Dodge 2500/truck camper questions

[c7train]

So, I am going to post this in the hard sided truck camper section as well since I am not sure which is the best place. I have a 2003 Dodge 2500 cummins 6 speed manual with 95,000 miles on it. I LOVE the truck and am thinking of putting a truck camper on it. The top choice is a Lance 825, and in the description of this camper on Lance's website it says, "you can live the dream in a genuine Lance camper with your short bed* Toyota Tundra, Nissan Titan or F-150/1500 series truck." The payload of all these trucks is less than 2000lbs (minus the F150 in some models), and the stated wet weight of that camper is 2150lbs (also on their website). My truck actually has a similar payload as some 1500's due to the heavy cummins engine and manual transmission as a 1500 series truck, but the axle ratings are much higher I believe.

My question is this, with the Lance 825 fully loaded, my wife, our kids, the dog, a full tank of fuel, etc, etc, we are going to be over the 1990lb payload (at least that's what the internet says) of my truck, by about 500lbs I bet. The truck has airbags and such, which I know doesn't change my GVWR, but can help with stability and safety. I'm not concerned with the liability of insurance claims and such, if we only worry about that we will never leave the house. I just want to ensure my truck doesn't snap in half or break while on a road trip. I plan to get E rated tires unless someone says something about a better option on here?

Am I missing something or can my truck handle a 2100lb camper?

Thanks for the help on this.

 

[Darwin]

The truck will not break or snap in half, but you are going to find that you will end up being a lot more than just 500 lbs over GVWR. I also am not convinced air bags will help with stability, a lot of times they make it worse, what they will do is level the truck out, especially side to side of one side is heavier than the other.

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

C7train,
I'm assuming you have a short bed truck and looking at a Lance 825. Do you have the upper secondaries that come with the Camper Package from the factory? My '01 2500 came with the factory secondaries which increased the payload to 2600 pounds and I added more to the secondary pack, and installed Stable Loads by Tork Lift. This was to carry Lance's 1998 165-s camper having the same footprint and similar weight (1842 pounds, wet) as the 825.

I would estimate (that can be misleading) that my camper weight wet and loaded with all the items we take on trips including food, water, clothes, utensils etc. that the weight is 2600-2700 pounds, which is easily and safely carried by the truck. I've not had good luck with air bags over the years, so not a fan. Tires are the next important item to upgrade. My current tires on steel wheels are rated at 3860 pounds each. I've had no trouble carrying 5000 pounds of crushed rock in the bed of my truck. The power is fine and more importantly, the disc brakes all around are adequate to stop that kind of load. I don't think I would want to drive to New York that way, however.
If you have the upper secondaries and can add a couple leaves (mine are from an 2001 dually), install the Stable Loads, and upgrade your tires and shocks (one setting at the front and maybe adjustable Rancho 9000's on the rear) you should be good to go. One caveat: do all these upgrades in stages taking your time to assess the difference. You may have missed my recent article about upgrading the drivetrain on a Gen II Dodge 2500 for camper use: http://truckcamperadventure.com/2017/01/extreme-truck-camper-drivetrain-build/
You have enough truck, but certainly not too much. You might look at the Lance 650 too. I think (that will get me in trouble too) it will fit in the short bed of an '03 Dodge. There is some talk of it not fitting all the way forward in the bed with the wings getting in the way in certain years. A call to Lance should settle the issue. It's also the lowest price Lance on the lot ($19,995, list price, new) and comes with a lot of season extending extras.
Let us know what you decide.
jefe

 

[Regcabguy]

A Hellwig Big Wig swaybar is a must,E rated tires and greatly upgraded shocks tuned for the load. Don Thuren can help. He valved my King 2.5's. He can do the same with 2.0 Foxes I believe. Airbags will level your load,that's it. You've got the best 6-speed out there. A Pacbrake isn't essential but would go a long ways stopping the additional mass.

 

[c7train]

Thank you so much, Mundo4x4casa, yes it's a short bed I should have mentioned. All this information is really appreciated quite honestly. I'm learning tons just by the terms you are tossing around, "upper secondairies" Some dude named Dont Thuren, Pacbrake. I'll be researching for a while at this point but am really inspired by all of your experience in this area. This truck has been amazing and I really want to make it work for this endeavor. Regcabguy, why do you say this is the best 6 speed out there? I have heard it's stronger due to the cast iron case, but never really thought much past that. Thanks again for all this information and I will certainly let you know (and post pics) when I get a camper. Thanks thanks thanks.
C.

