anthonym
Member
We were talking about this in a DM but figured it might be helpful here. We have 2021 Ram 2500 crew cab with 6.4L gas engine + some basic airbags in the rear, door sticker says 3187 lb payload. Plenty of clearance for anything I'm likely to want to drive definitely feels loads more capable than our (well traveled) Outback in the past. I don't think the camper has affected clearance at all.With that said have a question in regards to truck. I have a 2020 Ram 2500 Cummins. The door sticker says 2250lbs max payload, coil suspension in the back. From everyone's experience should I already order a set of airbags for it or wait and see how it rides with the camper on. What you guys running on your trucks (airbags?) and how is the ride? Enough clearance to get off the beaten path?
More details on how it works with the Ram:
We love it but bought the truck (2021 6.4L gas) to put the camper on it so don't have too much experience with the truck alone. I don't notice much difference in driving feel. We did add rear airbags through the camp-x dealer (Boulder Vehicle Outfitters), per their recommendation so I can't speak to how it would ride without those. With the camper on, I do notice a little more side to side sway on the bigger bumps but that's about it. Corners, fast highway driving, etc. is all totally fine. I would guess maybe there'd be more leaning or side-to-side wobble without the airbags.
We've driven it on some rougher roads so far and honestly don't notice the camper (except watching for overhanging branches and trying to avoid scratching that nice big picture window on the passenger side). It flies down gravel/washboard/all of that with 33" A/T tires compared to our Outback. Honestly it's really fun to drive off pavement.
In the gas model, we lost about 3 mpg all around vs without the camper (from 16ish to 13ish), including long highway miles in Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado at pretty high speeds (lots of 75+, some 80+). Not too loud, although there is noticeable wind noise at high speeds. We might put some kind of wind deflector or fairing on it.
Between the storage in the camper, hiding some stuff in the wheel well areas around the camper, and the footwells in the crew cab, we've had no issues at all with storage (2 people + dog + usually a bunch of activity gear for bikes, hiking, etc.).
TLDR: I would 100% buy it again, and I think the basic airbags are worthwhile (no need for onboard compressor, adjustment, etc.).
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