Best truck camper for a RAM 2500

[rleitzke]

We are looking for a light weight easy to load and unload truck camper. I plan to tow this behind a Renegade 45 ft motor coach and use it to get home after delivering the coach. We want to be self contained when on the road so we don't have to stay in motels or use gas station restrooms. There are other obvious uses. We would like a galley, bath with shower, a small fridge, and A/C. We do not need a generator or LP furnace as we plan to stay at RV camps for security reasons. I can always plug in a small electric heater if it gets cold. Keeping it light avoids upgrading the truck suspension and getting it on and off easy is just practical. Any models anyone would want to recommend is appreciated. Thank you all. Rue

[Americanrascal]

If I am understanding you, I think you are going to need to explore the weight of the campers you are interested inrelative to the rated capacity of the truck; know if it will fit on your truck bed size, and especially be knowldgable of the camper center of gravity relative to the truck's rear axle.

Lance has had a good variety of truck campers and there are other good companies also.

Hoping thats helpful

[KD4UPL]

Just about any camper with a shower is going to be over 2,000 pounds, probably close to 3,000 loaded with water, propane, and supplies. You can find them that will work on a 2500 series truck but many will be too heavy.
Northstar campers are often only 7' wide so a bit lighter than 8' wide models.

[dix39]

Just a thought about GVWR. My '96 Dodge Cummins 4wd 2500 is rated at 8800 GVWR. The truck across the scales weights 4080 front and 2660 rear for a total of 6740.

However the axle ratings are 4850 front and 6084 rear for a total of 10934. That is a difference of 2134 between the combined axle ratings and the GVWR. What is the limiting factor here?

Steve

[Americanrascal]

Factors in your analysis - just a few:

1. Truck bed dimensions as related to camper floor.
2. Cab over clearance
3. Was your truck loaded out with fuel and passengers when yoyu weighed? You need to understand your curb weight also to determine what you can haul, Looks like you are close to understanding that number. Good job getting axle weight but make sure you had a full load of passengers and fuel as you would normally operate.
4. Consider impact on rear axle weight and front axle weight with new load making sure you are under your ratings.
5. You must know where the center of gravity (COG) is for the camper you are considering and where it is relative to the rear axle. It must be forward of the rear axle.
6. Tire capacity/ weight ratings are critical. Make sure you do not exceed when loaded out

When we had our Lance we had to go through all these numbers before we could purchase. We had a short bed F-250 so were limited in what we could choose. Our COG was a bit close but we made it (COG should be marked on whatever camper you are considering so you can see it relative to your axle.) Our overall weight was marginal and we had to strip out the rear seats to get overall weight under gross vehicle weight rating.Tires???--- we were gambling with and I should have upgraded them for more weigt carrying capability. I never ran with very much water or waste water in the camper tanks to keep weight low and we were very careful loading it.

[CharlesinGA]

Originally Posted by dix39

Just a thought about GVWR. My '96 Dodge Cummins 4wd 2500 is rated at 8800 GVWR. The truck across the scales weights 4080 front and 2660 rear for a total of 6740.

However the axle ratings are 4850 front and 6084 rear for a total of 10934. That is a difference of 2134 between the combined axle ratings and the GVWR. What is the limiting factor here?

Steve

The rear axle is capable of 3424 to take it to max axle weight
The difference between the trucks total scale weight of 6740 and the 8800 lb gross is 2060 (trucks payload capacity)

The 2060 becomes the limiting factor.

Adding the two axle ratings together mean nothing. They are simply numbers to not exceed for each individual axle.

My '03 RAM 2500 is similar.
scale weights
Front, 4060
Rear, 2860
Total, 6920

My GVWR is 9000 so my payload is 2080

My rear axle rating is 6000 so the axle is capable of 3140 but that exceeds my payload so the 2080 is the limiting factor. Nearly all trucks are limited by the payload number.

Charles