I have a small 6.5 foot truck camper with a 4 foot cab over section. It is a pretty basic Capri Rodeo model – about 1,200 pounds unloaded. I need to get a tandem utility trailer anyway for my tractor and small 1966 Triumph TR4A instead of borrowing neighbor’s. I did have the truck camper on a Ford F250 which I don’t have anymore. I now have a 2017 Ford F150. I put my camper on my neighbor’s 16 foot tandem for a trial run. We placed it so that the tongue weight was appropriate and it pulled great. The only downside was it affected the gas mileage more than I hoped. I get around 22 highway normally but this knocked it down to 12. I am thinking about getting only a 14 foot trailer and hope that the little bit lower weight and the fact that the camper will sit a little closer to the truck (which has a topper) and hopefully be more in the truck’s draft might help out with the mileage. Anyway, my main question is are there any issues with the cab over section getting jolted on the trailer and being damaged. I know in the back of the truck they are not supported but I would guess the ride is smoother. I know a lot of people do this but have not really seen this issue addressed. Hopeful the relatively small length and weight of mine would help in that regard. Any input and advice on that issue would be appreciated and any general comments or advice would be appreciated as well. Great forum and information here. Thanks. Raleigh.
Truck camper on trailer question
- Thread starter rsanford
- Start date
Well, I want it to also be able to haul my small car or my small tractor when necessary. I also want a little extra room for bikes, gear, generator maybe. Plus, I was kind of thinking I needed a trailer weight of 1000 - 1500 pounds to provide a good base for the camper. Thanks for your input.
Last edited:
Scrapdaddy
Adventurer
I would think about building a alum. frame to go under the front and maybe box it in for some type of secured storage. It would be a good way to support it.
Get the Smallest trailer you can that can hold the tractor as well. MPG is going to be in the tank no matter what. Reducing down to one axel will decrease drag and should help a bit. I guess it really depends on the weight of the tractor, if that was not part of the equation, you could no kidding get away with slapping that thing on one of the POS harbor frights as long as you rolled it dry.
If bringing the bike and a gen set/ extra gear along is part of the plan I think that it would be worth it to take off the truck topper and put all of those things in the back of the truck. that would mean less weight on the trailer meaning less drag. You could also look at welding or attaching a 2 inch receiver hitch to the back of the trailer and getting one of those hitch mounted Moto carry trays. I guess it depends on how big the bike is, but then you could rock a small trailer with the bike on back. The gen set could ride in the bed of the truck with any other gear. 22 to 12 MPG seems like a bit of a big hit for 1200 LBS. My tacoma 4 cyl goes from 21/22 down to about 15 pulling a similar rated load. Were you using tow haul mode in the truck ? that might kill your MPG. Not all trucks, with all trailers need this turned on.
If bringing the bike and a gen set/ extra gear along is part of the plan I think that it would be worth it to take off the truck topper and put all of those things in the back of the truck. that would mean less weight on the trailer meaning less drag. You could also look at welding or attaching a 2 inch receiver hitch to the back of the trailer and getting one of those hitch mounted Moto carry trays. I guess it depends on how big the bike is, but then you could rock a small trailer with the bike on back. The gen set could ride in the bed of the truck with any other gear. 22 to 12 MPG seems like a bit of a big hit for 1200 LBS. My tacoma 4 cyl goes from 21/22 down to about 15 pulling a similar rated load. Were you using tow haul mode in the truck ? that might kill your MPG. Not all trucks, with all trailers need this turned on.
Good info. I guess I was not really clear on what I did. The 1200 was the weight of the camper and I would estimate the trailer weight as 1500 so the total would be approaching 2700 or so. If I go the 14 foot route I would be looking at more like 2500 total. I had it in tow mode 1/2 and not in 1/2. The tow setting did lower the mileage it was getting and when out of tow setting, the truck was not shifting any more than normal so it looks like I can do that unless in a hilly area.