First camper:

[rystjohn]

Thanks everyone!

You're right, I am very new and green to the camper life and didn't foresee any issues like this. But as an information junkie, I've done nothing but search on here and f150 forums, and the common thought is that overloading your truck (or even being close) is something that will end in me flying off a mountain road and ending in a fiery demise. Or the axle will fall off or snap in half. Or my tires will explode. Basically I've heard nothing but "an F150 can't do the job."

I've thought of doing the leaf springs, either an Add A Leaf, or even new springs. But I want to make sure that this is a sound investment - I don't want to dump money into the truck and still have to worry about weight and wind up breaking it from overloading it.

I have two trains of thought right now.

Option 1) Keep the F150, say screw it, and invest in suspension upgrades. However, this leaves me with a very narrow range of campers that I can use. This seems to be FWCs primarily, and the one I have my eye on within my price range has a ticking clock...which means I'd have to do this suspension upgrade ASAP. My weight has to be managed very carefully, but with the suspension upgrades the truck should handle fairly well and stay "safe-ish."

Option 2) Sell the F150 (if I can, or trade it), get a 3/4 ton truck and then I can put ANY camper on it. However the trade off is that I don't know the reliability of the new vehicle, and I don't even know if I can afford a new vehicle unless someone is willing to trade pretty evenly.

Option 1 seems easier and relatively cheaper, but Option B opens me up to, well, more options. I could get any camper I wanted and this would allow me to spend less and get a heavier camper. But the time-frame may be longer on switching vehicles. Considering we really want our launch-date to be mid/late September, I'm pulled towards Option 1, but I don't want to wind up in Baja with a busted axle or flying off a road in the Rockies....

 

[Sock Puppet]

Having a 3/4 ton won't open you up to any camper, there are a ton of them that require a 1-ton dually long bed.

Honestly, use what you have. You don't even know if this is going to be your thing. What if you try it for a month and decide a van or motor home would be a better fit? What if you can't stand the limitations of a TC and decide to go with a travel trailer? My point is that you're just trying this thing out. For a minimal investment in a truck you already own you should be good to go. Think about it, the upgrades will cost you less than the tax and registration on getting a different truck. If you decide a TC is not for you, you still have a reliable truck...just with an upgraded suspension.

 

[surlydiesel]

I would not hesitate to use what you have. I would put some Hellwig springs in the 2500 pound variety and possibly an oversized swaybar from the same company and call it good to go. If you really feel the need, you could get some Timbrens as well. Your truck should have no problem as long as you keep the weight within reason. Remove anything you don't need as well to gain a few pounds. I think you said you had an extra hitch installed, get that thing removed. Oh and E-rated tires for sure!!!

Otherwise, get a gas F-350 and you can mount almost any size camper. Some need a dually for sure and the triple slide stuff need F-550's.

 

[subterran]

+1 to use what you got. Mount the camper before you work on the suspension. You might be surprised.

 

[rystjohn]

So you guys really don't think it'll be an issue to have my weight above my GVWR by a couple hundred pounds as long as I get beefier springs?

 

[tanglefoot]

I'm pretty sure most of us are over the GVWR while underway. I would keep what you have as well.

You should be able to put most, lighter pop-ups on there. There are plenty of wood-construction pop-ups on F150s.

I agree to just set a camper on and see how it feels before making any changes. It might handle it nicely. I recently borrowed a similar-vintage F150 and piled it high with furniture. I couldn't tell any difference at all in how it drove.

You can also get some feel for it by having five husky friends sit in the bed and see how much things compress.

In camper selection, I don't think there's necessarily a correlation between purchase price and durability/cost of ownership. Shop carefully, of course, but even the really inexpensive ones can be easy to own. I really like my $500 camper. I may have put $100 (if that much) into it in the several years I've had it, and it doesn't really need anything. I have a feeling that if I'd gotten a $3500 camper, it would require more upkeep (more appliances, systems, etc).

 

[rangerdogg]

camper

If you read mine about my camper I had a ford ranger and a shadow cruiser 7ft weight 980 lbs with out water in it and food or my gear . I had a 4.0 and air shocks not air bags and used it all summer no issues with power or breaks. I couldn't pull out like a mustang lol. But it held the weight great just took my time and slowed down when needed . I'm sure your 150can do it. I only got ride of mine because baby on way and needed more room for car seat and now it will be on my 01tundra. Good luck and look under my post.

 

[Paredneck]

I have an 04 Phoenix with about the same dry weight and I don't notice it on the back if my 2013 f150. Had it on. 1500 mi trip up to Acadia national park. You will be fine. The previous owner had it on a 2000 tundra.

 

[rystjohn]

So you guys honestly don't think that the weight will be an issue, even though the camper is going on full time?

 

[rystjohn]

That's my biggest concern right now, since GVWR will be affected and this isn't for short stints. I don't want to buy a camper, overload my truck and 6 months into this adventure wind up with a busted truck. I'm convinced my truck could handle it, but as I think about it more I'm just not liking the idea of worrying about weight all the time, if anyone has examples of doing this full time with their GVWR maxed out I might feel a bit safer...

