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Hey guys, I have a job coming up in San Francisco and I'm wanting to drive down there. It's about a 13 hour drive 1 way so I figure I'll make it a 2 day journey and I really don't want to sleep in the truck so I'm looking at campers.
Anyway, I found one and the guy says it's for an 8' bed, but he has it on a 6.5' bed. I have a 2006 F-250 crew cab short bed, would it work for my truck?
Depends on your definition of "work", and the wet and loaded weight of the camper.
If you can maintain the weight of the wet and loaded camper at less than about 2,900 pounds, and you haul nothing in the truck but a skinny driver, then you can probably "get by". Put the tailgate down for the back of the camper to rest on.
The shorty bed should not be a problem if you load the weight on the front of the camper instead of near the back of the camper.
The rig in the photo is overloaded, perhaps because of the tongue weight of the Jeep trailer. So leave the Jeep at home when you haul the camper.
You probably need to enhance the weight-carrying capacity of your rear suspension. As a minimum add air bags (air springs) to the rear suspension. Firestone RideRite air bags are very popular. The air bag inflation system can be a cheap and simple Schrader valve for each air bag, up to an expensive sophisticated air compressor plumbed to automagically adjust the PSI in the air bags from the driver's seat. You pays your money and you takes your choice. http://riderite.com/
Last edited by smokeywren; 01-21-2017 at 09:48 PM.
Basically I want it to be safe. I'm tired of just getting by by the skin of my teeth lol, I want it to be safe and secure on the truck.
Sounds like it won't work. I'd be driving me, my dad, my brother, and possibly my two dogs down there and loading the camper up with tools. Unfortunately I don't have air bags yet but I do have some I'm looking at with a big air compressor that I can run air tools off of.
Yeah no I don't tow anything, my max load would be the camper, 4 people, 2 dogs, and probably 150 lbs of tools. That would be max, usually it'd just be me and a few tools. I guess I'll look for something more appropriate for an F-250.
Do you have a make and model of the camper? With that you could find an accurate weight. That picture is worthless. The Jeep & trailer are obviously imparting quite a bit of squat to the truck AND the lift is of unknown origin. I see lots of lifts where the truck sits nose high even with no load. I'm thinking you would be ok, but actual numbers are needed. If it does work out, plan on airbags. They are great for eliminating squat when loaded, and can be quickly deflated when empty to preserve ride quality.
More importantly is your F250 rated to have a camper? I had a 99 F350 dually that was not rated for a camper, yet it had an 8' bed. I think it has something to do with the suspension having heavier sway bars to reduce the rolling on curves.
All I know on the camper is it's a '96 Lance. I know my truck doesn't have the camper prep package, but I am putting an AAL in the rear with air bags if I do get a camper.
The center of gravity of the camper is almost as important as the weight of it. A camper designed for an 8' box but put into a 6.5' box would move the COG further back on the truck. This can cause you to exceed the GAWR of the rear axle (a big no-no around here). Also by overloading the rear, it can unload the front suspension which reducing steering and braking ability.
Looking at that picture, even if he's not over-weight technically, it certainly looks like the weight distribution in the bed, plus the tongue weight of the trailer is causing the front end to unload. If I'm a cop, I'm going to pull that vehicle over.
01-21-2017, 09:00 PM
Can I use this camper?
