Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
Options
Cabover Campers & Camper Trailers (pickups)
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
Tundradude - How about some info on your new rig? Was it new or used? Was there something wrong with the old trailer? Inquiring minds want to know.
Jim
I promptly got stuck on one of the side roads. The snow was in patches on the road, and I didn't realize how deep it was in the last patch I attempted to cross. It wasn't very bright of me to attempt it. The truck came with street tires and I have been waiting for them to wear out before buying some all-terrain tires. As I started across the snow the truck got high centered and the tires didn't have enough grip to keep me going or to back up. Once I lost traction it was all over. It took several hours to get out. I got stuck about 4 in the afternoon and it was dark thirty by the time I got out. There was, of course, no moon, so it was Dark with a capital D. And did I say cold?
I'm glad I have the camper - it took the anxiety out of the possibility of spending the night. I was planning on spending the night anyway, just not stuck in a snow bank.
I was thinking one of those high lift jacks would have come in handy, but I don't think the bumper on my truck it strong enough to support one of those. Do you think the tow hooks would work with a high lift jack? The tow hooks look heavy duty and should be able to take the strain of supporting the front of the truck.
Jim
"There is a fixed amount of intelligence in the universe, and the population keeps growing."
I also found some snow this weekend. I picked a spot on the map I haven't been to - Shaver lake east of Fresno. It's at 5400 feet on had plenty of snow. So. Cal Edison runs a campground there that they keep open all year by plowing. It's a nice place off-season but a little pricey. Probably crowded in-season. Here's a picture.
It looks like you have steel wheels. I don't know their rating but I wouldn't worry about it. They've worked fine so far with the load you carry. You could find some aftermarket steel rims and see what the typical rating is.
The "weight carrying capacity" of a tire is a function of how much air it holds. A larger tire at lower air pressure holds the same amount of air as a smaller tire at higher pressure.
An "E" tire is "tougher" than a "D" tire, so the manufacturer can certify it to be mechanically sound at a higher air pressure. Thus, a 245/75R16 load range E tire at 80psi has the same weight carrying capacity as a 265/75R16 load range D tire at 65psi.
If you go to the BF Goodrich Tires site (www.bfgoodrichtires.com) and download the .PDF file for the All-Terrain T/A, you will get a wondeful comparison of size/load range/weight capacity combinations.
Also, what are your experiences with an anti sway bar?
Sorry for all of the questions but you sound knowledgeable.
Thanks
Ronnie
I feel the roof should be resealed on a regular basis. I really don't know how long but somewhere around 5 years seems good. A visual inspection is the best way to tell when it's needed. A good source of information is the service manager at your Lance dealer. Those guys see it all and know the real truth.
As far as sway bars go, I consider them required equipment if you are carrying a camper. For not much money you improve the handling and safety of your rig without loss of ride when unloaded. The truck always comes with a front bar but usually not a rear one. If you want to read some outdated (they redesigned the bar) information on a Hellwig bar, click on the bar link at http://members.home.net/vofm.
What do you think of your Lance 1010 and what are you hauling it with?
Thanks,
Steve
When its used it sits onto of a 2000 K2500 Chef Extra cab. Ye, I'm overweight by about 900 lbs.with the wife and kids and everything else in the load. I don't seem to have any problems we made a 6,000 mile trip from northern Wisc. to the state of Washington and back and I really felt the truck and camper were an excellent match. The Lance dealer installed air bags and they are really nice. Although sway isn't a big problem I'm going to install a sway bar before we start camping this summer. I would have done that last summer but Hellwig didn't have the ones for my truck when we left. The truck has the 6.0Liter engine and seems to have enough power for most of the things I run across. Going up the mountain passes I shifted into second gear and went the same speed as everyone else. Believe it or not this rig has more get up and go than the '95 had with the sunlite. I ordered that truck with a 350 and I swear I got a 305 instead. All in all I'm really pleased with this package.
