Mrknowitall
Adventurer
Remember, too, that a 6" lift under a GM isn't anywhere near as tall as on a Ford. You might think about adding a rear sway bar. Otherwise, stick to campers built for 1/2 ton trucks, hard or soft side.
Can it be done with a lifted truck?
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cnynrat
Expedition Leader
I agree with the others that you are going to want to stay light. We carry a 10-1/2 foot camper on our unlifted F350 SRW, and you definitely notice the weight even without the lift.
If you are getting a lot of sag from the weight of the camper a common upgrade in the truck camper world is to install air bags that can help level the load when you have the camper on board. We use them along with an on-board compressor which gives us the ability to make adjustments in the cab - very convenient.
With respect to tires, load range E tires will give you 3415 pounds per tire, which should be more than enough for a light camper. You may need to look at upgrading what you have if they aren't up to the load with the camper though.
If you are getting a lot of sag from the weight of the camper a common upgrade in the truck camper world is to install air bags that can help level the load when you have the camper on board. We use them along with an on-board compressor which gives us the ability to make adjustments in the cab - very convenient.
With respect to tires, load range E tires will give you 3415 pounds per tire, which should be more than enough for a light camper. You may need to look at upgrading what you have if they aren't up to the load with the camper though.
motrhed
Observer
Camper on a lifted pick-up
Have you picked up a camper yet?
If not, I have some experience with your topic...
I am running a Chev 2500HD crew cab long box with a 4" Rancho lift, modified air bags (to match the lift), and E rated 305 All-Terrain T/A's. I carry a 9' 2" Corsair hard wall and on the truck it's currently 12' from the ground to the top of the vent covers. I recently installed the lift to smooth out the rough riding torsion key lift hoping to actually run at 3" of lift. Unfortunately the lift keys were seized on and I am running closer to 4 or 4 1/2" of lift at the softest setting (this will be a work in progress to correct). I am sitting a bit higher than I had intended, but the truck and suspension seem to be handling the higher centre of gravity and camper height OK. I have noticed that I have to run the air bags at a higher pressure than normal to limit the side to side sway, but it is not unreasonable. I do use 5" blocks under each jack to load and unload (habit), but my "Happy Jacks" are just capable of supporting it unaided.
If you set up the truck, suspension, and camper properly, you should not have any major issues on highways and gravel roads. The truck will wallow around more with the camper loaded, but you will get used to it and modify your driving style to match. If you plan on going down narrow, rough trails on a regular basis, you should consider a small "4x4" style pop-top camper as opposed to a hard wall. There will always be compromises with a slide-in camper, you just have to choose what you are willing to compromise on.
Hope this helps...
Have you picked up a camper yet?
If not, I have some experience with your topic...
I am running a Chev 2500HD crew cab long box with a 4" Rancho lift, modified air bags (to match the lift), and E rated 305 All-Terrain T/A's. I carry a 9' 2" Corsair hard wall and on the truck it's currently 12' from the ground to the top of the vent covers. I recently installed the lift to smooth out the rough riding torsion key lift hoping to actually run at 3" of lift. Unfortunately the lift keys were seized on and I am running closer to 4 or 4 1/2" of lift at the softest setting (this will be a work in progress to correct). I am sitting a bit higher than I had intended, but the truck and suspension seem to be handling the higher centre of gravity and camper height OK. I have noticed that I have to run the air bags at a higher pressure than normal to limit the side to side sway, but it is not unreasonable. I do use 5" blocks under each jack to load and unload (habit), but my "Happy Jacks" are just capable of supporting it unaided.
If you set up the truck, suspension, and camper properly, you should not have any major issues on highways and gravel roads. The truck will wallow around more with the camper loaded, but you will get used to it and modify your driving style to match. If you plan on going down narrow, rough trails on a regular basis, you should consider a small "4x4" style pop-top camper as opposed to a hard wall. There will always be compromises with a slide-in camper, you just have to choose what you are willing to compromise on.
Hope this helps...
Here is mine. 6 inch lifted 3/4 ton Dodge on 35" Hankook Dynapro M/T's with 9.5' Alpenlite. I put on airbags before I even drove it since I knew it would sag causing suspension geometry to be off. After my first road trip I realized I need a rear sway bar and after adding that it is very pleasant to drive with the camper on and trailer in tow.
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boblynch
Adventurer
It's possible to run a 6 inch lift and a hard sided camper. However, the posters that mentioned tire limitations, overall camper height, and driving in cross winds are all correct. If the wheel/tire combo can handle the weight the biggest factor in my view is your driving habits and style of travel. If you want to hit tight trails or blast down the highway at 75mph you won't be happy. However, if you want to stick to well maintained forest roads and don't mind keeping your speeds down in windy conditions it's not a problem. I run a modified F550 and hard sided camper on a 6 inch lift (see signature). The only time I noticed the height was in NE and KS at freeway speeds. The crosswinds were a pain. Most days it's not an issue.
Capt Eddie
Adventurer
Boblynch; Do you think these issue would be present if you would have kept the duallys? But still lifted the truck? I have a 3 inch lift on my truck and can not tell a different in the swaywith duals.
boblynch
Adventurer
I didn't like the steering feel with the 6 inch lift and the stock dual tires even when it wasn't windy. However, most of the white knuckle experiences I had (and mentioned in my thread) were with the lift, but not the singles. The wheels weren't ready then so we made the run to the west coast with only the lift. It was also my first week on the wheel, so maybe I was just a dumb newbie.
