scout4trout
Cody, WY
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We have a 2017 Northern Lite 8-11 Sportsman, and there is very little weight difference between the Sportsman and the Special Edition, so I'd go with the SE if you are seriously considering the Northern lite. Ours weighs 2,640 dry and the options we have include the rear awning which is really a necessity, electric jacks, rear bumper with step, cab-thru window and TV antenna. Northern Lite has not updated the Sportsman weights in several years, and they've gotten heavier. Also the glass thermopane windows with blinds weigh more. We prefer the Sportsman because we wanted the glass windows and didn't want some of the options that come with the SE. Good luck with whatever you decide.
2017 Ford F250 XL STX SCSB 6.2 gas with camper package, Torklift Tiedowns & Fast Guns, Airbags, payload 3,436
2017 Northern Lite 8'11"Q Sportsman with preferred options
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SidecarFlip
SE Michigan
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Sliding-into-home wrote:whizbang wrote:Sliding-into-home,
You are going to be over weight. Period.
Your first step is to weight your truck with a full tank and you, but with the tail gate removed (my guess 7500#). Get the weights separately for both the front and rear axel.
The loaded 990 will be at least 4500 pounds. I agree with the other poster who said you will be 500 pounds over weight. I think it will be a bit more than that. Possibly 1000 pounds.
Other folks on this forum are more informed on current camper specs.
Just start a new post that includes for truck weights and go from there.
(FYI --- We had a F350 CC LB 4x4 with the 6.8 gasser that is lighter than your diesel. We had a 1996 Alpenlite that is lighter than a 990. We weighed 11,400 with my wife and I and two small dogs).
I hear ya. And if it looks like we'll weigh anywhere close to that, I don't plan to intentionally travel overloaded. I don't plan to intentionally travel overloaded.
Keep in mind though, we won't be camping like most folks. We'll be 2 hours from home for one night at a time. No AC unit, no awnings, 5 gallons of water, 1 can of LPG. We could probably even get away carrying one extra battery instead of the generator.
All this having been said, I am leaning slightly toward a northern lite sportsman at this point, because it wouldn't require any special workarounds, not to mention its suitability for the winter conditions.
Guess you'll be parked all the time somewhere....lol
2015 Backpack SS1500
1997 Ford 7.3 OBS 4x4 CC LB
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Sliding-into-home
PDX
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SidecarFlip wrote:Sliding-into-home wrote:I don't plan to intentionally travel overloaded.
Guess you'll be parked all the time somewhere....lol
No, as in, I won't buy a camper that will result in being intentionally overloaded. I know overloading is a heated issue at times on these, and other forums, but it's not relevant to this post because it's not a risk I'm willing to take from a legal liability standpoint.
It seems that my tire loading sticker is the biggest limiting factor. I will look into what the door sticker will be with my next set of tires, and be sure to stay under that. I agree it doesn't look like that will happen with the AF 990.
I'm glad I posted here because I totally forgot about that tire sticker and was thinking strictly of the 11,500 GVWR, which I do think I could pull off with careful loading. Either way, I'll keep you all updated with pictures from weigh scales and such!
If I need to go lighter (and yes, I'm not debating I probably do!) any thoughts on where I go from here? I can convince my wife to sacrifice the slide if need be, and in that case, I'd lean toward the 9'6' Northern Lite. But perhaps the Adventurer 89RBS or Lance 995 would be slide models that could be close.
Again, as you consider your recommendations (and I'm definitely open to hearing others!), please keep in mind that I'm serious when I say I'm ordering a TC that's as stripped-down as possible and not carrying more than a few gallons of water. In fact, I could likely get away with carrying no water and filling up a jug when I get to the mountain.
Thanks for all the great info so far.
2017 F-350, CC/LB/SRW
2018 Northern Lite 9-6 SE
Upper StableLoads (for now)
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jaycocreek
Idaho
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Quote:No, as in, I won't buy a camper that will result in being intentionally overloaded. I know overloading is a heated issue at times on these, and other forums, but it's not relevant to this post because it's not a risk I'm willing to take from a legal liability standpoint.
It is hard to do if not impossible with a F-350 SRW with TC with a slide..
Example:
My F-350 DRW has a payload listed on the door at 4600 lbs..I do not think there is a SRW with that amount of payload.Point,my 9.6 Lance non-slide with a listed weight of 2582 pounds loaded ready to camp and with my tools/passengers/horse mat etc and gas tank filled up on the truck,is within a couple hundred pounds of being Max GVRW..
Any slide TC would Max or even over Max my listed weights(GVRW) with it empty..I would be over weight with the AF-990 and the Lance 995 if I payed attention to the manufacturers ratings.
You will be over weight with either the AF-990 or the Lance 995 on your SRW..But many do it with less truck than you have.
Lance 9.6
400 watts solar mounted/200 watts portable
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TxGearhead
Texas
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If I was buying another one the NL Sportsman would be on the short list. You may want to look at the Bigfoot 1500 series as well.
