Info on F150 and slide camper

[dutch71]

Hi guys. We bought our first truck camper. We’re very happy about it. Although as often happens the first time you do something new you come across new stuff to deal with.
We own a Ford F150, already equipped with airbags on the rear axle. Unfortunately today an F250 wasn’t an option. Our F150 payload is in the 1600 lbs range. The camper wet is around 1700 lbs.
I’d like to hear possibly from F150 + slide camper owners what’s their experience, driving with such a load, traveling experience.

Thanks for your feedback,
George

 

[steveblonde]

Your overloaded already before you add food water people gear you need to rethink your purchase air bags are not going to help you that much, they may level the truck but you are going to wear out your brakes and trans in a hurry and possible frame damage as you will be at least 400- 500 lbs overmax before you start

 

[Roy M]

You are going to hate it. The airbags will keep it from squatting but will do nothing for increased stability. My dad put an overhead camper on what would have been a heavy half in the mid sixties, nobody knew any better in those days. It was evil, difficult at best to keep on the road with a wind and brakes were marginal. And don't get into a wreck, the lawyers will hang you.

 

[donn]

Your biggest killer is tires. Overloaded tires overheat and blow out. Often in dramatic fashion. Don't continue

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

I drove an "overloaded" chevy S-10 around for a number of years. Doesn't take long to put more than half a ton in a half ton truck. I was over by maybe 300lbs. I took it to a truck spring place where they re-curved the rear leaf springs, and added an extra leaf. I replaced the tires with ones rated for the weight and set pressure appropriately. From that point I drove it for the better part of 10 years and 50K miles. For certain it wasn't "sporty" and it lived it's life on pavement so the suspension wasn't unduly stressed. Comes down to what you are willing to try, and risk. One has to consider the technical and operational problems that come with using something outside it's rated spec. If the expectation is that it will ride and behave per usual then there will be disappointment. If the brakes are not up to it, there is some exposure to an at-fault accident. If it breaks down in BFE then that has to be dealt with. At a minimum I think I'd look up what greater payload capacity truck models use for components and compare that to what exists, and of those what might be re-fitted to get you closer to making what you have more suitable.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[edjunior]

First, welcome to the forum. Second, the folks here that are giving you advice know what they are talking about. There's a wealth of knowledge here. Finally, you are flirting with danger with what you have described. Yeah, you might be able to get away with it, even for a while like Mark B., but you are probably not going to enjoy it. Especially if you are planning on going in the mountains, or places where the wind could cause you trouble. One way or another, you have to find a truck that will better suit your camper. Or rethink your camper. Remember...the right tool for the job. I wish you luck, and please come back with questions. We are here to help!

 

[TheBar]

Also find the heaviest shocks and anti sway bars to handle the extra load. Also double your life insurance. I was following a 2020 F150 with a truck camper through the campgrounds today. The speed limit was 10 mph. When he would go around a gentle turn it leaned over so far it looked like it was going to turn over. Trucks are built so tall these days it makes their center of gravity very high. Adding a camper makes it downright dangerous.

 

[IBTripping]

Just let me add to the excellent points already made. Since your current setup won't work, you need to either get a bigger truck or get a small travel trailer. Best wishes. Please keep us informed as you progress.

 

[dutch71]

Hi all, thanks for taking the time. I'd like to thank anyone in here for your feedback.
Before going forward I need to be more clear about the camper. When I say "The camper wet is around 1700 lbs" I mean including beer and wife. Which still brings me around 100 lbs above my truck's ability to carry that's true. Fact is an F250 today is not an option.
I do acknowledge every remark you made on my setup are correct. Unfortunately I can't go with another camper either. At the same time I'd like to hear from F150 owners if possible on their experience.

 

[Lou Schneider]

An often overlooked point is a truck camper's center of gravity is directly over or just slightly ahead of the rear axle, which means the rear axle carries the vast majority of the camper's weight. This makes it easy to exceed the rear axle's weight limit even if you're within the truck's payload capacity, as it assumes the load is distributed between both axles.

The F-150 uses a semi-floating rear axle where the axle shaft has to support the weight on the axle. It's essentially the same axle as what's used in a full size passenger car. Overload springs and air bags won't do anything to change this. F-250s and above use full floating rear axles, a completely different design that puts the axle bearings directly in line with the wheel hub and takes the weight off of the spinning axle shaft.

Here's a good explanation of the differences:

https://www.dieselhub.com/tech/semi-vs-full-floating-axles.html

 

[scale obsession]

I would almost be tempted to figure out how to mount the truck camper to a utility trailer, and tow it. It may look funny, but it will get you within the tow specs of the truck.

 

[Pugapooh]

Okay,bigger truck is not an option. A truck camper is not a realistic option. So why won’t you consider a travel trailer within your safe capacity?

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

Well, if the wife is >100lbs then the solution is obvious...

Part of any spec is operating environment. The OEM spec's are over the entire operating range this vehicle is expected to function in, for it's design life. Alaska to Mexico, zero to max speed limit, braking capacity, rain, shine, duty cycle and number of operations. This isn't a binary state, overload means that there will be some impact to suitability or operating parameters relative to the amount of overload. From there it becomes a tradeoff of accepting that or replacing things to mitigate it. In the case of my S-10 I was willing to accept chassis issues but none ever materialized. There may have been some impact to other operating parameters but since I narrowed my operating range, they didn't become factors. I "pushed it" and lucked out.

So in my view it comes down to understanding there ain't no free lunch and that extended operating above rated capacity will impact ride, certainly chew through brakes and tires and may eventually wreck an axle, sack out some springs or possibly component metal fatigue and failure. If one is OK with that then full steam ahead. Perhaps swapping out some key components will lessen that impact, and a cost/benefit can be applied to that. It all comes down to understanding the issues and reconciling the tradeoffs, which is engineering 101.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[KuriousKamper]

A year ago I bought a new truck camper for my GMC Sierra, which has a payload of about 1860 lbs. The sticker on the camper says it weighs about 1365 lbs. The first thing I did when I got back to my home city was take it to a CAT scale and weigh it. Turns out the camper (dry, as purchased) is a full 800 lbs (about 60%) heavier than advertised. I've run the scale results by others who confirm my math. Now I'm WAY over payload and am doing what I can to enhance the suspension, heavier tires, whatever. Transport Canada tells me camper manufacturers lie about the weight because they can - truck campers aren't regulated in Canada (not sure about the US). The woman encouraged me to write to my member of Parliament to initiate a change in legislation, but that won't help me now. I might have to sell it.

 

[steveblonde]

Typical of the manufacturer. Not your fault but your stuck. Good news is there are deals to be made on 2500 and 3500 if you know where to look