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

I'm thinking RegCab's G-56 is all in all better than the obsolete NV5600. I have no qualms nor woes with the NV.
For what it's worth here are both trannies in a comparo:
New Venture NV 5600: 360 pounds cast iron case aluminum top cover ratios: 5.63/3.38/2.04/1.39/1.00/0.73/5.63R
The gears are well spaced with no gaps. The 27% O.D. 6th gear is the tallest in the biz but it lacks a true grannie gear.
G-56 aluminum case weight unknown used in Mercedes Benz trucks. ratios: 6.29/3.48/2.10/1.38/1.00/0.79/5.74R
21% O.D. gear. This one has an actual grannie gear so you usually start out in 2nd on the street. If my NV5600 ever goes south, the G-56 will bolt right up in its place.

while we're at it, how about the NV4500? It came in two versions.
The early GM version ('92-94) cast iron case with aluminum top cover ratios: 6.34/3.44/1.71/1.00/0.73/?R true stump puller. very rare
Chrysler Corp version all years cast iron case with aluminum top cover ratios: 5.61/3.04/1.67/1.00/0.75/5.61R
Both these NV4500's had a weak 5th gear (the early ones had the end 5th gear nut unscrew over time) until they reverse threaded the nut.
Also, notice the big gap between 2nd and 3rd gear which can be irritating on an uphill slog and a narrow torque band Cummins.
regards, jefe

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

Below is my current rear spring pack. From top to bottom:
2 thin secondaries (some call them overloads, but only the bottom thick spring is actually an overload) from an '01 Dodge 3500 4WD dually
1 slightly thicker secondary that came stock on my 2500 with the Camper Package
1 spacer block
3 stock leaf springs set for the Camper Package
1 thicker aftermarket helper spring that gave me about 2" of lift
1 thick stock overload spring which is totally useless now as the springs will now never compress that far
4 inch stock spacer block
New longer U bolts to span the thicker pack


in addition, here is the Stable Load black composite block designed to engage your secondaries soon rather than later when you add weight to the bed. Note the clearance with nothing in the bed. It's almost a stock ride, empty, which isn't much to write home about. But it's the nature of the beast.


The front axle has 3 inch lift pucks designed to go into the coil buckets. When the camper is on it sits about level depending on the loading of extras, maybe slightly taller in the rear. For longer, more stuff carrying trips, it settles down to dead level. There is no way to make this work without doing it step by step and assessing the benefit.
jefe

 

[c7train]

Awesome. I first need to sell the class B RV we have, then once we get the camper on I'll start making adjustments as needed. Sounds like the Helwig Big Wig is a good safe starting point to flatten things out? The leaf spring combo is certainly on the radar, thanks for posting such concise stuff that I can learn from so easily.

 

[Regcabguy]

Mundo4x4Casa's got that truck so dialed in it's sick to borrow a younger man's term. I'm fortunate to have the '06 manufactured G-56 with a 0.79 final gear ratio yielding the equivalent of an auto with 4.10's. 35's are going on next if my 285-75-17 AT2's ever wear out.
Point well taken on the trans. Aside from the gear rollover with the smf conversion it's a nice trans.
Concerning parts,a contact person at Blumenthal's trans years ago stated that they manufacture NV5600 parts in house.

 

[Regcabguy]

Awesome. I first need to sell the class B RV we have, then once we get the camper on I'll start making adjustments as needed. Sounds like the Helwig Big Wig is a good safe starting point to flatten things out? The leaf spring combo is certainly on the radar, thanks for posting such concise stuff that I can learn from so easily.

Sure. Retain your stock leaf pack with that hardsided camper coming. I've got Carli mini-paks in the back along with their long travel bags which while yielding a better ride aren't really necessary as you won't be going fast. The Big Wigs work super on a friend's '05 Ram with a 9.5' Six Pak camper. I use the standard model.
Shock valving is super important. My old 5.9 24v had a Kore setup. Kent Kroker the owner supposedly sent me camper valved shocks but they were nothing but off the shelf units. Sean Lorenz who sells another system offered to re-valve the rears for nothing and dialed it right in. keep us informed.

 

[c7train]

I picked up the camper and it's awesome. It's a little "treetopee" right now, I'm going to mess with airbag pressure and see what happens then. It drives great at highway speed and on rougher roads, but on slow undulating terrain (coming out of the driveway type stuff, fire roads, etc) it's pretty wonky. MPG was pretty good given the massive headwind we encountered. Total has been about 13mpg with highway and in-town driving.