We run an arctic fox 990 on whatever dually of the month I own at the time. 18’ car hauler with whatever rig of the month I own ☹️. Homemade hitch extension and camper tie downs. A bunch of miles on this set up and we love it. I would be hesitant to take miles of backcountry Baja with my set up, but wouldn’t be at all worried with a set up like you are looking at.
Towing a car hauler (Jeep) with a slide-in camper
- Thread starter Greg
- Start date
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
I'm looking at 1,800# slide-ins... I'll be OK.
I have no real input I’m just being a millennial 😂
I have heard that most of the ones that are having frame issues have either been welded on or drilled but it’s just hearsay to me.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
The famous pic of the Dodge with a broken frame is hauling an Eagle Cap, weighing in at 5000#'s dry... plus, he had a motorcycle on a hitch hauler, so around 300# more, bouncing around on the very back of the truck.
More than a couple guys have brought up GVW, rated load capacity, etc. I get it... I'm keeping that in mind.
Broken Ram 3500 Dually Shows a Camper Can Still Overload a Big Truck
This Ram 3500 is awaiting a $17,000 repair job after an enormous slide-in camper snapped its frame.
www.thedrive.com
- Location
- Grantsville, Utah
Loaded up for camping, I promise you there is another 1k of weight in that camper. It’s just too much cantilevered weight swinging around on that frame.The famous pic of the Dodge with a broken frame is hauling an Eagle Cap, weighing in at 5000#'s dry... plus, he had a motorcycle on a hitch hauler, so around 300# more, bouncing around on the very back of the truck.
More than a couple guys have brought up GVW, rated load capacity, etc. I get it... I'm keeping that in mind.
Broken Ram 3500 Dually Shows a Camper Can Still Overload a Big Truck
This Ram 3500 is awaiting a $17,000 repair job after an enormous slide-in camper snapped its frame.
View attachment 156348
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Totally agree, especially for a trip to Baja. Plus, the roads down there are atrocious.
- Location
- Grantsville, Utah
The smaller campers like you’re considering would be more like 500, but that roomy bitch would get packed full with any female involved in the packing.
I may be wrong in my paradigm, but in my opinion a 3500 frame should be designed overkill from factory enough that it’s not ever considered to be the weak link when applied with a load like that, in my opinion the suspension should be. I get that that is a larger slide-in camper but I guess I fail to see why the dodge shouldn’t be able to handle it.
I mean what’s the correct truck at that point, a 4500, 5500? Are people really going to purchase a 4/5500 for that camper? I don’t think many would.
Is the motorcycle the straw that broke the camels back? I understand leverage but still think the truck frame breaking isn’t fully “yeah I can see that happening” to me.
Not to start a brand debate but im curious as to how a F350 or Chevy 3500 would fare in the same scenario.
Either way, weights and rating are there for a reason, I know, and steel isn’t invincible.
I mean what’s the correct truck at that point, a 4500, 5500? Are people really going to purchase a 4/5500 for that camper? I don’t think many would.
Is the motorcycle the straw that broke the camels back? I understand leverage but still think the truck frame breaking isn’t fully “yeah I can see that happening” to me.
Not to start a brand debate but im curious as to how a F350 or Chevy 3500 would fare in the same scenario.
Either way, weights and rating are there for a reason, I know, and steel isn’t invincible.
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- Location
- Grantsville, Utah
If you KNOW you’re gonna haul that large of a camper before you buy the truck, then you should be looking at the 4500 and 5500. Those two trucks have a much higher payload than a 3500.
The story I heard on the Ram above was that he thought the payload was higher than it was and thought he was fine. The camper alone was at least 1k over his payload rating when loaded up for camping. Toss a 5-600 lbs motorcycle on a hitch extension behind the camper and he could be getting close to 150% payload capacity.
The camper tie-downs probably played heavily into the problem, since they put a lot of tension in a pretty small area on that frame. If the frame was drilled for mounting those extensions…
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Start a thread, compare similar spec'd trucks (diesel, 4WD, etc) and run the numbers.
J Kimmel
Registered User
- Location
- Glenwood Springs, CO
I just picked up a palomino backpack. Weighs in at 1800 dry so I’ll let you know how it goes with my 20’ flatbed and buggy.
I wanted exactly what you’re looking for.
I wanted exactly what you’re looking for.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
A Palomino Backpack is what I've been looking at. What truck are you using it on?
Pile of parts
Well-Known Member
- Location
- South Jordan
This is what I heard too. The manufacturers advertise highest cargo capacity and tow ratings. The fine print is which model gets the highest rating. In my year truck, the regular cab, 2wd, dually, 6.4 hemi has the highest cargo capacity while the regular cab, 2wd, dually with the HO Cummins has the highest tow rating. It's the same with campers. The base model weight is published but you have to read the fine print to see what the added options weigh. And you'd be surprised to find what items are considered options and how quickly the weight adds up.
The one thing I would suggest is not going overly tall with tires or lift. Even with a light camper, it's going to be up high adding to sway and just that much more difficult to get on and off the truck. Camper Jack's only extend so far and then you have to start using blocks.
Sorry to keep hijacking the thread with this, since you seem to fully understand what you're wanting to do, but I thought it might be useful information to some that might not.
Looking forward to see what you come up with.
- Location
- Grantsville, Utah
This is generally the case with all manufacturers, because payload rating is calculated by taking the curb weight of the truck and deducting it from the GVWR of that same truck. A single cab 2wd is always the lightest setup, so it will generally have the highest payload. A crew cab is the heaviest cab, so that extra weight is deducted from the payload rating.
J Kimmel
Registered User
- Location
- Glenwood Springs, CO
2011 F250 crew shortbed
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
The link that I shared above with the article on The Drive about the broken frame details exactly what you are talking about. The owner of the truck with the broken frame was under the impression that his cargo capacity was higher than it actually was and he was missing the mark and exceeding his specific rated trucks capacity by quite a bit. Hence, his warranty claim being denied.
I didn't realize you were towing with a 6.4 Hemi, Jason. I did see that a crew cab shortbed with the Hemi has a 1000 pounds more cargo capacity than the Cummins, which got me thinking. The biggest downfall (for me) is that I really wanted to add a aftermarket larger fuel tank and there's not one available for the gas truck.
There is a 58 gallon tank available for Godzilla. Pricy but available
58 Gallon Ford Gas Midship Replacement Fuel Tank
www.transferflow.com
Pile of parts
Well-Known Member
- Location
- South Jordan
No, I'm not towing with the hemi. Mine is the cummins. Sorry for the confusion. I was just trying to show the differences in the trucks based on the model.