My F350 SRW CC 4X4 diesel payload was 3267. I overloaded that with the Montana 5th wheel and went to RAM SRW with 4018 payload and now the dually since I got the Bigfoot.
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
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3TV
Rocky Mountains
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Arctic Fox does not make a camper that is light enough for single rear wheel pickup trucks. They're all overweight. But if you like the Northwood Manufacturing quality, and can get buy without a slide, take a look at Northwood's Wolf Creek line of truck campers. They have a lower price point, but more importantly, also have a lower weight point, and work better on single rear wheel pickup trucks.
My truck is similar to yours, and I have no problems with a Wolf Creek 840 (dry weight 2000 lbs, wet weight 3000 lbs). The payload listed on my trucks door sticker is 3552 lbs. Here it is on my last trip.
![[image]](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4817/45029089785_6798f92253_b.jpg)
2019 Ram 3500 Crew Cab Laramie SWB 4x4
2020 Lance 825
2021 Grand Design Momentum 350G
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GeoBoy
Bennington
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What about a AF865 or a Northstar TC?
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jimh406
Western MT
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Slides are 250 to 500 more than a similar length limit. I don’t find that significant. It all depends on the depth and what is in the slide.
You don’t mention why you want a TC. TCs are better if you are spending the majority of your time outside. Why not a travel trailer? Are you planning on towing something?
'10 Ford F-450, 6.4, 4.30, 4x4, 14,500 GVWR, '06 Host Rainer 950 DS, Torklift Talon tiedowns, Glow Steps, and Fastguns. Bilstein 4600s, Firestone Bags, Toyo M655 Gs, Curt front hitch, Energy Suspension bump stops.
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Sliding-into-home
PDX
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Joined: 11/18/2018
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jaycocreek wrote:Quote:No, as in, I won't buy a camper that will result in being intentionally overloaded. I know overloading is a heated issue at times on these, and other forums, but it's not relevant to this post because it's not a risk I'm willing to take from a legal liability standpoint.
It is hard to do if not impossible with a F-350 SRW with TC with a slide..
Example:
My F-350 DRW has a payload listed on the door at 4600 lbs..I do not think there is a SRW with that amount of payload.Point,my 9.6 Lance non-slide with a listed weight of 2582 pounds loaded ready to camp and with my tools/passengers/horse mat etc and gas tank filled up on the truck,is within a couple hundred pounds of being Max GVRW..
Any slide TC would Max or even over Max my listed weights(GVRW) with it empty..I would be over weight with the AF-990 and the Lance 995 if I payed attention to the manufacturers ratings.
You will be over weight with either the AF-990 or the Lance 995 on your SRW..But many do it with less truck than you have.
Good info here, and I appreciate the acknowledgement at the end. Certainly, the dealer would be happy to send me down the road without considering the door sticker. Seems to be industry standard that if you upgrade suspension/air-bags, that the sticker no longer applies, but I know if I were a lawyer for an insurance company, I'd definitely disagree.
TxGearhead wrote:If I was buying another one the NL Sportsman would be on the short list. You may want to look at the Bigfoot 1500 series as well.
My F350 SRW CC 4X4 diesel payload was 3267. I overloaded that with the Montana 5th wheel and went to RAM SRW with 4018 payload and now the dually since I got the Bigfoot.
A NL rec from a bigfoot owner carries some weight! I liked both when I looked at them. I liked the NL just a little bit more in terms of perceived build quality (whatever that means...). Visually, The Big Foot looked nicer on the inside and out, but it was also off-gassing quite a bit from production. Not sure if it was just a lot newer than the NL, but the dealer thought it was a factor of the wood materials used.
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Sliding-into-home
PDX
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3TV wrote:Arctic Fox does not make a camper that is light enough for single rear wheel pickup trucks. They're all overweight. But if you like the Northwood Manufacturing quality, and can get buy without a slide, take a look at Northwood's Wolf Creek line of truck campers. They have a lower price point, but more importantly, also have a lower weight point, and work better on single rear wheel pickup trucks.
My truck is similar to yours, and I have no problems with a Wolf Creek 840 (dry weight 2000 lbs, wet weight 3000 lbs). The payload listed on my trucks door sticker is 3552 lbs. Here it is on my last trip.
Hmmm... This is interesting to me because I really liked the layout of the Wolf 850. I love the couch/bench dinette instead of the face-to-face. I would take out the table and have a pretty decent amount of room for kid to put on ski boots and just to get in and get out of the way!
I was shocked that the dealer said the quality is nowhere near AF. Are they not made in the same factory by the same people?! I don't really care if it's not as well insulated or doesn't have as many bells/whistles, so I'm hoping that was the only reason he said such a thing.
By the way, I like your truck!
![[image]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/E5P62uvQh13aQSgw8td6b6B79KUNSo7kzUkFSNZnHD2xpatmjtztmmEnhy1QBpU4xDGpqyzk7SENKVzA9YysK1j0ByxVufjzMEBHdYFNrkgdaKuD9sOZIyUs8roAwrqDaEQXoL5WWDI=w1321-h643-no)
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