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Comments
In my old funky truck I bent the front wall of the bed (emerg stop) and put dips in the floor by having some cross boards to raise the camper height but I've never heard of the whole side tweaking down like yours. Hopefully it will stop where it is. You should get underneath and look at the bed mounting points just to check.
In case anyone is interested, I emailed Lance and asked them the weight of the 821 and got a reply back within a day.
Also, I've found a real good price for an 821 if anyone is interested (I was until I saw the weight
Dry weight without options is 2800.
Wet weight without options is 3152 (wtr tank full, LP full).
With AC, awning, electric jacks, generator, etc. (loaded), you add another 440 lbs.
Anyone found any good prices on 820's?
Frank
1. Heavy off road use. Extreme twisting while rock climbing, etc. Not very likely. We've managed to get 1-2 wheels off the ground without distortion of anything. Severe shocks (a washout taken at 40mph?) could cause big problems. I think suspension failure would happen long before the bed would get deformed.
2. Localized heavy loading. Did you camper sit evenly on the bed of your camper, or did one of the rear corners carry most of the weight? Could there have been a 2 x 6 or similar under a rear corner to lift the camper and load that corner?
3. Truck has a bent frame or a missing bed mount. So one corner of the bed is essentially unsuported by the frame.
Overall, I'd say your camper is too heavy for you SRW 1 ton. Either a lighter camper, or Duals.
Your problem reminds of something Vince said awhile back - NEVER BELIEVE ANYTHING A SALESMAN TELLS YOU. He is interested in making a sale and a commision, and probably doesn't care if your truck can handle it or not. If he really believes what he is telling you, have him put it in writing on the sales contract: "This camper is fully acceptable on the listed truck (list the truck) despite the fact that the camper exceeds the manufacturers recommendations." See if he is willing to accept the liability for overloading the vehicle.
Sorry for the ranting, you must have touched a nerve.
In short, don't believe a salesman, do your own research and make up you own mind.
Mike L.
Before you completely panic fill the camper's water tank and your fuel tank full and re-weigh the combo, your rear axle weight won't go up as much as you think.
I too own a PSD powered F350 Super Duty. My truck is a supercab and ONLY weighs 7320 lbs with a full tank of fuel and one passenger.
I have been looking at tires to replace my 265/75-16 LRE Firestones. The ONLY tire with the same load rating is the BFG AT 295/75-16 LRD. Another option is a Goodyear G159LT 235/85-16 LRG (yes G). That tire is rated at 3705 lbs @ 110 psi. At that point your wheels become the weakest link in the chain.
I bought my truck to haul a slide-in camper, now I beginning to think more about another travel trailer (I used to own a 19' Airstream).
Good luck,
Steve
Besides Michelin, Cooper also sells a couple different E rated 265s.
$450??? Seems quite low, maybe a misprint.
(408)371-6063
Mike L
Either it's the end of the season, and no one is thinking about campers, or it's post-World Trade Center Stress Syndrome.
Mike L
Catch the Dempster Highway outside Dawson City and take it up to Inuvik. Midnight sun, 24 hour sun, empty, empty spaces.
Anyone interested? We don't mind traveling alone, but some folks would rather have company on a stretch of road like the Dempster.
Mike L
Up Warm Springs Canyon to see Striped Butte. Then out to the Racetrack, over Hunter Mountain and up the Saline Valley.
Of course, we would have to stop in Bishop and get some Sheepherder's Bread at Eric Schatt's Bakery. Good stuff, but hard to compare to a Maid-Rite. It must rank below Maid-Rites on my list of good things to eat.
The more I get out and travel, the less I want to come back and work.
This weekend, up to the Dardenells with the BMW M/C club.
