Lance 825 on 3/4 ton truck?

Mundo4x4Casa

West slope, N. Ser. Nev.
C7train,
Very nice rundown and comparo on things truck camper vs. things Van. We just returned from Death Valley and I turned out this story about the week: put this in your browser: It has too many pix for this forum, but you'll see the same footprint Lance on a built Dodge shortbed doin' the dirt:
http://forums.goodsamclub.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29263020.cfm
and if that's not enough here are the 88 pix I took:
http://s194.photobucket.com/user/jefe4x4/media/DV TC 2017/DSCN0875_zpsn17iedil.jpg.html?sort=2&o=0
jefe
 

c7train

Observer
WO! That was some serious wheeling! It's cool to see the full size trucks doing the business with a truck camper loaded up! I like it! I have been thinking about the AEV wheels for the rear, but am not sure if my truck would fit under my camper if my rear track width were any wider. I only have about 1" on either side from the truck tires to the jacks when I back under the truck. Man, that truck and camper are dialed, well done and thanks for sharing!
 

Mundo4x4Casa

West slope, N. Ser. Nev.
When I ran the 16" wide supersingles I had to add a 6 inch piece of channel iron to extend the jacks. The jacks stay at home anyway so the extra weight stays home.



jefe
 

AbleGuy

Officious Intermeddler
So, I know this will be controversial but here goes anyway....

It kinda makes me nuts to so frequently read of folks basically bragging about how they tricked out their truck to "safely" handle overweight campers. Yeah, I know, you all feel as if the truck manufacturers are being too cautious with their weight ratings.

But....if you get in an accident in that rig, whether your at fault of not the plaintiff's lawyer is going to have a blast ripping you a new hole for being negligent by operating an overweight vehicle. You can be found contributorily negligent if you're the "not at fault" driver, or negligent as a matter of law, i.e. negligent per se, if you're the "at fault" driver.

And guess what, your insurance company may decline to cover you too sinceq you voluntarily modified your vehicle to be (arguably) unsafe. It doesn't take much for am insurance company to decline a claim.

You can also get sued by the subsequent buyer for not disclosing that you overloaded your truck.

That's kind of stuff is not very nice to find out after you, of the subsequent buyer have gotten into a crash.

Here's another thing....in California, the CHP has commercial weight enforcement patrols that travel with portable scales. If for some reason they stop you (they notice the rear sag of your truck) and weigh your rig, you will get fined for being overweight. If you're seriously overweight, you run the risk of having your vehicle taken off of the roadway and impounded as a safety hazard.

And I've heard that this weight checking problem can be an issue in Canada too.

So why not just skip all the extra expenses of buying amd installing the add ons needed to make your 3/4 Ton "capable" of carrying an overweight load and instead just buy a 1Ton in the first place, and drive peacefully knowing you have much less to worry about?
 

oldnslow

Observer
"So why not just skip all the extra expenses of buying and installing the add ons needed to make your 3/4 Ton "capable" of carrying an overweight load and instead just buy a 1Ton in the first place, and drive peacefully knowing you have much less to worry about?"

Because I had a 3/4T truck when I got "retired" before I was ready, and I can't buy a new truck on Social Security. I have a choice of running a little overweight or sit at home and stare out the window. I choose to camp.
 

gtbensley

Explorer
Stay under your axle ratings and registered weight and you are perfectly legal and fine!

Weight stations care about registered gvwr not manufacturer. Plenty of commercial rigs out there with more weight then what a door sticker says.

I'm not implying it's safe to fright a truck and badly over do it. I'm just saying it's not as cut and paste as people belive.
 

AbleGuy

Officious Intermeddler
"I'm not concerned with the liability of insurance claims and such, if we only worry about that we will never leave the house."

That's pretty irresponsible.

Just so you know, I'm not making this statement in reference to or in regards to Lance or any specific other brand campers.

But I hate to tell, you....For all of you proud overweight camper owners.....you'd better hope you never get into a serious accident with them, because if so, when the overweight issue of your rig is made known, the injured party's attorney will positively eat your lunch, and plus there's a damn good chance that your own insurance company will probably deny you any liability coverage for your willful violation of your weight limits.

At that point you're screwed.

A good rule to consider: Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

And liability wise, I strongly disagree with those who say manufacturers' GVWR ratings are less important than what your upgraded axle or suspension can hold. Let a good lawyer argue to a jury that your safe braking capacity as set by the manufacturer of the truck was voluntary ignored by your built and camper load, and that that contributed to causing the accident.....and ka ching ka ching ka ching!


(From a former insurance defense industry counsel)
 
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c7train

Observer
gbail, the fact that I started this thread illustrates I have considered (and therefor am concerned with) GVWR. Furthermore; the camper I purchased from Lance is advertised for Tundra, Titan, and other half ton trucks per their website, I am driving a 3/4 ton truck. Now, I'm not a "proud overweight camper owner" in the least. The point of my aforementioned statement was–and maybe I should have been more literal–that I am aware of the liability with regard to being overweight and am not seeking advice in this capacity as I am well supported by my friends who work in insurance and law for this, thus was seeking advice and council relative to the amalgam of factors many forum members wade through when choosing a camper/truck combo.

Alas, thank you for your comment nonetheless, best wishes and safe travels.
 

RoyJ

Adventurer
But I hate to tell, you....For all of you proud overweight camper owners.....you'd better hope you never get into a serious accident with them, because if so, when the overweight issue of your rig is made known, the injured party's attorney will positively eat your lunch, and plus there's a damn good chance that your own insurance company will probably deny you any liability coverage for your willful violation of your weight limits.

I hear this scare tactic all the time, but haven't seen a single case as a proof - can you show me one example where a person has successfully sued for negligence for being overweight, that he otherwise would've been completely innocent?

Fact is, if you're on Exp Portal, chances are you're an enthusiast with vehicle mods. Nearly EVERY one of your mods would invalidate your GVW and GAWRs ratings from an OEM perspective. Bigger tires? Non-OEM brakes? Aftermarket ball joints? Different gearing? The expert witness OEM engineer can easily prove you've gone outside of his design criteria.

By your line of reasoning, we better all drive absolutely stock Toyota Corollas running full OEM parts installed only by a Toyota dealership. Or else you'd lose all your belongings the minute you have an accident.
 

Mundo4x4Casa

West slope, N. Ser. Nev.
Roy,
At the very least, if you were driving the accused overweight RV, you would have a very good chance of coming out on top..... if you had a collision with said bone stock Corolla.
jefe
 

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