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Topic: Weight doubters..
Posted By: jaycocreek on 09/17/17 09:24am

I was one big time.I did not think I could get 1,000 lbs into my truck camper over the dry weight.Wrong!This is for the naysayer's as I once was.

I have had alot of truck campers in my years and never weighed any of them whether 1/2 3/4 or 1 tons.I just always did the mods and never had an issue but after I joined RV.net,weight/gvwr was a major topic.So living one block from the grain scales I started to think,why not for kicks.

I started this truck camper journey with a 1994 Ford F-350 dually(4600 lbs payload) with a not to worry about weight in picking out a camper,within reason.We found a Lance 480(9.6 ft) in our budget with a dry weight sticker of 2541 lbs.Then we put in everything we camp and hunt with including an extra stand alone battery..It is packed to the hilt along with most of my tools.

I weighed this morning on the way home from the store.Gas tanks full/propane tanks full and the water is full with just me in it...9600 pounds which gives me almost exactly 1000 pounds over the dry weight.I never thought in a million years I could get 1000 pounds extra in a pickup camper.

So bottom line is, as many have posted in the past,1000 lbs is a very good number to keep in mind when looking at truck campers versus there listed dry weights.I just did not believe it....The truck has all the camper special stuff like air bags/sway bars as a previous owner had a 10ft on it and did the mods including the happi-jack setup.

I am below all my weights including GVWR and axle etc but not by far..I never thought a 9.6 ft Lance camper without a slide could all but max out a 1 ton dually,even an older one.

[image]

A former doubter.[emoticon]

Lance 9.6
400 watts solar mounted/200 watts portable
500ah Lifep04

Posted By: SideHillSoup on 09/17/17 09:31am

When my wife packs the camper with out me keeping an eye on her.... it's 2000 lbs....
[emoticon]
Nice looking rig
Soup

2018 Northern Lite 8-11 EX Dry Bath
2017 Sierra SLE, 3500 HD / 4x4 / Duramax with a 6 speed Allison Trans
Torklift Super Hitch 20K, 48" Super Truss, front and rear frame mounted tie downs
Fast Gun Long Range SS Turnbuckles, Fast Gun locks

Posted By: hedge on 09/17/17 10:08am

I found the same thing. I was sure I was under all the capacities of my truck based on published numbers and estimates but the scale told the actual story.

Everyone should visit a scale, I think you'll be surprised.

2017 F350 Platinum DRW
2013 Adventurer 89RB

Posted By: Lwiddis on 09/17/17 10:24am

I've cut down to 50 pounds of bacon...for short trips.

Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad


Posted By: tattoobob on 09/17/17 10:48am

I have a 2005 F350 SRW GVW is 10500
my camper is a Lance 1010 camper weight = 27xx dry, wet its +/- 3500 I'm a minimalist so I only have what I need and most compartments are empty

The truck has upper and lower Stable loads and air bags

I go by tire rating and feel that the camper truck set up is perfect weight ratio

I use 20 pounds in the air bags

2005 Ford F350 SRW 4x4

2000 Lance 1010

Posted By: jaycocreek on 09/17/17 11:26am

Quote:

When my wife packs the camper with out me keeping an eye on her.... it's 2000 lbs


Isn't that the truth.[emoticon]

If I took out my wifes iron skillets alone,I could go Lance 1172..I just sold a 21 ft class c and storage wise,there isn't much difference other than in the bathroom but handling wise,the truck/camper combo is twice as stable on the curvy mountain roads I travel.On the class c I ran about 300 pounds over GVWR loaded for bear.

Posted By: Ivylog on 09/17/17 11:37am

Good thing I have 9,000 lbs of CCC as we have used more than half of it. 1000 lbs doesn't take all that much stuff.

This post is my opinion (free advice). It is not intended to influence anyone's judgment nor do I advocate anyone do what I propose.
Sold 04 Dynasty to our son after 14 great years.
Upgraded with a 08 HR Navigator 45’...
Posted By: Kayteg1 on 09/17/17 11:54am

I scaled my 11-11" camper to have almost 1500 lb of fresh water and our stuff in it. Dogs eat 20lb of dry food a month, why are we carrying 50 lb for 7000 miles?
I don't think we need 70lb of knifes and utensils neither, but try to explain that to significant other.




Posted By: burningman on 09/17/17 01:27pm

To know what you've packed in you need to scale the camper empty rather than believe the "dry weight" sticker. That factory dry weight doesn't include the A/C, any "options" whatsoever, no TP in the bathroom and probably not even the weight of the dry weight sticker itself.
You'll probably find your wife only packed 1500 pounds of stuff onboard!