Mike L
Early Sunday morning a couple asked if they could fill their water tank at our faucet since they did not wish to use the single faucet at the dump station. They were from Germany and in a motor home on a Mercedes chassis. It had been shipped from Germany to Baltimore and they were on their way back to load it on a freighter in Baltimore after an 11 month trip in the U.S. This was a beautifully made rig. 22 feet long, front engine turbo diesel, dual rear wheels, bus type front end. The large bed was raised in cabover style but was at the rear of the body over a large compartment accessed by a door from the side so that a motorcycle or bicycles could be easily loaded. The interior was of high quality with a separate shower stall, nice kitchen. No vinyl covered particle board, all solid wood with fine cabinets. It was clear that the intent of the design was to create a comfortable means of travel rather than a living room on wheels. The 4 seats looked like Recaro's. I would guess 7 to 7.5 feet wide, a fair rear overhang, and not the rig for a rough gravel road in the mountains. Of course if you have a motorcycle aboard......Also it must have cost a bundle! So for now I'm happy with our old Sunlight, especially since this is the second trip we have taken since repairing the leak in the black water tank and it seems to be holding.
I recommend Winhall Brook, Jamaica, Vt. to those who may be in the area. It is a first class campground.
Bob
Death Valley sounds tempting. I won't do it again with the big camper though. Plus I want to get a dog during that break. Hmm. I'll think about it.
Off to Little Basin this weekend. It's a company owned campground in the Redwoods. Way developed but nice, and free.
I wondered when you were going to find your new 4 legged friend. Good luck finding the right one. As my daughter would say, have you checked the Humane Society? They always have a good selection of animals that will be put to sleep if you don't save one.
Dorothy (HP Retired, you know) keeps talking about going to LB, but she never makes the reservations.
Later,
Mike L
Signed,
Fellow Dog Lover
location.
Haven't been back though since you were here.
Sorry 'bout not bringing the ketchup!!
See you next year are you saying??
Vince - Sure like the bright headlite change.
75v
Loren
As for requiring additional sensors, etc., modern cars AND trucks typically already have all the sensors and wiring in place. All that would really need to be added is MAYBE an additional microprocessor (cheap, and there're already a bucketful in your vehicle), and a display plus controls (this would be the highest expense; I'm guessing GM's cost would be maybe $75 for a pre-fabbed module from Delco, Delphi, or somebody like that). Take a look at what's being added to the newest generation vehicles: new electronic doodads galore as STANDARD equipment. Electronics are cheap and geting cheaper. Frankly, I sometimes think that what "camping" means to the current Program Managers at Ford and GM is taking a blanket and spending the night out on the veranda of their time-share in Los Cabos!
Sorry, gotta go - the folks in the white coats say I need a "time out" and that it's time for me to take my little blue pills. :-)
Dodge PU's have it. Course they had 4dr ExCab on the market and GM still put out the infamous 3 dr.
Goes along with their 26gal fuel tank i guess.
75v
But at 10mpg even that isn't toooo hard to figure in your head. (:-)
One thing the Silverado LT doesn't have is Inside Temperature read out. Found a nice one at Radio Shack (approx 1" x 3" & black with inside/outside high/low - i just put the outside probe at the rear of the overhead) that velcros nicely on the overhead Panel just above the map lites that is apparently going to be used for the trip computer in the futhre.
75v
We can get a coke out of the frig without popping the top of the Sunlight. We also can use the toilet (which comes in handy sometimes like last week when we were stalled in a long check-in line and the urge came upon us). With only a bit of contortion to avoid the folding mechanism bars we have prepared and eaten lunch in it with the top down while avoiding bad weather - like a big snowstorm at Crater Lake. We can use the furnace but don't light the stove with the top down. One night while in line for the Alaska Ferry in Juneau we slept in it with the top down since there was no way to unload the canoe from the boat rack. The two of us tried head to foot sleeping on the "divan" but I gave up and went to the floor for a better night's sleep.
If you believe the fuel injection doesn't meter the fuel accurately enough to calculate mileage, think again. The computer knows exactly (within the system tolerances - +/-??? 1% ???) how much fuel the engine is using. That is where the trip computers get the consumption data from.
