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Hi all,
I have been a long time lurker, and I wanted to finally introduce myself. This is my first post, and I am going to have a lot of questions in the future no doubt. You all seem to have a wealth of knowledge.
I grew up as a child in the city, but as I got older I found the fun and beauty of the off-road. I have usually towed trailers like say cargo trailers or utility trailers with half ton trucks. Unfortunately I found you guys way too late, and have already upgraded to a 2003 GMC 2500HD 4×4 extended cab. (I really wanted a 2 door but try and find one of those nowadays) This thing seems huge to me, and I am still trying to get used to it. It is stock suspension, but has 285/70r16 tires on it. Really that is all of the drive train mods on it.
I have done a lot of other things to fix it up. A double din stereo, and a backup camera, and tow package.
My future plan is to sell my cargo/camper/toy hauler conversion, and buy a small camper. I was thinking about a Lance 650 or Lance 850 and a small car trailer to haul my Jeep Wrangler behind it.
I am going to need help on the best ways to beef up the suspension. I might ask questions like what is the difference between a 3/4 ton and a 1 ton truck? Like if it is only the front and rear springs? Can I just convert my truck to a 1 ton? I really don’t want to spend 50K for a new truck. The one I have now is pretty sweet. Although the gas mileage is atrocious.
Anyways, I am not asking any advice today because I don’t want to be to obnoxious with my first post, but I wanted to say although I don’t have suspension information, I do have a mechanical background and camping/off-road experience, so I believe I can contribute back to the community.
Cheers,
Mike
AKA azguyWelcome to TCA forum, there’s a large select of campers that will fit your truck just make sure you check cab height clearest before buying your TC. Is there any reason you don’t want to flat 4 tow your jeep, to me a car trailer would be something extra that not needed. I have been hauling around a 2002 Lance 815 with my 2007 F250 4×4 with no problems, this is just to give a idea of similar truck with a TC.
Hi Alex,
Thanks for the response, and your setup looks like fun. Thanks for the tip. I guess I thought that all trailers would clear the cab. so that is good advice! I am not flat towing my Jeep because it is an off-road Jeep. It has oversized aggressive tires, and it has a stubby front bumper. Plus the car trailer would help haul additional gear that I might not have in the camper.
Thanks again,
azguyI just ran out and checked, and no rear sway bar. Can you provide me a link of what you put on yours if you are happy with it?
Hellwig makes the Big Wig rear sway bar, an excellent product. I have one on my truck. I’m sure that’s what Patrick has on his truck, too. Here’s a link to my review…
https://www.truckcamperadventure.com/2014/04/hellwig-big-wig-installation-report-and/
We have a Hellwig rear sway bar on our Ram 2500. The stock bar that comes on the Ram is 0.875 inches in diameter while the Hellwig is 1.13 inches. At first I wondered how such a small difference in diameter could make such a difference and simply holding the two in my hand answered the question. The stock bar is actually hollow while the Hellwig is solid 4140 chrome moly steel which makes a HUGE difference. It has the three position adjustment at the bar ends to vary the amount of stiffness. I set it in the middle hole figuring I could adjust it in either direction should I need to. As it turned out I found it to be perfect just as it was. It does make a huge difference in minimizing lean angle while cornering and traversing uneven terrain.
This is the bar spec’d for the Ram 2500 …..
Hellwig rear sway barNeil & Yoly
2016 Ram 2500HD Tradesman, 2WD Crew Cab, 6.4L Hemi
2018 Travel Lite 840 SBRX
Honda EU2000i
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