By the way, if anyone wants to step up to a "who's wife can pack more stuff into a truck camper" challenge, count me in!
Maybe you DO need a dually to haul a pop-up.
Maybe if we were single we'd all drive half-tons.
Maybe... I better shut up.

2017 Northern Lite 10-2 EX CD SE
99 Ram 4x4 Dually Cummins
A whole lot more fuel, a whole lot more boost.
4.10 gears, Gear Vendors overdrive, exhaust brake
Built auto, triple disc, billet shafts.
Kelderman Air Ride, Helwig sway bar.


Posted By: joeshmoe on 09/17/17 02:12pm

burningman wrote:


By the way, if anyone wants to step up to a "who's wife can pack more stuff into a truck camper" challenge, count me in!
Maybe you DO need a dually to haul a pop-up.
Maybe if we were single we'd all drive half-tons.
Maybe... I better shut up.


someone will get in trouble if we start that thread.[emoticon]

mine has been slowly adding more and more "small" things. she treats it like it's an apt., not a camper for umm...camping. she's got fancy throw pillows, fancy comforter (my mistake. it's a duvet [emoticon]) and a bunch of other non-practical ****. if I were willing to fight about it, all I would need is a pillow, sleeping bag, boots/shoes and a few clothes. plus, whatever I need to cook with.

2014 Northwood Wolf Creek 850
2005 Ford F350 SRW SuperCab/LongBed 6.0 Powerstroke
QuickTrick's Towing Tune
Torklift Tie Downs/Fastguns/Upper/Lower Stableloads
Rancho 9000's

Posted By: TxGearhead on 09/17/17 03:10pm

My wife has the 5th wheel, I have the Bigfoot. I think she sorta looked in it once. Refuses to travel with it.
Oh well.

2018 Ram 3500 CC LB DRW 4X4 Cummins Aisin Laramie Pearl White
2018 Landmark Oshkosh
2008 Bigfoot 25C9.4
2014 NauticStar 21 ShallowBay 150HP Yamaha
2016 GoDevil 18X44 35HP Surface Drive

Posted By: thedavidzoo on 09/17/17 03:20pm

Hey, I'm the wife and I was the one weighing EVERYTHING that went into the camper for our Alaska trip. Haha. No 17 lbs of knives here! I weighed every hose, shoe, plate, sleeping bag, towel, cereal, steak, box of pasta, flashlight, soaps, tools, etc. I mean everything and that includes all electrical, Torklift, bed mat, that we added. Put it all in a spreadsheet. I just wanted to know where the weight was coming from, what we started off with, and where it makes sense to adjust if needed. Go ahead and laugh. OCD like that. [emoticon]

2014 Ram 3500 CrewCab Diesel DRW 4x4 4.10 Aisin, Torklift Fastguns, Upper Stableloads, Timbrens
2017 Northstar 12' STC
640W solar, 400Ah lithium LiFeMnPO4 batteries

Posted By: bighatnohorse on 09/17/17 03:50pm

Gun.
Knife.
Beer.
Meat.
Salt.

Just the essentials.

2021 Arctic Fox 1150
'15 F350 6.7 diesel dually long bed
Eagle Cap Owners
“The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity." -Yeats

Posted By: HioSSilver on 09/17/17 03:52pm

Last time i scaled my 2500hd silvy loaded it weighed 11k lb. And it's a 6.0 ecsb4x4 truck thats 6k empty. So that's 5k on the truck. The camper is a lance 845.

Here's the load. And there's a carrier on the front.

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r136/HioSSilver/phonepics3129.jpg


You may want to give this link a try for posting your photos. Photobucket is no longer our friend.

http://photoposting.is-great.net/?i=3

[image]

Wayne
Moderator

* This post was edited 09/17/17 05:09pm by an administrator/moderator *

Posted By: TxGearhead on 09/17/17 04:13pm

I had a 1982? F250 light duty, cast iron I-beams but a F150 rear axle. Single cab. 300 cu in straight 6 cylinder. 4 speed granny gear. Bought a 3rd hand cabover from a co-worker. Tejas 8ft., wood framed, aluminum siding and roof. Almost turned it over in Oklahoma. Put helper springs on it, maybe Helwig, Sears, or JC Whitney. Went all over...Yellowstone, Colorado, Arkansas.
I had no clue what a Cat scale was. Never weighed it. I'm sure it was overloaded now. When I sold the truck, the trans synchros were gone and the rear axle was whining.
One thing I do know, I was not the first, or last, 32 year old that just "did it".