Good luck on your decision
Ronnie
Ronnie, in your post you say you ordered with all the options except "air,Ben and the fiberglass outer walls" did you mean to say generator? Am I correct in assuming that you have a "normal" K2500 Chevrolet, as in an 8600 lb GVWR?
As for the rubber bumpers on the front of the camper try spraying a little silicon spray on the rubber bumpers right before you load the camper.
Also regarding rear sway bars. Addco sells one as well and it may fit better than the Hellwig.
Steve
The April issue of Popular Mechanics has a reference to it. The stuff is called "3M Scotchcal energy absorbent thermoplastic urethane film." It supposedly does not yellow, doesn't harm your paint, and will peel off with no difficulty when you're ready to remove it. They even have a $1000 paint protection guarantee.
The website to check it out is: http://www.xpel.com
Jim
"You can lead a horse to water, but if you can get him to float on his back you've really got something."
Check out this site. http://www.superhitch.com/ They list tiedowns for Silverados, you'll have to check if they fit your HD. My problem with these tiedowns is the forward chain looks like it will block the fuel door.
Is your truck an extended cab? What kind of speed do you normally drive at? Do you happen to have a picture of your rig you can email me?
Thanks, Steve
Mike
caveman, that is very good mpg. I get 9-11.5 with a 9.4' Lance on a 2000 2500 4wd 4.10 auto 6.0. Usually it's about 10. Drive 65-70 on the freeway.
Yes, it is an extended cab. I can drive 65 to 70 on the interstates most of the time. On other roads it just depends on everything. I do have a nice picture and a scanner but have no idea how to e-mail the picture. If you can tell me how I will send it.
Mark
I normally carry a slide in truck camper that I have had from Ohio to Tennessee and in the mountains of New York and Maine. I am very happy with the performance of the 6.0. I also have a 27.5 ft 5th wheel trailer that I pulled one time in Ohio that probably weighted 6500 lbs when I pulled it. I can definitely tell the difference in the weight but the truck still did OK. It would be much more noticible in the mountains but under most circumstances the wt that I have in my trailer which would be over 7,000 lbs fully loaded would be about the limit for that engine.On thing, the truck has very good brakes.
tkanks, Mark
We took the back ends off of 2.5 gallon water containers and they work great! One container has margarine, jelly, mustard, relish, mayo, another has lunch meats, cheeses, etc.
I cut the back 3" or so off the water containers and my wife keeps saying, 'We need one more of those containers'. I think we have about 5 of them in that little refig.
Mike L
For us, this makes it easy to access everything, and it keeps small items from rolling behind the salad dressing.
We visited the Race Rock Cafe - they have alot of real race cars hanging on the walls and off the ceiling, including a couple of Top Fuel rails, several Nascar cars, Sprints, Indy cars, and more. The line was too long to eat there, but it was worth walking through.
We also went to the Imperial Palace car display. Admission is $6, but we stopped and asked how to get to the display and were given free passes! It would have been OK for $6, but it was great for free.
On the way home, we detoured through San Diego. Went to the world famous zoo, and checked out the Auto Museum in Balboa Park. A small display of quality cars and motorcycles and automobilia. It was also free day at the San Diego Model Train Club... Man, what a series of displays!! O gauge, S gauge, HO gauge, N gauge, and Lionel 3 track. Some of the layouts took 2500 sq ft or more. And they are still adding on!
Went to a very good little Mexican restaraunt in Chula Vista - Casa Don Diego, 1199 3rd St - highly reccomended if you are ever in the area.
Well, I better go unpack the camper before I get caught here!
Mike L
Do you recommend the zoo? I've been meaning to get down there but have not made it so far.
The weather seal is one strip of foam tape you have to stick around the opening. It's up to you to make it bend 90 degrees around the corners. Then only 4 bolts from inside to hold the unit down and compress the foam. Of course the foam isn't compressed much in the middle. Plus the screw holes from the original vent are outside of the foam so it's up to you to seal those somehow. I put sealer and screws in the holes. I think I'm going to make a 90 degree seal between the side of the unit and the roof using Snow Roof and nylon webbing. Kind of messy but functional as a second seal.
