Camper hauling

Trying to get an idea of what type truck I should be looking into to haul my 37' Sandpiper across America. 5 tons at this point, and I was thinking, would something like the bed-less 3500 shown below offer an advantage because it would decrease total length? Does a short bed make hauling such a long camper easier or am I off here?

Since my rig was delivered to me 3 years ago I have not personally moved it once, but I intend to within one year's time. I need the best way to do that.

I'm aware that this truck, exactly - as is, is tow rated right at the weight of my rig, so it's probably not the best truck for me.

Thanks

Camper: http://imgur.com/a/ZjUOJ
Specs: http://www.nadaguides.com/RVs/2007/Sandpiper-by-Forest-River/M-321FKD/4091696/Specs
Bedless truck: http://www.ebay.com/itm/112236297442?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

First, welcome to the Forum!

This Sandpiper is a Travel Trailer (TT), not a Fifth Wheel (FW).  This is very good news of how much truck you need.

The TT weight when traveling will be significantly above that dry weight of 8380#, as you also indicated.  I suspect the real number may come in closer to 11,000#, or 5 ? tons.

The truck you need must have a payload big enough to carry all passengers, cargo, tools, pets and snacks carried in the truck, plus 80# for a WD hitch and 1100# - 1300# of tongue wt.  Calculate your real weight.  I will guess it is around 1800#.  This actually describes some lightly equipped ? ton trucks, but at 37 ft long, the ? ton is NOT recommended!

Almost any ? ton or 1 ton truck could handle this.  One with the bed delete will weigh less, but the payload calculations get real confusing!  Quite honestly, it really does nothing for you here.  If you like the look, fine.  Otherwise, get a truck with a bed.

A typical ? ton truck payload will be 2500# or more.  A typical 1 ton SRW truck payload will be 3500# or more.  A 1 ton dually payload will typically be 4500# or more.

I suspect the truck you show has a payload and GCWR  MORE than sufficient to pull this camper!  Do note it does NOT have a trailer hitch and I did NOT  see a trailer brake controller.

Good Luck in your search!

Thanks for your input, lots of good info. I'm glad I found this place.

I know the truck I buy will have to be a beast because, along with all you mentioned, I also installed my solar battery box up near the tongue. With 12 60lb batteries plus the actual battery box another 1/2 ton of weight is up there. I was thinking 3/4 ton, at least.

Do you have any experience with bed-less trucks though? I've read that the longer the truck, the better the drive, but it seems to me, logically, that shortening my rig's overall length may be the better drive.

Like they said a 2500 or even 3500 would be best.
As far as length even without a bed that truck is the same wheelbase as one with a bed. Actually the picture looks like somebody removed the bed and rear bumper probably because of damage that wasn't repaired.
A short truck would be useful for backing into tight places, but would ride terrible because the trailer will have an easier time pushing it around.
I sometimes see trucks with custom beds in the campground but usually those have a gas powered welder and tools.

Trying to get an idea of what type truck I should be looking into to haul my 37' Sandpiper across America.

Well I don't know where you are - but assuming you want to cross America then there will be mountains to go over too.

So since I didn't see the word Diesel I will say it - only consider a Diesel.

With the weights your talking you will likely need the torque of a diesel and It's ALMOST always better to have
too much vs. too little power or torque.  JMO.

Towing 5 or 6 tons may very well require a bigger heavy duty hitch which may or may not come with a vehicle you buy.
Many hitches are limited on how much tongue weigh you can have and with the batteries you added - it might put you way over
what is allowed.  Do you have a tongue scale?  You might need one if you want to be sure and safe - again MY opinion.
I have a tongue scale and know how putting a little weigh up front can make big changes to the weight on the tongue.

The wheelbase determines how well a truck will ride - or car for that matter.  Longer wheelbase = smoother ride.
A longer wheelbase on a truck usually means bigger turning radius. My F350 Long bed needs 5 lanes to turn around.  Shorter trucks need a little less.
Shorter wheelbase is easier to back a trailer.
Whether or not it has a bed has no effect on any of this.

The difference between a short wheelbase and a long one are quite small.  For 2013, Ford SD, the shortest wheelbase was 142" for a reg cab 8ft box.  The longest was 172" for a crew cab long box. (Reg cab short box not available on SD that year)

A bed-less truck brings on other issues.  Where do you mount your hitch receiver?  How far behind the rear axle will it be?  Compare this to the hitch location with a truck bed.  Mud flaps are required. Does the truck have trailer wiring or a brake controller?

Look over the options and costs to get what YOU want!

This is all good. Thanks so much for your input.

I do worry about that battery box adding 1/2 ton to my tongue weight. If a guess on my tongue weight is 1250~lbs but I've added another 1000lbs to it, am I looking specifically at a dual axel or would that be overkill? Anyone know the standard tongue weight support of, say, a 3500?

Or should I be looking for a more standard type like a 2/3500, lean towards diesel, and just add to its suspension?

It is always cheaper and easier to buy the truck you need rather than modifying one to handle the weight. With a trailer that size and weight I would want a 3500 diesel at a minimum. Dually is not necessary but will be even more stable. With that much tongue weight you should plan on a bigger hitch receiver and a top line WD hitch.

