Truck camper in bed with 3" bodylift?

[rusty1161]

What do you think about putting a TC in a bed mounted on a 3" body lift?

Thanks for your input.

Rusty

[rusty1161]

What do you think about putting a TC in a bed mounted on a 3" body lift?

Thanks for your input.

Rusty

[Big D 4X4]

What made you do the cummins swap?

[rusty1161]

I bent a rod in my 7.3 while swapping injectors, it was the opportunity to do the swap.

Rusty

[Harald]

I can think of a couple possible problems. I have a 2000 F350 dually 4x4 with no lift and there's not much clearance left when backing the truck under the camper. My camper is a 1998 and most campers built pre-Super Duty truck do not have enough clearance for the cabover section over the higher cab of the new trucks. So I have a 3 inch lift bolted to the bottom of my camper. With the camper jacks fully extended, I have enough clearance to back under. Your 3 inch lift might not give enough clearance. You can work around that problem by using some blocks of wood under the camper jacks so that it'll go up higher.

The bigger issue is the higher center of gravity (CG) of your truck. I wouldn't put a very large camper on the truck because it'll probably sway too much and sink too far in the rear to be safe. Most camper guys mod their trucks with added sway bars, air bags and better shocks to reduce that sway. I don't know a lot about lifted trucks, so I can't say how easy that'll be for you. If your truck rides level unloaded, you'll definitely want overload springs or airbags to keep it level once the camper is loaded. I'm assuming you have new shocks to go with that lift, so they might work if they provide enough dampening to keep side to side sway under control. If not, you might have to go with something like the Rancho adjustables. I do know that my dually works MUCH better with the Firestone Ride-rite airbags and Rancho RS9000 adjustable shocks.

[Big D 4X4]

Harold is right about the height of the jacks. Some campers might not be able to go high enough to get your truck under them. I have a 6" lift and need 2x6 blocks under each jack so that I don't get to the danger zone on the jacks. Not sure about the body lift. There is already flex between the frame and the bed of a stock truck. With the spacers it may be enough to cause damage. Another thing to consider is tires. Are the Toyo's load range e? Most TC's are at or above the vehicle's max load and load range e tires are a must.

[rusty1161]

Thank you for the replies. I will have to weigh my options and see what I can come up with. The Toyos are load range D, but I believe around 3200 or 3300 pounds each. I am looking at campers that advertise dry weights of 1600-1900 pounds. I will add the weight of gear, clothes, food, etc to that. Still looking into this for now.

I do like the idea of a utility bed, but I know that adds a decent amount of weight, too. My ideal truck would be an F450 or F550 with a utility bed and camper, but I haven't won the lottery, yet.

Thanks, again.

Rusty