bar or one of the torklift uppers or lowers..

100% stock with a big TC is rare on the internet.

[wnjj]

GeoBoy wrote:
What’s with all the band-aids? Either buy a camper that properly fits the truck you have or buy a truck that will carry the camper you want without any band-aids.

This quote from the OP may answer your question:

dezldog1 wrote:
Also not wanting to invest a lot of money in a camper right now as we may find it's too much of a down size for us.

[GeoBoy]

What’s with all the band-aids? Either buy a camper that properly fits the truck you have or buy a truck that will carry the camper you want without any band-aids.

[jimh406]

dezldog1, it sounds like you also want to pull a trailer. Just to get it out of the way, I’m not the weight police. Trailer tongue weight impacts your payload. The weight listed is usually dry weight and sometimes dry weight without options. Also doesn’t include what supplies you carry with you.

You can certainly haul really heavy TCs with trailers and be overloaded. Likewise, you can have blowouts of rear tires. The easiest choice for stability is always going to be buy a DRW. But, many of us were able to get by or are getting by with SRWs. I went 8 1/2 years with a pretty heavy double slided camper with a SRW with 19.5 4500 lb capacity tires.

However, I also carried minimum water never pulled anything but a very small light trailer and tried to leave most stuff at home. With my DRW which happens to be a F450, we don’t have to worry about that any more. We bring what we want, and have a much more capable truck. DW likes it much better even heaviliy loaded, and she drives it a lot.

Summary is use your current truck and barely get by or change to a DRW and leave those problems behind. It’s your choice, but realize what you are trading off. Keep in mind that anything you add like tiedown mounts will have to be added to your truck, so if you are thinking about going DRW, do it before you add the tiedown mounts.

One more note about towing with a longer than bed length TC. You’ll probably need an upgraded hitch and hitch extension. That’s something you want to do “once”.

[AnEv942]

Only suggestion is making sure no issue with tail gate opening and cab height. The unsupported floor of camper hanging out would be my 1st consideration. Tailgates aren't designed to carry a lot of weight, possibly mitigating with full sheet of ply or other, but you mentioned towing. That's close to 3' of overhang. (I think the 90fws is 9'+ floor?)
SO extended hitch setup required, other than additional cost is leveraged tongue weight adding to what might be marginal COG.