What Truck?

[hdhp]

Just make sure you are ok with the Ram 2500 suspension set up, as mentioned, the rear coil suspension is not ideal for a truck camper. I had one in 2014 and I think somewhere in the manual it actually mentioned that truck campers were not recommended. Great truck otherwise.

OK, I will deff look into that! Thanks for the heads up jaxyaks!

 

[Buddha.]

I wonder if an IFS 2500 Cheby would be nicer on washboard roads

I doubt it. My ‘11 Chevy 2500hd gasser doesn’t seem to ride much smoother that my father in laws old ‘04 Cummins.

 

[JaSAn]

Looks good! How do you like the regular cab? in terms of room?

The regular cab has plenty of room for me; I travel alone with a beagle. I can fit three 6 gallon 'Jerry' cans of water behind the seat.

I specifically wanted an 8 foot box, a crew cab with a long box won't fit into my garage and I don't like the looooong wheelbase. I wanted to get much of the weight of the camper in front of the rear axle and by keeping most of the heavy stuff in the front of the camper I did quite well: steer axle = 3940 lbs, drive axle = 3980 lbs.

 

[wirenut]

I have heard from numerous places that the coil sprung RAM 2500 is not the truck for a TC. When I carried a 4,000 pound TC on a 3500 SRW Chevy that was the worst part, the swaying. It handled find and held the load with the help of air bags but it just swayed a lot.
Why don't you want a 3500 truck? They're the same size as a 2500. If you want to carry a TC you need the weight capacity, therefore you get the truck rated for that weight, plus hopefully a little margin. If you need a 3500 (and I think you do) then get one. It's like needing to tighten a 3/4" nut and saying "But I really don't want to use a 3/4" wrench!"

 

[hdhp]

@hdhp We have a 2016 Ram 2500 with diesel and ran a ~1600 pound Northstar TC650 popup on it for for 4 years. The truck has been great, but I think the rear coil suspension on the Ram 2500's is a really bad match for a slide-in camper. The coils are mounted inboard of the frame rails causing a lot of sway with high center of gravity loads. The rear track bar also causes some goofy tail-wagging-the-dog effects.

Even though the camper load is not all that heavy or tall for a 3/4 truck, I've needed to add Timbrens and a Hellwig sway bar to correct sway issues.

With the Cummins, G56 trans, and 35" tires we get 14-15 MPG running around Colorado when loaded up.

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Yea I read that and talked to the guys at CJC off road. They told me NOT to buy a 2500 Ram for the same reason you described. He was honest and told me to get a 3500 Ram or the F250 or Silverado 2500HD. They have leaf spring rear suspension. However the RAM 2500 is the smoothest riding 3/4 ton truck without being loaded.
I do like the look of your set-up tho!!!!

HDHP


HDHP