Mike L
Be very careful of incorrect backspacing with your new wheels. You truck's stock wheels have about 5 inches of backspacing, Weld sells a wheel that will fit your truck but only has about 3 1/2 inches of backspacing. This wheel will physically fit but will cause many headaches in the long run.
As for an 8' Lance weighing 2000 lbs loaded, I suggest you visit Lance's website ( www.lancecampers.com ) and "build" your camper. 2600 lbs wet is more like it.
2500hd
Help,
2500hd
2. The little round stickon rubber insulators on the overload spring ends on the rear axle have fallen off. Have yawl experienced this? Working on getting the dealer to warranty. Guess they have some sort of slip on insulators....
The wide angle window in the rear door is an excellent option if you have a regular cab. With it and the stock mirrors there is no blind spot on anything 5' away from the truck. May try some clamp on mirror extensions. Have any of you guys tried them?
While in Iowa I had to try a Maid Rite after the discussion on the group. It must be an acquired taste (with or without ketchup). It wasn't bad, just kind of plain.
May have been the Maid Rite store you tried. My wife loved the Maid Rites from the first time.
My dad has always said the RC Willet camper he had was the best camper he ever had. No problems that he had to fix. Good luck with yours.
Mike L
Off the subject - If you go to Las Vegas in the next 8 months, stop at the Venetian hotel and check out the "The Art of the Motorcycle" exhibit put on by the Guggenheim Museum. The displays with 30' tall compound curve, mirrored walls; 30' tall poster of Ann Margaret, Marlon Brando; a mirrored road rising from the basement and flowing over your head on the main level; and 120 magnificent motorcycles.
We got in before it opened to the public because a friend of mine from Germany has a motorcycle in the exhibit. The Guggenheim flew Walter and his wife to Las Vegas, put them up at the Venetian and we got to tag along for the cost of the airline tickets. We spent 5 hours in the exhibits on Thursday and Friday. Sunday it opened to the public. Now it is $15/person.
Oh, they also have an exhibit of Picasso, Mattise, Chagal and more in the Guggenheim Heritage exhibits at the other end of the hotel. Unless you are really into modern art, stick with the motorcycles. The exhibits themselves are worth the price of admission.
Mike L
MikeL - I agree that the injector "on" time could easily be summed to get fuel consumption rate. I hadn't thought of that.
oltroll - I have a Coleman portable heater. It is a radiant heater with a reflector. It works well if you are in front of it, even outside. I haven't used it in a tent but I'm sure it would heat things up nicely. It does get hot enough to burn fabric if too close.
2500hd - I have Weld Sidewinder wheels and BFG load range D tires. My camper is about 2500lb loaded and is no problem for the tires at all. The wheels do stick out a little, I didn't want this either but it seems the wheel companies make a one-size-fits-all product and the stores swear it is exactly what you need, it will fit great... I didn't measure the original wheel backspacing until after I bought the new ones, but I probably would have bought them anyway. I do have trouble though but it's not been proven to be related to the backspacing. The new tire/wheel combination introduced a wobble that I can feel and that makes the steering wheel oscillate a little at the right speed. All 4 tires were replaced and it didn't fix it. The wheels were measured and are supposedly perfect. So I still have some investigating to do to get this solved. I would get the store to promise that the wheels won't cause any problem so you can return them if they do.
farmguy2001 - my neighbor has a shell which was used by the police for their dogs. It doesn't have a front window. Around the hole is a hefty rubber seal that presses against the truck. They say it is water tight. I would think the shell dealer could help you out with the correct type of seal. Keep in mind that it's quite noisy back there so you still want to be able to close the truck slider.
buzzb - I agree, the wide angle window in the door is great. I think it is a required safety feature. What model camper did you get? Does it have a toilet & holding tanks? Hot water?
I can crawl between the cab and the camper if I have to. Sometimes we pass food or other stuff between the camper and the cab.
Total cost was about $300-350 for both sliders and the boot.
The boot was listed in Whitney's for an older Ford truck. It is thicker at the top than at the bottom. It fit my new Silverado perfectly!!
Mike L