Lifting 1-ton w/camper?

[The Adam Blaster]

Has anyone done this?
How big was the lift, and how were the mannrs of the truck afterward?

I know the pop-up campers would dfinitely help with this type of setup, but wondring if the vehicle becomes too top heavy to handle very well offroad?

If i did this, i would probably only want to do a 4" or thereabouts to get a 2-3" taller tire under there...

 

[haven]

Skyjacker

There are few lift kits for 2500 and 3500 series trucks. Skyjacker is an exception, they offer a new kit for the Ford SuperDuty F250 and F350. The kits are available with lifts of 4, 6 and 8.5 inches.

http://www.rockcrawler.com/features/newsshorts/08january/skyjacker_ford.asp

Chip Haven

 

[The Adam Blaster]

Thanks Chip.
I am aware of the various lifts out there, but i'm just wondering if putting a lift on a truck is a good idea or not when you're going to have a camper up top there.
Would it make it a bit too top heavy and not as stable/safe?

I actually bought a Skyjacker 3" kit for my Cherokee, wasn't super happy with the quality when the steering brace broke, and all 4 shocks were dead within about 1.5 years. Boo Skyjacker. lol

 

[Rockcrawler]

I'll let you know how it does in a couple of weeks... I just picked this up this weekend... it is a FWC Hawk Popup camper so it is not as top heavy as some others, but it might give you a baseline to work with.

 

[The Adam Blaster]

Definitely let me know!
And details as well, what lift, how high etc???

And i would want to go pop-top as well, just to help that much more.
I wouldn't be doing this for a couple of years, so i have lots of time to research.

 

[Rockcrawler]

I have a very mild lift... it is only an inch or so in the rear and about 2 in the front. Just to level the truck and give better suspension travel. Stiffer spring rates in the front, softer spring rates in the rear and better shocks all the way around.

 

[OutbacKamper]

...........wondring if the vehicle becomes too top heavy to handle very well offroad?

Yes!

I have a 2" lift on my F350, and with a 4wheel pop-up it felt very top heavy over really rough trails, especially anything with a side slope. Personally I would definitely not recommend a 4" lift with a camper. My advice is to go with no lift or the absolute minimum you can live with. If you often run into clearance problems on trails you drive with the camper, only then would I suggest to consider a higher lift.

Cheers
Mark

 

[ujoint]

An old customer of mine had a F350 dually with an 8" lift & 37's, and he went cross country with a Lance camper in it. A HUGE Lance camper!!! And he towed a boat!! That thing barely fit through our door @ the shop. I wish I had a pic.

 

[Carlyle]

I have the same lift on my truck as Outback Camper (Mark), and would not have any more than that for any type of off road activity. The camper and truck really feel top heavy when negotiating stuff on the slant. My advice, for what it's worth, don't lift and put a camper on. If you need more, get a bigger stiffer truck.

 

[Rockcrawler]

I was really impressed w/ the way the truck handled w/ the FWC on it on its first trip. I didn't do any highly technical trails but spent several hours in the dirt over varied terrain, washboards, switchbacks, up and down the mountains etc. I didn't get into any highly technical fourwheeling (everything was in 2wd actually), but I never felt like the truck was unable to handle the load or overly susceptible to rolling etc.

Kyle

 

[boblynch]

Spring Swap

I've heard from a few Ford F350 folks that have swapped the OEM front springs for F550 springs. This works as a cheap 2" leveling kit. Not sure how this differs from the Heavy Service Suspension Package options you can select from the factory.