Community Forums

NevadaNick · 10-25-2020, 07:38 AM

After selling our DP we have gone without for too long and looked at too many tt’s truck campers etc and have landed on the 890. It appears to be a new model and were going to order one with the options we want. We kept busy enough to do without but the time has come.

camper8251 · 10-25-2020, 09:08 AM

Wow talk about a downsize! Do you all think you can handle losing so much room?

Truck campers are great! I had an AF811 and had to get rid of it due to family size increasing since it didnt provide enough room. Personally I think they are the greatest camping option out there, you can go just about anywhere and park just about anywhere within reason.

Make sure your truck can handle what you are putting on it.... Brakes, tires and suspension are all weak links when running with a TC...

NevadaNick · 10-25-2020, 09:16 AM

Yes big downsize but we want to go where the DP wouldn't and i took it places it didn't belong. Also we used to spend months at a time in the rv and now only a week at the most. I’m an outlaw when it comes to whether the truck can handle it and only adhere to tire ratings and i have near 4k lbs of capacity on current tires. Truck is 2018 GMC 2500. I will add air bags and bigwig sway bar to help out.

camper8251 · 10-25-2020, 09:36 AM

Nice, I know what you are saying. 2500 will be fine for that size of TC....

The Tire ratings are what killed me, but my TC was heavier than yours....
ended up costing me a couple thousand to get tires that were rated for that weight.

Living in the mountains and driving twisting roads always had me concerned about a potential blow out with the stock tires...

Good luck and Congrats on your purchase.. I am jealous.....LOL

Bedlam · 10-25-2020, 11:29 AM

We went from a toy hauler to an Artic Fox 811. Even with the slide, we wanted a little more room, side entry and dry bath and after five years decided on the triple slide Host. We are just 25' overall length and have all things we missed when we went too small.

dix39 · 10-25-2020, 12:03 PM

I too think you will have plenty of truck for a ball park 3k lb wet camper. I didn't know what the 890 was and had to look it up on the internet, so if I'm out in left field please correct and forgive me.

We just went from a 26' gas MH and 30' DP to a 11' 3" '96 Lance 945. Before the MHs we had 11.5' TCs for about 40 years. During the earlier of those years we traveled from OR to WV, and NPs/attractions between, with a family of 5 in the TCs. As the kids got older they chose to stay in OR, but they got to know their relatives in WV where my wife and I grew up, and see some beautiful country. It was cozy, but we "made do".

Our reasons for going to a TC were about the same as the OPs, to gain more ground clearance, maneuverability, the advantage of 4wd, better economy, and a truck to use when the camper is off.

I'm with camper8251 about the critical weak links, especially tires suspension and axle ratings. Not that brakes aren't critical also, but our trucks always had manual transmissions and could be geared down to manage just about any hill without even needing brakes, if speed wasn't an issue. With the last truck we had, a '89 Dodge Cummins W250, I researched the difference between it and a W350 and learned that the frames were the same. The main differences were suspension and brakes and possibly tires and axle. Over time the truck was converted to a W350 by changing the necessary components. The camper we had at that time, a '92 11.5' Caribou, weighed about 4k lbs when ready to go. With tire and suspension modifications the truck did just fine with it. When the original brakes needed to be replaced, I did that with W350 items. These are some options that could be there for anyone, if needed.

Our current setup is a '96 Dodge Cummins 2500 4wd and the '96 Lance 945. The truck had overloads, air bags, sway bar, and a Dana 80 3.54 axle on the rear when I bought it. The camper weighs about 3k lbs dry so I'm expecting around 3500-4k when loaded. I'll know when I weigh it for our first trip. I replaced the tires right after we bought truck and settled for 3700 (per tire), but I'm wishing I had gone to 4k like the OP. We bought both the camper and truck specifically for the features they offered, many of which are not found on newer trucks/campers. For the camper a partial list would be large fresh (40 gal) and holding capacities for boondocking, gen, AC, wet bath and no slides, in at least 11' floor length.

Best of luck with your choice

Steve

laj · 10-25-2020, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NevadaNick

Yes big downsize but we want to go where the DP wouldn't and i took it places it didn't belong. Also we used to spend months at a time in the rv and now only a week at the most. I’m an outlaw when it comes to whether the truck can handle it and only adhere to tire ratings and i have near 4k lbs of capacity on current tires. Truck is 2018 GMC 2500. I will add air bags and bigwig sway bar to help out.

exactly right. no outlaw, just good common sense. tires, and axles are all you need to worry about.
let the bad opinions begin[emoji850][emoji850][emoji850]

NevadaNick · 10-25-2020, 01:21 PM

The next set of tires will be rated 4080lbs, so a bit of cushion. I would like to find what the axle mfg rates the axle for on this pickup, my last DP rear axle was rated much higher than what Tiffin had placard it.

laj · 10-25-2020, 01:28 PM

right around 10k. just google the mfg. and its way more then gm

turnleft · 10-27-2020, 04:04 AM

i'd look at it like is the glass half empty or full. it is a new model. so does that mean they are going to be extra careful making the first units or is the design and workmanship a possible train wreck.

NevadaNick · 10-30-2020, 12:19 PM

They are going to start building the 890 in January. I have 2 dealers that i will work with and one is already getting preference over the other because of communication.

Longshore · 12-20-2020, 06:40 AM

I too am waiting on the 890. My dealer, so far, has been very good at communicating and fine tuning the options list. My truck is the GMC 3500 CCSB.

sd1209 · 12-20-2020, 08:07 AM

We went from a 40' Class A to the 1172 and could not be happier.....For the same reasons stated by Nick, access to areas we could not get the Class A into.......

Alaska in 2018 to the Artic Circle, Top of the World Hwy, Cassair Hwy, all done in the 1172 ......I would never have done some of those, ie the Artic Circle, with the Class A pulling a Jeep.......

It did take some adjusting the mindset a bit, esp on available space, weight and loading.....But overall we are happy with the downsize and move ....

Hey Nick----glad to see you get back into an RV...Happy travels and thanks again for the assist a few yrs ago..!!