 

[surlydiesel]

I think you've answered your own question with your last 2 posts and I mean this in a positive way. You have a good truck but I think you'll feel better and worry less if you figure out a way to get into a 1 ton before you get a camper. My theory is bigger truck, lighter camper.

Best,
Jorge

 

[tanglefoot]

My camper's on all the time. I haven't had it weighed, but it wouldn't surprise me if it's over GVWR. The 30-year-old Toyota doesn't seem to mind it. It's taken much more abuse before the camper, on the 4wd trails, than it has with the camper on.

It certainly depends on how you set it up, where you go, and how you drive. If you rope-tie it to the stake pockets and then pre-run the Baja 1000, sure, you'll run into problems. If you secure it right and use common sense, the camper will likely be a non-issue. You can always add some suspension support if you need it.

The most-likely way to break the truck is with bumps and speed. Try to avoid the combination of the two.

There's no way to completely foresee the future, but chances are, if you go for it, you'll think back and wonder why you worried about it. Trucks are made to carry a load, and if you think about it, 800-1000 lbs is not all that much to put in the bed. Landscapers routinely put much more weight in. You probably won't be overloading it as much as other uses. If something does go wrong with the truck, chances are it would have happened the same way, camper or not. With a camper, you have a comfy place to stay as you figure out how to resolve the situation--less stress!

Now, the scrappers around here with the 6-foot-high pipe racks and washers, dryers, stoves and fridges piled 10 feet high on their F-150s worry me, but I've never even seen them have any problems.

 

[potterjon]

http://boise.craigslist.org/rvs/4463507779.html

 

[rystjohn]

Everybody, again, thank you. I'd buy you all a beer if I could. Find me and I will!

So here's what it's come down to:

As someone has already mentioned, I have basically already come to the decision that my truck is simply too small being a 1/2 ton....

I want to use my truck, but simply put, I just don't feel comfortable doing it. I don't want to mess anything up on it and wind up screwed. I also not so secretly LOVE the idea of having an old body-style '97 F250 7.3 diesel powerstroke as our vehicle. Those things are bullet-proof and I really like how they look and drive.

My lady and I have both our vehicles on the market. Long story short we have buyers lined up on both vehicles and they should sell this week. The combined income from them should be 13K. Without getting into our finances too much, we also have another 5K that we can use if we need to, but would prefer to not.

I'm prepared to spend up to 10K on the truck, and then use the rest for a camper, dipping into our reserve funds if need be.

I've found a few '97 powerstrokes, and also a 2001 powerstroke. I don't know if anyone knows much about them, but the estimated hauling capacity they have is MUCH closer to my first expectations for my truck now. Even if I overload my new truck by a bit, I'll feel much safer than in the F150.

I don't really know what I'm asking or if I'm just commenting....I'm just now trying to figure out what truck I'll have and then select the camper from there I guess, and sadly pass on this gorgeous FWC in Texas that will pop up on the market soon I'm sure, unless we can figure out a way to swing both, but I don't think that'll happen.

My biggest thoughts now are that with the 3/4 ton truck I'll have a somewhat wider range of campers I can use, as well as probably a longer bed, which equals more space for the lady, dog and myself.

The '97 I'm going to test drive tonight has 194k on it, and the 2001 I want to test drive has 278K on it. Any suggestions? Both are priced nearly identically (2001 is $1k more) both are in great shape.

 

[rystjohn]

Everybody, again, thank you. I'd buy you all a beer if I could. Find me and I will!

So here's what it's come down to:

As someone has already mentioned, I have basically already come to the decision that my truck is simply too small being a 1/2 ton....

I want to use my truck, but simply put, I just don't feel comfortable doing it. I don't want to mess anything up on it and wind up screwed. I also not so secretly LOVE the idea of having an old body-style '97 F250 7.3 diesel powerstroke as our vehicle. Those things are bullet-proof and I really like how they look and drive.

My lady and I have both our vehicles on the market. Long story short we have buyers lined up on both vehicles and they should sell this week. The combined income from them should be 13K. Without getting into our finances too much, we also have another 5K that we can use if we need to, but would prefer to not.

I'm prepared to spend up to 10K on the truck, and then use the rest for a camper, dipping into our reserve funds if need be.

I've found a few '97 powerstrokes, and also a 2001 powerstroke. I don't know if anyone knows much about them, but the estimated hauling capacity they have is MUCH closer to my first expectations for my truck now. Even if I overload my new truck by a bit, I'll feel much safer than in the F150.

I don't really know what I'm asking or if I'm just commenting....I'm just now trying to figure out what truck I'll have and then select the camper from there I guess, and sadly pass on this gorgeous FWC in Texas that will pop up on the market soon I'm sure, unless we can figure out a way to swing both, but I don't think that'll happen.

My biggest thoughts now are that with the 3/4 ton truck I'll have a somewhat wider range of campers I can use, as well as probably a longer bed, which equals more space for the lady, dog and myself.

The '97 I'm going to test drive tonight has 194k on it, and the 2001 I want to test drive has 278K on it. Any suggestions? Both are priced nearly identically (2001 is $1k more) both are in great shape.