It isn't too noisy but the air flow is a little hard to direct. It doesn't really put out a huge amount of air from each vent but not bad. I'll have to wait for the heat to see how effective it is. I do like the fact that it has a low profile on the roof so I won't catch trees much more than I do now. I put a few pics on my site.
http://members.home.net/vofm/camper/swamp1.jpg
http://members.home.net/vofm/camper/swamp2.jpg
http://members.home.net/vofm/camper/swamp3.jpg
We went into the casino's. Actually lost $1 in a slot and made $2 in another machine. You have to go through the casino to get to the Stratosphere viewing platform, or to the Imperial Palace Auto Collection.
The SD Zoo is worth visiting. Be prepared to walk a lot! It is a big place. Don't take the bus unless you want to walk back and check out all the little exhibits the bus misses. Get there early, and don't go on a week that kids are out of school (like before or after Easter). We got there at 9am opening and left at 3pm so we could go over to the Auto Museum and Train exhibits. You could easily spend all day there.
I found you a really nice 5/8" split lockwasher. Or do you only collect flat washers?
We stayed in RV parks. Averaged about $20/night. We plugged in every night and used our little electric heater. It is much quieter than the furnace and since the electric is essentially free, we saved the propane.
Congrats on the screaming deal of the year on the swamp cooler!
Mike L
No rust I hope.
Has anyone ever used nylon insert lockwashers instead of split washers to hold the trailer ball to the hitch? I sometimes put a ball on my tractor drawbar and would like to be able to get it off more easily. Also, does anyone have a source for large diameter nylon insert nuts?
Thanks
Ross
The nylon does not function as a locking device. It's function is to prevent a nut that has come loose from free spinning and coming completely off the fastener. Usually that means you have to wrench a nylon locking nut all the way off, it won't spin off until the nylon is completely off the threads.
A slotted nut and cotter pin with an appropriate hole drilled in the ball might work better for you. The cotter pin will prevent loosening of the nut, and with the cotter pin removed the nut will spin free once you loosen it.
If you still want a nylon locknut, McMaster-Carr carries them up to 1 1/2". They also carry the slotted nuts up to 2"
www.mcmaster.com
Most of my towing is pretty much flatland, except for occassional trips to the Texas hill country. Any opinions on whether my 3.73 axle will be OK for pulling the new 6500# trailer, or will I/should I upgrade to a 4.10 gear set?
Also, I'm always mystified by the towing tests I see in Trailer Life magazine. They've shown my truck in various tests with acceleration times 0 to 60 MPH of 20 to 25 seconds or less while pulling a 6000# or higher trailer weight, yet the best I can do pulling my current 5000# rig is about 30 seconds. They even had a test on a Toy Tundra pulling a 6300# trailer 0-60 in 19 seconds - what's up with that?!
Any opinions on either topic would be appreciated.
You have more engine and more gear than he has. You won't have any problems, certainly none worth the $700-1000 a gear change would cost.
Mike L
Whats a good brand/web site to look at floor plans and creature comforts for pop-up's that fit a Short Bed these days? In Iowa--
Do they make them for SB's??
Or do you use 8'and go with tail gate down??
HD 4x4 LT 8100/alli/3.73 SB
75v
POPUP:
http://www.fourwheelcampers.com/
http://www.palominorv.com/
http://www.phoenixcampers.com/index.html
http://sunliteinc.com/
http://www.northstarcampers.com/
http://www.alaskancamper.com
http://www.lite-craftcampers.com
http://www.hallmarkrv.com/
Good luck,
Mike L
Well, I guess it doesn't make a lot of difference anyway. The truck pulls the trailer well, its real stable and I can cruise easy at 65mph if I want to.
Just wish I had waited 1 more year and ordered the HD version. I see the HD is only available with a 4.10 axle when you get the 6.0 engine.
I didn't buy any gas in Monterey because it was too expensive and when I got to Cambria I didn't have a choice. 19+ gallons $40. Ouch!
Jim