Truck Camper question
 

I've got a 18' boat and trailer and had thought I'd like to get a truck camper to put on my 2015 GMC 1500 with a 6.5' box. Trailer towing capacity 9,100 lbs., GCWR of 15,000 lbs., and total load capacity of 1541 lbs. Went to a large RV show and the salesmen advised against a camper on a 1500, recommended a 2500 or 3500. I don't want to buy a new truck and had decided to just get a travel trailer and forget about using it and the boat at the same time.

Talking to my next door neighbour, he disputed this advice and said his brother ran a camper (though not a really heavy one) on his 150/1500 level truck with just airbag lifts on the back. Anyone had experience with this issue? I do not want to do anything risky or dangerous. Thanks.

Personally, I wouldn't put it on anything less than a 3500, specially with a trailer in tow.

For an in-bed camper, you need to look at GVWR, and factor in weight of truck + camper + tongue weight of trailer. Guarantee with a half ton you’d be much over that. Ya with airbags it’d probably be OK but you run the risk of insurance trying to avoid liability if an accident occurs.

Even those fold down campers are too heavy for a 1500.GVW is truck,camper,you & other tools etc.I remember a guy pulling into the Golden scale.He had a pop up camper,that was to heavy for the trucks GVW. iT WAS OFF LOADED Right there !! They won't allow him to carry on with it on that truck..

I know you will get hounded with the GVWR but I used to pack around my camper on my 1995 dodge 1500 shortbox reg cab.
With air bags I was fine, I towed my quads behind. I did not go very far that often and was never into B.C. with it.
But seamed to work just fine.
I have a big 5th wheel now and use a 3500 DRW truck now and love it.
It all depends on how big of truck box camper you are looking to run.
I remember my dad had a big 8foot camper on a old 1971 chev half ton, and they used it for years.
Just my 2cents

Beef up the back end with over loaders or air bags?. If your only going to be in AB, probably won't get stopped. Go to B.C. and be ready for some roadside checks and hassles.

You will most likely be over your carry limit no matter what camper you put on. Buy the camper, hook up the boat and go to a local weigh scale on the side of a highway and see how far over you are. Braking and tilting back and forth will be your issue going down the highway.

Welcome back Oki

What about one of those small 20 foot or so fifth wheels and pull in tandem?

Need more details.

If you are serious about this, and actually want to be legal, then hook your boat up to your truck (with a full tank of gas in both), with your family, and weigh each axle, then unhook the boat, and weigh each axle again. Use that information do determine your trucks left over payload. This is the maximum your truck can carry. You will be surprised. And if you can find a truck camper to fit your available payload, I will be shocked.

Air bags are not used to (and cannot) increase your payload, they are used to make your (legally) loaded truck handle properly. Basically they allow your springs/shocks to return to the height instead of being compressed just from the load.

Anyways. You'll see EVERYTHING on the road, and you'll hear EVERYONE saying "it drives like it's not even there".

Ask Calgarygringo about his incident (or search for it).

If it was me, get a bigger truck, or get a RTT.

I think its still legal to tow behind a fifth wheel inside AB if that's an route your willing to go?

Welcome Back!!!

Sorry I have no advice on this subject, just noticed you posted, and I think its the first post I have seen from in at least a year.

You can tow behind a fifth wheel as long as it is a dual axle

And under a certain length. Can't remember off the top of my head the length.

Ah the memories this brings back, riding up top in the Edson truck camper looking out the front windows flipping the bird to oncoming traffic. Down below Dad one handing the 77 gmc 1500 Sierra Grande with a 17 foot glastron behind. Caressing the mountain passes while yelling through the tiny window to pass up another beer from the fridge. Them Chevy 350’s & 3 speed autos with no lockup and gigantic drum brakes were all a man could ask for. Somehow me and lil sis survived even though there wasn’t many warning labels to study.

P.s. we had the goofy “heavy half” decals which gave us extra confidence.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...9084fb987a.jpg


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Topper/shell to sleep in and hold your camping gear. Only ok for 1 or 2 people
and not as many comforts.:);)

Not sure how heavy your boat is but there is a device made in B.C. I think that lifts the boat and places it upside down on a rack on the truck. You could then get a holiday trailer to tow.

https://www.lancecamper.com/truck-campers/650/
https://www.amlrv.com/truck-campers/...s-floor-plans/

Your going to be over weight unless you go with a camperette. Even then with towing the boat your going to close to the max weight.

Another thing to consider is years ago I had an 83 chev 1/2 ton 4x4 305 motor short box and the salesman assured me the 25 foot fifth wheel would not be to big for the truck. It did not take long before I blew the motor and replaced it with a rebuilt 350 motor which also did not last long. Just too much weight for a small truck.

Not legal in BC if you plan coming here

Lol...we could have been brothers. Funny how things have changed in 40 years because what was considered pretty normal back then would never happen today.

I had a 2010 2500 with the 6.5 foot box. To give you an idea of what you can carry legally . Loaded with a Northern Lite import camper(small) me my 115 lb wife no water in camper and some gear I was within 100 lbs of my max GVWR. I would never load a camper on a 1500.

I would also add.That i doubt any reputtable camper dealer.Knowing your unit Would not sell you the camper.Laws now a days,can be real brutal.Heaven forbid,your in an accident.Investigation says you were above your GVW etc.