Desert_Rat said:

This is all good. Thanks so much for your input.

I do worry about that battery box adding 1/2 ton to my tongue weight. If a guess on my tongue weight is 1250~lbs but I've added another 1000lbs to it, am I looking specifically at a dual axel or would that be overkill? Anyone know the standard tongue weight support of, say, a 3500?

Or should I be looking for a more standard type like a 2/3500, lean towards diesel, and just add to its suspension?

Click to expand...

a 3500 ccc will be about 3700 for a srw the receiver hitch on mine is rated for 13,000 or 14,000. This will be your limiting factor. Adding to the suspension will not change tow ratings.
I wouldn't (didn't) get a truck that big without diesel. 

glen54737 said:

a 3500 ccc will be about 3700 for a srw the receiver hitch on mine is rated for 13,000 or 14,000. This will be your limiting factor. Adding to the suspension will not change tow ratings.
I wouldn't (didn't) get a truck that big without diesel.

Click to expand...

I have never seen a hitch rated that high, mine on my 2015 F350 Diesel was rated at 600lbs without WD and 1250 with WD.  it was posted right on the side of the hitch with big yellow warning sticker.

I am going out on a limb with this post.

First, I would try to not put all that battery weight on the tongue.  I know that you seem to be committed to that location because of the large size battery bank.

If you absolutely are going to do this then I will inform you of a possible solution.  I am not recommending it but rather letting you know about it.

I have over 6,000 pounds of tongue weight on my Stacker Trailer and I use a "Trailer Toad" to support that weight on a separate axle with a WD hitch,

This turns a trailer into a wagon.

Here is the link for the discussion on the Trailer toad.

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,88123.msg800109.html#msg800109

Another thing I think you ought to consider is will the frame of your trailer handle all that weight on the tongue to begin with. That's a lot of weight concentrated in that area. I seriously doubt Lippert built that frame to handle it. You have to think about the physics involved when you're going down the road.

Why don't you place the batteries on the back of the truck.  As someone mentioned, I am not sure the frame will be ok with that additional weight.  I would also be concerned with your trailer's tires since you mentioned you have not moved it in three years.  If i were you, I would replace them if you are going to put significant miles on them.  Better safe than sorry. MHO

So.. what I'm gathering is Ram, 3500, diesel, duelly, and http://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Weight_Distribution-co-1800_lbs.aspx

That would be perfect. Of course that would set me back 50-60k so it ain't happening. Nice to know where to start though.

Here's the brochure for that trailer:

http://www.rvwholesalers.com/resources/brochures/Sandpiper_2007.pdf

That trailer grosses out at 11,160#

I would be in weight specs pulling that with my F-250.

With a 5er weight of 11600 with a 20% pin would be 2232 and with a 25% pin it would 2900 lbs so the real number will probably be somewhere between those two numbers.  With those numbers and most diesel F250/2500 run less than 2400 payload even at the low end of 20 percent plus the weight of the hitch (200) and couple people would be over the GVWR of 3/4 ton.  You could gas and get the payload but now you will be at the upper end of the gas towing capacity but probably still in spec but still close on payload. 

An example would be my 12,100 UVW and 2390 Dry PIn on the scales ended up being 180lbs below my trucks GVWR of 11,500 with 1380 lbs loaded over the UVW.

CWSWine said:

With a 5er weight of 11600 with a 20% pin would be 2232 and with a 25% pin it would 2900 lbs so the real number will probably be somewhere between those two numbers.  With those numbers and most diesel F250/2500 run less than 2400 payload even at the low end of 20 percent plus the weight of the hitch (200) and couple people would be over the GVWR of 3/4 ton.  You could gas and get the payload but now you will be at the upper end of the gas towing capacity but probably still in spec but still close on payload. 

An example would be my 12,100 UVW and 2390 Dry PIn on the scales ended up being 180lbs below my trucks GVWR of 11,500 with 1380 lbs loaded over the UVW.

Click to expand...

It's a travel trailer, not a fifth wheel.

There are MANY gently used F250/F350/2500/3500 trucks available with reasonable miles.  They are still expensive, but less than new.  There are some that have had a hard life, but it is usually easy to tell.

I got really picky finding my truck.  My requirements were F350, 2013 or newer, Lariat or higher trim, diesel, 4WD, 40/20/40 seats, adobe leather, basic Lariat option package and factory Gooseneck hitch.  For less than $45K.  Out of every 100 trucks listed, about 3 or 4 met this criteria.  Some were high miles, some well worn, some overpriced, but I only wanted ONE.

Bottom line is your (used) truck is out there just like you want.  It just takes a little time and research to find it.  It also helps if you are willing to drive a couple hours to find it.

Unfortunately I'm located in oil country, and oil country still thinks a boom is going on. Buying pretty much anything here is ridiculously expensive so we're forced to either overspend of go elsewhere. I go elsewhere.

Luckily for us, eBay exists and I've had great luck buying my last 4 vehicles on it. It's easy to filter and buying has its protections against fraud.