8 ft popup camper on a 6.4 ft bed

[Jack90]

If you take a 2020 Dodge 3500, mega cab, with factory suspension and put an 8 ft popup camper on a 6.4 ft bed.

Question 1 - Would this change the driving characteristics of the truck on road or off-road? I want to be sure it would be safe with the family.

Question 2 – Think we could push the limit even further with a hitch extension and have a swing away bike rack that holds four mountain bikes?

If this would work, it would be quite the idea setup for our family. The Northstar TC800 has caught my attention since they say even though it is an 8ft camper it will work on a 6.4 ft bed.

http://www.northstarcampers.com/products/pop-up-truck-campers-tc800
The TC800 (8' in the floor length) continues to be one of our best selling pop up campers. With its spacious interior floorplan, lots of storage and the ability to fit both long bed (8’) or standard short bed when ordered with Option # 21, the permanent full wrap around rear end. That option does not change the floorplan but adds lockable side storage compartments and built in LED tail lights to correctly fit your 6' 4", 6’ 6” or 6' 10" standard short bed truck. Please check out all the std. equipment included in the base dry weight of 1510 lbs.

 

[Mtn Mike]

I'm running a TC800 on my 2019 Ram 2500 6.5 bed. It's a great set-up and has worked pretty flawlessly. I think my TC800 is around 2000 lbs loaded. The only modification I've made to the truck is Firestone airbags. I'm not sure you'd even need to enhance the suspension of your Ram 3500. The TC800 is well within you truck's capabilities. You could even go bigger! I haven't tried towing while carrying the TC yet. The hitch extender bars that I've seen list a trailer weight limit of 4000-5000 lbs, which will limit what you can tow, but should be fine for bike racks. As you can see in my picture, I have a hitch rack/extender bar combo. It weighs around 150 lbs.

 

[Jack90]

Great, thank you! That setup looks great.

 

[Herbie]

Just to be the voice of dissention - the negative of this plan is that it puts a higher percentage of your weight behind the rear axle, rather than between the axles. Not impossible, just sub-optimal.

 

[greengreer]

We've got a tc800 on a ford short bed (6-3/4') fits like a glove and hangs out maybe 8-10" past the rear bumper. The battery and water tank are low and forward, plus that massive overhang the Northstars have probably help even out the weight.

The truck handles the weight without a problem Stock springs, no rear sway bar. Doesn't feel top heavy or light on the steer tires whatsoever on the road. Off of groomed surfaces it's a big truck with a wood box in the back, so it slows you down but not really all that limiting from what I've found.

Our camper is just under 1800 dry according to the paperwork. I'd wager we could add about another 1000 with the two of us, two mutts and all the accoutrements. So still well under the 4k payload of the truck.

 

[Jack90]

Thank you! I liked hearing this >> The truck handles the weight without a problem Stock springs, no rear sway bar.

I'll start today, diving in more on which campers keep the COG toward the front by having the battery and water tank low and forward.

 

[Mtn Mike]

I'll start today, diving in more on which campers keep the COG toward the front by having the battery and water tank low and forward.

Pretty much all truck campers are designed with the battery, water tanks, and heavy things low and toward the front of the bed. The COG on the TC800 is 30" behind the front wall, according to their specs. I'm not sure if that means with the water tank full or empty. Never-the-less, truck camper manufacturers pay attention to COG. Here are some stats on Northstars:

Northstar Pop-Up Camper Buyers Guide - Truck Camper Magazine

The Northstar Pop-Up Camper Buyers Guide includes specifications of the 850SC, TC650, and 600SS.

www.truckcampermagazine.com