joebedford
Home for the summer.
Senior Member
Joined: 09/03/2003
View Profile
|
I've been hauling a 5er for 20 years and frankly I'm getting tired of it. I've been thinking of leaving my 5er down south and travelling to / from it for the winter; in fact we done it once already. Our 5er is a toy hauler (2 Harleys) so we got a 16 foot cargo trailer to haul the bikes (about 5000lbs all up). We really didn't like having to stay in motels 4 nights in a row (too much stuff to carry for us and the cats).
I'm thinking about getting a truck camper so we can stay in it vs. motels.
I'll be the first to admit that while I know a lot about RVing, I know next to nothing about truck campers. My very first question is this: will a camper fit OK on top of the 5er hitch rails? The hitch is easy to get out but not the rails.
My second question is: is it reasonable to expect my 2011 Silverado 3500HD CCLB dually diesel to handle a camper and a 5000 pound cargo trailer?
Thanks in advance.
|
happycamper1942
Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
Senior Member
Joined: 05/30/2004
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
 Offline
|
I had both a fiver and a truck camper for many years. I used to take the hitch out of the truck and lay a framework of 2"x4"s in the bed. This was enough to raise the camper above the rails. It worked fine.
2008 Ford F350 crew cab short box PSD, 2021 TravelAir 90W camper
|
LadyRVer
Florida
Senior Member
Joined: 09/04/2007
View Profile
Offline
|
I bought a new truck camper back in 2019. Knew nothing about truck campers. I did research the payload of the bed of my 2500 HD Dodge Ram crew cab, long bed. I found a truck camper that came in about 800# less than the payload, which was great. Allowed for "some" stuff. Turned out it was a perfect match with air bags installed. No sway. So, I would suggest researching the payload of your truck bed and go from there. I would think pulling the 5000# trailer, IMO, would be OK.
I agree with HappyCamper...2x4's in truck bed should allow for the rails.
|
joebedford
Home for the summer.
Senior Member
Joined: 09/03/2003
View Profile
|
LadyRVer wrote:I would think pulling the 5000# trailer, IMO, would be OK. The 5er I pull is 19,000lbs but I suspect its pin weight is less than a truck camper and a trailer.
|
Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
Senior Member
Joined: 05/06/2013
View Profile
Offline
|
Yes and yes but you’ll have to pad up the truck bed to bury the rails.
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold
|
|
|
mkirsch
Rochester, NY
Senior Member
Joined: 04/09/2004
View Profile
|
joebedford wrote:My second question is: is it reasonable to expect my 2011 Silverado 3500HD CCLB dually diesel to handle a camper and a 5000 pound cargo trailer?
Depends on what you get for a camper.
Considering you're used to a giant 5th wheel, you probably won't be happy with a basic 8' camper even "roughing it" for 4 days. You'll probably fall in love with one of the 6000lb triple slide behemoths.
If you can settle on one of the middle ground campers, no problem.
Have you considered what you will do with the camper while you're wintering in the 5th wheel?
Putting 10-ply tires on half ton trucks since aught-four.
|
Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
Senior Member
Joined: 05/06/2013
View Profile
Offline
|
joebedford wrote:LadyRVer wrote:I would think pulling the 5000# trailer, IMO, would be OK. The 5er I pull is 19,000lbs but I suspect its pin weight is less than a truck camper and a trailer.
Your truck will have no problem with any TC save for maybe the biggest ones on the market. And even those will haul, but will be heavier than your pin weight.
Figure 3-4klb for anything hardside no slide that’s longer than 8’. And 4-5k for any of the 9-10’ with a slide out.
|
joebedford
Home for the summer.
Senior Member
Joined: 09/03/2003
View Profile
|
mkirsch wrote:Have you considered what you will do with the camper while you're wintering in the 5th wheel? I'm hoping to leave it on the truck. If not possible, there's on site storage.
We can use our motorcycles for most things; last winter we only drove the truck maybe once a week
|
3 tons
NV.
Senior Member
Joined: 03/13/2009
View Profile
Offline
|
Some campers (fully loaded for bear) may be heavier than your 5er’s pin-weight, particularly if it has a slide-out, so review your rear tire’s load capacity…
3 tons
|
joebedford
Home for the summer.
Senior Member
Joined: 09/03/2003
View Profile
|
The sticker on the truck says 4841lbs payload. I'm not sure but I think each tire can handle around 2500lbs in dually configuration.
So, no, I know I won't have a camper with three slides, etc. The Northern Lite 10-2EX Limited Edition weight 3360lbs and it would satisfy our needs - no slides.
|
|
|