Posted By: SidecarFlip on 09/17/17 06:32pm

Why I sold my Lance (just like the above picture) and bought a pop up. The Lance was a tank and I have a beefed up F350 with a 7.3 and a stack of leaf springs in the front and back that look military...

We minimalist pack, no iron anything, all aluminum cookware, plastic plates, disposable cups and glasses, only carry enough food for 2 days, Wal Marts everywhere. Clothes don't weigh much, neither do towels. 2 rolls of TP, 25 gallons of FW, i bottle of propane, weather radio, handgun, 75 pound genny and a partridge in a pear tree...

Never weighed it but I don't think I have even close to 1000 pounds of stuff.

2015 Backpack SS1500
1997 Ford 7.3 OBS 4x4 CC LB

Posted By: JIMNLIN on 09/17/17 07:36pm

Great looking combo. I'm not a Ford guy but I always thought those model years looked clean (not a chrome overload) and good lines front to back.

Just curious but what was the old trucks dry axle weight numbers.

"good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" ............ Will Rogers

'03 2500 QC Dodge/Cummins HO 3.73 6 speed manual Jacobs Westach
'97 Park Avanue 28' 5er 11200 two slides

Posted By: zcookiemonstar on 09/17/17 09:42pm

I put a big dent in that 1000lbs by just putting myself in the truck!

Posted By: thomas201 on 09/18/17 06:36am

Don't forget, if you complain too much about wife stuff, you will end up full timing in the camper without the wife and the duvet to keep you warm.

Posted By: SidecarFlip on 09/18/17 07:43am

thomas201 wrote:

Don't forget, if you complain too much about wife stuff, you will end up full timing in the camper without the wife and the duvet to keep you warm.


What the furnace is for......[emoticon]

Posted By: Kayteg1 on 09/18/17 09:15pm

I prefer evening campfire and goose down in the bed.

Posted By: towpro on 09/19/17 05:26am

jaycocreek wrote:

I.We found a Lance 480(9.6 ft) in our budget with a dry weight sticker of 2541 lbs.Then we put in everything we camp and hunt with including an extra stand alone battery..It is packed to the hilt along with most of my tools.

I weighed this morning on the way home from the store.Gas tanks full/propane tanks full and the water is full with just me in it...9600 pounds which gives me almost exactly 1000 pounds over the dry weight.I never thought in a million years I could get 1000 pounds extra in a pickup camper.
A former doubter.[emoticon]


I bet its not as bad as you think. empty the camper and weigh it again. bet it weighs closer to 3000 empty.

2022 Ford F150
Sold: 2016 Arctic Fox 990, 2018 Ram 3500, 2011 Open Range
Sold Forest River Forester 2401R Mercedes Benz. when campsites went from $90 to $190 per night.

Posted By: SidecarFlip on 09/19/17 07:27am

Lance's usually are quite a bit heavier than their RIVA weight sticker states, but then that seems to be pretty much SOP with truck campers, some more than others.

Posted By: JIMNLIN on 09/19/17 07:49am

Quote:

I bet its not as bad as you think. empty the camper and weigh it again. bet it weighs closer to 3000 empty.

I would add ....and all the gear/addons out of or off the truck would give a better shot at how much the TC actual dry vs wet weight.

I see many claim their TC weighs xxxx lbs but their including gear and stuff/necessary junk/etc we carry in or added to the truck.

example;; Two hi-lift jacks/2-3 jerry cans/tow chains/gen set/heavy custom bumpers/etc I've seen on some TC combo's I've seen in CO/UT/NM isn't part of the TC's actual weight but rather how much the combo weighs.

Posted By: mkirsch on 09/19/17 08:17am

towpro wrote:

I bet its not as bad as you think. empty the camper and weigh it again. bet it weighs closer to 3000 empty.


This.

If it makes you feel any better a good portion of the 1000lbs is not your fault, and there's nothing you could have done about it.

Lance doesn't weigh their individual campers as equipped. They just put a generic weight on each camper based on the prototype model with base equipment.

Putting 10-ply tires on half ton trucks since aught-four.

Posted By: Kayteg1 on 09/19/17 09:19am

SidecarFlip wrote:

Lance's usually are quite a bit heavier than their RIVA weight sticker states, but then that seems to be pretty much SOP with truck campers, some more than others.


Fleetwood is no longer in business, but I found info that Caribou come with 3800 lb weight.
Just before picking it up I found local CAT scales, weight the pickup and then come back with the camper.
Winterized camper, about 30% of propane weight 4200lb.

Posted By: SidecarFlip on 09/19/17 09:30am

400 pounds of 'stuff' that wasn't there...lol

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