HA TOTALLY!
My sister and I put 10's of thousands of miles riding in the bed looking out the front window of the cabover campers my folks had over the years. In all three western provinces. Can you imagine now? It'd make headline news if you got pulled over because someone panicked because they seem two little faces looing out the window above the cab!!!!!:sHa_sarcasticlol:
We're alive and well!!:sHa_shakeshout:
Almost always on halftons as well, before airbags were a thing for pick-ups.

camper
 

Another factor to consider with 6 foot box is large part of camper weight is back of the rear axle. The old heavy half pick-ups were usually 8 foot boxes and had more carry capacity regardless of GVW.

I Have an 08 Sierra with a 6.5' box that I carry a fold down camper in (Starcraft), dry weight 1300 lbs. I did upgrade the springs with a set from Standens rated at 500 lbs each better than the factory ones. I tow a 14' aluminum with a 9.9 motor. Never had any problems with it. Power is not an issue going over the mountain passes.

It's doable but you would probably be atleast a few hundred lbs over your payload.

I had a similar issue and have done alot of research. Used to have a 3/4 ton to pull my fifth wheel but repairs were adding up and while looking at new trucks, I didn't have much interest in buying another gas guzzler since I only pull the trailer a few times a year.

I ended up buying a 1/2 ton. It can tow 11,000lbs which is great but the payload is 1520. Full tank of gas, fam in truck and off to the scales i went. I unhooked trailer, scaled, then hooked it back up. My payload was at 1800.
I had to move some things around in the trailer but managed to get it down to 1580. I can live with that + I installed airbags..mind you my 5th wheel is only 22' with no slides. I don't think I would B-train my sxs behind it but it pulls great just with the trailer. Removing the tailgate knocked a good 60lbs off it.

It can work but you really have to pay attention to the payload weight. Some guys think you can tow a 10,000lb 5th wheel with slides with a half ton because they don't even consider what payload even means.

Half tons without 4x4 seem to also have a real good payload capacity comapared to 4x4's. It may be something you want to look into.

I did the small camper in a half ton thing for 4 years. Put airbags in the truck, which helped a lot. With the camper about half stocked it was close to GVW before hooking up to the boat.

In my case having the 4 speed transmission sucked. On perfectly calm days I could get by using 4th gear. A little wind and it'd be up and down between 3rd and 4th. A lot of wind and it would be constantly between gears on flat ground.

I think the biggest problem with a small camper is it always leaves you wanting more. Mine was hardly enough room for me and my dog. The few times my dad came along on a fishing trip it was really crowded. No toilet. After the second year I bought a small dometic portapotty that fit under the step to the bunk. In the end I'd had enough and decided I needed a bigger truck and then could watch for a bigger camper. I ended up buying a 3500HD long box and kept the little camper while watching for an upgrade. The first difference I noticed was that the factory suspension didn't even notice the small camper at all. In perfect weather I think I lost about 2l/100km from the half ton to the one ton. But in the wind it was a huge improvement. The 6 speed transmission was never gear searching.

I found my upgrade last year. Bigfoot 25c9.6. The factory suspension handled that well too, but I did decide to install timbrens, wedges in the lower overloads and extended bump stops to engage the top overloads sooner. That took care of the slight sag and smoothed things out a bit. In the end it is a bit nicer to drive. I expected a bigger camper in a bigger truck to be affected by side wind more, but it is a bit more stable. I like the ride a bit more, I'm not a huge fan of airbags. All loaded up, hooked up to the boat, this setup is around 1500lbs shy of the GVW.

Lots of people said I shouldn't bother going with a small camper in a half ton truck. It worked, it wasn't comfortable and it wasn't enough room. The airbags deflated to minimum pressure made the truck ride like a one ton anyway when it was empty. In hindsight, I should have just started with a one ton.

https://live.staticflickr.com/8426/2...48baae3b_c.jpg14115519_10157294396375092_778484605099752589_o by bman32_320, on Flickr

My camper weighs in dry at 960KG, 10' Slumber Queen. I have it on a GMC 2500 diesel. The truck handles it just fine, I also have the Stable- Lift system with adds some weight , but was told that if I go to BC and get checked I would probably have to park it as It is over the GVW. I would not use a 1500, not to many campers out there that weigh under 2000 lbs. If involved in an accident good chance the insurance company could/would refuse to cover as you would be over weight. Don't forget a 4x4 diesel has less carrying capacity than a 2 wheel drive.
I love truck campers:)

Airbags are the answer IMO.a guy bought a camper from me one time it was an 8ft and he had a 6ft box on his pickup with airbags,boy was I surprised the truck didn't drop at all like I expected .I would do this in a heartbeat.

Thanks Boys! As usual, you keep me from doing something stupid. Too bad you could never keep me from SAYING something stupid. :sign0161:

I'm going to want to take truck, camper, and boat to BC, other jurisdictions. I'm going to want to be absolutely safe with the law and the insurance company. And I'm pretty sure my wife is going to want some semblance of a bathroom. So it I want to go this route I'd better get me an HD truck. Thanks again for the advice and the welcomes!

Good choice, Oko!

And great to hear your "voice" again. Missed you around here.