Forum Replies Created
- Posts
I second what Joel said. He gave you good advice. Another option would
be one of these. Both Lance and Palomino are installing these on their campers.Feature in the Spotlight: The Easy Charge Battery Charging Station
Great looking rig, Zach. Thanks for sharing. Please contact me at [email protected].
Great questions. I just addressed most of these in my latest article on payload including the three differences you discovered. I would take a look.
Good question. I get these questions all of the time which is why I published this article…
This is a great question that we get asked all of the time. There are lots of things to consider. To capture all of these points, we published this article a few years ago. This should be a good starting point…
That would be a good choice. We love ours. We just surveyed some of the best air conditioners for truck campers. This should be a good starting point…
From Frank Mehaffey:
I have a 2012 F250, unboxed frame, 2WD, SRW, extended cab, 8′ bed with a 6.2, and the Ford camper package which included the 350 front coils, and an overload spring on top of the standard springs for a 250 and a 7 pin hookup and a normal rear anti sway bar. The frame of a 250 and 350 is EXACTLY the same, boxed or unboxed. The brakes on all 4 corners are the SAME for the 250 and 350. They were in 1999 with our first F250, with a 5 speed manual, which I wish Ford still made. No transmission cooler for that standard baby, so more weight to use. No electric windows of power seats, which the snowflakes forget add weight to the truck. Heck, the pretty carpets probably add weight. They have all been commercial use Fords, with no stinkin carpets. I had to fly to a dealer outside of DC to get a 2WD. NONE of the VT dealers even order them…hmmmmmm. If the dogs throw up, hose the mat out…..
I carry a 2013 Camplite 10, and when fully loaded with the camper, gas, propane, food, 2 adults, 3 dogs and associated junk for 2 weeks of camping, we weigh 10100.I put a Hellwig big ass sway bar on to replace the stock sway bar and 4 big ass camper shocks on, as well as an airlift 5000 set of airbags to bring up the rear height and give me a better ride. As long as I don’t drive like a Disney ride, we have had no problems. I change the transmission fluid and rear fluid every 100,000 and have only used synthetic oil in every engine.
The rear axle is the Sterling with 17″ tires, and since this is my 3d F250 since 1999, and all 3 have carried heavy tc’s with 17’s, I can say that from my experience that the additional rear leaf is pretty much the ONLY difference in the 3/4 to 1 ton F250-350. The Sterling is fine for heavy, pushing the boundaries of official loads, and as long as I am not driving like an idiot, or doing off road hijinks, it is FINE. Many of the 350 2WD come standard with the Sterling. They go to the Dana for the 4WD or higher gear ratios because it works better for more demanding needs. I have read in several places on line, and in speaking to anonymous people working for Ford, that the 350 designation is to give commericial owners an out for heavy loads, taxes, insurance, and God knows what else in litigation land.
All 3 of the F250s we have owned, total about 650,000 miles in 23 years, of which I would estimate we have driven over 175,000 with 8′ 0r 10′ truck campers on. If you are fully loaded and going off road, driving on a sand dune, or are getting a 4WD or duels, I would opt for the Dana and 18″s, but in my experience, the extra $$ for the 350 is pretty much unnecessary, if you put a Hellwig on, air bags, better shocks, and keep good condition Michelin’s or Coopers on. You will be fine. If you are REALLY worried, bring it to a spring shop and have them put on one more leaf. Case closed, problem solved, Ross Perot. Let me say it again, if you don’t drive like you have a shiney whiney 150 with a bag of dog food in the 6′ bed, you will be fine. DON”T PANIC. You will not die. Oh, sometimes I tow a 16′ boat to Florida, the Great Lakes, the Potomac, etc….
You betcha there is no straight answer from Ford or any of the truck companies. I am sure that they have their rea$ons for wanting owners to have more expen$ive and $afer truck$.
Hi Kelly,
You’ve gotten some good responses so far. For additional information on this important topic, check out my article…We attempted to do this in late March with Kevin MacAfee, but got snowed out the night before at our camping spot on Pine Tree Rd and had to change our plans. Truck campers have done it, but you will need to air down 40/35 psi and use 4×4 to do it. We’ve seen some videos of truck campers at the trailhead, so I know it can be done. Let us know how it goes and take lots of pics.
In case you haven’t seen it yet, here’s Jefe’s article just published on this website.
Gas vs Diesel: 23 Considerations Before Buying Another Truck
Hi Jeff,
We have used the Wilson Electronics Weboost Drive X RV Cell booster with good success. We consistently get a 2-bar boost when using it: 1-bar within the entire camper, 2-bars within 1 foot of the interior antenna. On a recent trip to Utah it boosted a 2-bar 3G signal into a 3-bar LTE signal! Much better. Here’s our review in case you haven’t seen it…If it was me I would just take delivery now and have an aftermarket Polar Cub Mach-8 9,200 BTU model installed. Slightly smaller which allows you to operate it using a standard Honda EU2000i/EU2200i genny. That’s what I had on my old Wolf Creek and it worked great.
That’s good that you’re going with a lightweight FWC pop-up. With a payload rating that low I assume you have coil springs on the rear axle of your Ram 1500. Based on that assumption, I would go with SumoSprings or air bags to keep your rig level. Load range D tires and upgraded wheels would also be the minimum with that setup. Not sure the weight rating for the Ram 1500 rear axle, but most axles have lots of unused capacity. The wheels and tires are always the weak link when it comes to the official GAWR ratings for the front and rear axles. For more information on this important topic, check out this article…
It plugs into the front of the camper. At least it did for my old Wolf Creek 850.
Here’s a photo of our new Expion360 VPR 4Ever Platinum, a 360 amp hour monster, the equivalent of six 6 volt golf cart batteries.
