4wd Van center of gravity vs Truck camper

[snorkel54]

Assuming equal lifts, how does the center of gravity on a 4wd van compare with the cg on a truck camper? Would a ute tray/flatbed make a difference?

Also, how would polar moment of inertia compare with a hefty expo style bumper and winch?

 

[ujoint]

I don't really have an answer to this, but I have to lean (go figure) towards the van, especially if you can configure it the way you want. You'd be able to place heavy items down low/etc.

 

[Bbasso]

Just looked up the weight of an avg truck camper that sleeps 5, it was just about 3,000LBS and it looks like they are about two feet taller. So on that note I'd say the van has the advantage.

 

[Saline]

Not sure about specifics on the slide in campers but the SMB van has the following at or beneath the frame rails:
Propane tank
Starting batteries (2)
Marine house battery (130 lbs.)
Underfloor storage that includes all tools, spare parts and jack

At floor level are the furnace, water heater, gray water, fresh water, and inverter.

All the heavy stuff is way low on the chassis.

 

[r_w]

It depends more on design than the actual vehicle, BUT the van is much easier to build with a low COG. Just don't put everything on the roof rack...

 

[deserteagle56]

As someone who has owned a 4x4 van since 1976 - and an F350 4x4 with a cab-over camper for 4 years - I can tell you that the difference is day and night. Cab-over campers are heavy and in the bed of a 4x4 pickup, sit way up high. Off-camber roads that I wouldn't even notice in the van caused an extreme pucker factor in the pickup/camper combo. My pickup was a single-rear wheel and I'm sure that a dually would be more stable on a slope but still, that 3000 lbs sitting that high up will cause a lot of lean when on a slope. Maybe a pop-up camper wouldn't be as top-heavy but with them I have no experience. Another thing I noticed - when in trees the van body can push aside some pretty good sized branches. Those same branches would destroy the fragile shell of a camper.
That's why, since I camp mostly way off the beaten path, I stay with the van.

 

[burt]

I think a pop up like a fwc on a regular fullsize truck bed is about as stable as it gets for that kind of comparison. Assuming you build it with all the heavy stuff down low there is little weight up high. The van would be way better than a hard side camper though. Generally a flatbed will make cg significantly higher unless you put the fb slamed down as low as a regular bed. But then you'll need wheelwells (then its not really a flat bed). My flatbed puts my camper about a half foot higher that a regular bed and its about as low as I could go w/o wheelwells (set up for offroad). Hope that helps