Hi boblynch. I just read your build thread. Super sweet setup you have there!
The reason I'm posting is in response to something you said here and in your build thread. You might want to give a nice beefy rear sway bar a try. I had experiences similar to what I think I perceive you describing with crosswinds etc. The Hellwig rear anti sway bar I put on mine made a huge difference. I can drive all day immune to cross winds and it feels fine way past 75 as long as you only go straight. Sharp turning means slowing down for sure. Of course, adding the sway bar sacrifices a bit of suspension articulation. For me the trade off was well worth it.
The reason I'm posting is in response to something you said here and in your build thread. You might want to give a nice beefy rear sway bar a try. I had experiences similar to what I think I perceive you describing with crosswinds etc. The Hellwig rear anti sway bar I put on mine made a huge difference. I can drive all day immune to cross winds and it feels fine way past 75 as long as you only go straight. Sharp turning means slowing down for sure. Of course, adding the sway bar sacrifices a bit of suspension articulation. For me the trade off was well worth it.
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saltamontes
Observer
6" lift is too much to be safe for a hardside IMO.
"should be fine" or "good enough" isn't gonna cut it when doing 70 mph w/ a 3K lb 12' shell overhead
i max the jacks just getting my nLite on/off my leveled f350
try rv.net/forums also for helpful TC advice.
"should be fine" or "good enough" isn't gonna cut it when doing 70 mph w/ a 3K lb 12' shell overhead
i max the jacks just getting my nLite on/off my leveled f350
try rv.net/forums also for helpful TC advice.
Have you tried a 6" lifted truck before with bad results or is this a prediction?
After using our setup in its current configuration for 3 seasons now, I'm convinced that getting good results are merely a matter of having everything set up appropriately. The camper plus trailer tongue weight is well over 3K loaded and 70 mph plus (very much plus in some instances) isn't a problem at all. It actually handles better than my parents motor home I borrowed one year IMO. The high CG on properly set up rig is easily manageable.
The only way to go is to spend the money to get everything set up the right way. Having proper suspension geometry with the rig loaded, eliminating sway, using appropriately weight rated components, and following a proper maintenance regimen are all key. It's the same story with any vehicle really, only in this case you are taking on a bit of the engineering yourself.
Buliwyf
Viking with a Hammer
A Superduty with only a 4" lift would be a bit easier to make work well, and still clears 37" tires.
-rear air bags with rather high pressure
-rear sway bar (you can still disco it offroad)
-tires cranked to max psi +10%. And you'll want less aggressive tires in hot weather. I've had good luck towing with BFG All Terrains.
-keep the cargo down to a minimum, avoid an entire wardrobe, heavy dinnerware, TV's, full water tank, etc.etc. I would usually avoid filling my tank until I was at my destination. I had a good water filter on my hose for filling, and also had a electric pump and filter setup for pulling drinking water out of a pond.
My parents truck had a bar that bolted across the truck frame that the front camper mounts would mount with long chains that reached down to the bar under the truck. That way the camper would be more secure and chained to the frame, not bed. It was more solid for sure, but I'm not quite sure if flexing the truck offroad would hurt the camper with such a strong mount.
It's doable. I've driven trucks with campers and 4" lifts and the above setup. But never a 6" truck. Firestone offers airspring kits for lifted rear springs now. I think most Superduty 6" lift kits are a 4" spring and a small block.
-rear air bags with rather high pressure
-rear sway bar (you can still disco it offroad)
-tires cranked to max psi +10%. And you'll want less aggressive tires in hot weather. I've had good luck towing with BFG All Terrains.
-keep the cargo down to a minimum, avoid an entire wardrobe, heavy dinnerware, TV's, full water tank, etc.etc. I would usually avoid filling my tank until I was at my destination. I had a good water filter on my hose for filling, and also had a electric pump and filter setup for pulling drinking water out of a pond.
My parents truck had a bar that bolted across the truck frame that the front camper mounts would mount with long chains that reached down to the bar under the truck. That way the camper would be more secure and chained to the frame, not bed. It was more solid for sure, but I'm not quite sure if flexing the truck offroad would hurt the camper with such a strong mount.
It's doable. I've driven trucks with campers and 4" lifts and the above setup. But never a 6" truck. Firestone offers airspring kits for lifted rear springs now. I think most Superduty 6" lift kits are a 4" spring and a small block.
It's all about the center of gravity. A 4" lift doesn't seem like much but it makes a huge difference. Still, earthroamer has a 4" lift and makes it work because their center of gravity is low. Big heavy batteries and tanks need to be mounted below or close to the frame. I have heard a lot of people with just SRW and no lift complain about heavy winds so I do agree with the above poster, with a big hard side on that lifted truck you'd be asking for it in windy conditions.
Everyone has. Getting good results isn't impossible but finding people with the necessary common attributes of want/know how/means of doing so are kinda rare. SRW trucks aren't usually set up from the factory to haul a real load with high wind drag and CG. The commercial offroad aftermarket can be a quagmire of brohan extreme, 4 chrome shocks per wheel poser monster rock crawling desert dawgs wasteland. Making a good rig is hard at least when it's more than just for show anyway. There are lots of land mines to avoid on the way.