Ultimate camping and towing rig
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OP
How would the Ram 4500 vs Tremor vs F450 compare as far as stability and handling with a 4,000lbs truck camper in the bed, hitch extension, and a 13,000lbs enclosed trailer?
I like the thought of the 10 gears in the Ford, but the exhaust brake on the Ram sounds pretty darn useful too. Winch on the Tremor sounds good too.
Any experience with 19.5" tires?
I don't plan on "offroading" with the truck other than campsites which can be sandy or muddy.
I like the thought of the 10 gears in the Ford, but the exhaust brake on the Ram sounds pretty darn useful too. Winch on the Tremor sounds good too.
Any experience with 19.5" tires?
I don't plan on "offroading" with the truck other than campsites which can be sandy or muddy.
Ram 4500 is commercial so it’s a huge step above in capable.
Tremor is Fords off-road package. It demolishes the capacity of payload for taller, off-road tires and lift.
The winch is optional and $3k for a basic Warn 12k winch. You can do better aftermarket.
Ford offers the exhaust brake as well, and it works DAMN good. Had a ‘17 F350 and it kicked ass.
I had put 19.5’s on my Ram 2500 due to being over payload. I went with Good year tires that were close to 38” to get a semi off-road tire but they were G-rated and needed 80 psi minimum to function properly.
They are hard and don’t flex much.
But it’s also why I was looking at C&C trucks and going super single. Can go with double beadlocks and 41” tires. Airing down is easier with them over a street 19.5 which you basically can’t until you lift and if you stay dually, you have to space to get the wider off-road tires.
Basically, I won’t go with 19.5’s again unless it’s a pavement only truck.
PAY ATTENTION TO PAYLOAD.
Tremor is Fords off-road package. It demolishes the capacity of payload for taller, off-road tires and lift.
The winch is optional and $3k for a basic Warn 12k winch. You can do better aftermarket.
Ford offers the exhaust brake as well, and it works DAMN good. Had a ‘17 F350 and it kicked ass.
I had put 19.5’s on my Ram 2500 due to being over payload. I went with Good year tires that were close to 38” to get a semi off-road tire but they were G-rated and needed 80 psi minimum to function properly.
They are hard and don’t flex much.
But it’s also why I was looking at C&C trucks and going super single. Can go with double beadlocks and 41” tires. Airing down is easier with them over a street 19.5 which you basically can’t until you lift and if you stay dually, you have to space to get the wider off-road tires.
Basically, I won’t go with 19.5’s again unless it’s a pavement only truck.
PAY ATTENTION TO PAYLOAD.
OP
OP
Super singles sound cool, but at this time I'm wanting to stick with close to stock and not make an entire build out of it. I also want to fit a spare on the truck and have them somewhat available for purchase across the country. It sounds like super singles won't fill those checkboxes?
The most difficult will probably be places like Johnson Valley lake bed with so much sand and parking off pavement. Do you think 19.5s will be an issue there?
The most difficult will probably be places like Johnson Valley lake bed with so much sand and parking off pavement. Do you think 19.5s will be an issue there?
OP
19.5’s suck on anything but smooth and dry pavement.
If you don’t want to modify, check your TC weight, and realize it’s off by more than a 1000 pounds or more.
And then your tongue weight.
A standard 1 ton can do this job, but you will have limits on the TC…..and trailer and extended hitch.
Remember, a long hangover hitch will require a long hitch like a 42” torque lift that reduces your tongue weight.
Most TC’s will kill you there.
A 1 ton is going to be pushing limits with a heavier TC and two TJ’s.
If you don’t want to modify, check your TC weight, and realize it’s off by more than a 1000 pounds or more.
And then your tongue weight.
A standard 1 ton can do this job, but you will have limits on the TC…..and trailer and extended hitch.
Remember, a long hangover hitch will require a long hitch like a 42” torque lift that reduces your tongue weight.
Most TC’s will kill you there.
A 1 ton is going to be pushing limits with a heavier TC and two TJ’s.
A 1 ton truck will NOT do what you want with two Jeep’s and a TC. Not going to happen.
@pagrey Because you know people with Lance campers, would you mind telling me more of what you know/have heard about them? Is the all-winter package winter hardy enough? We're tempted to go no slideouts and have the least maintenance possible. Hopefully that will help too.
And yes, we're very much set on purchasing a truck. We dream trucks. All we think of is trucks! We kind of wish we didn't have to go as big as a F450 potentially but as @Rick Flair says, PAY ATTENTION TO THE PAYLOAD. We'd only be hauling one of our Jeeps at a time though but still. This is going to be heavy.
Also, the bummer about the driver aids is that with the truck camera we'd be blocking some of our camera views. Does anyone have experience driving a truck with a truck camper and an enclosed trailer? This seems really nervousing. I'm aware that I made that word up.
I'm gonna go check out the truck camper thread now too. This is so helpful! Thank you!
And yes, we're very much set on purchasing a truck. We dream trucks. All we think of is trucks! We kind of wish we didn't have to go as big as a F450 potentially but as @Rick Flair says, PAY ATTENTION TO THE PAYLOAD. We'd only be hauling one of our Jeeps at a time though but still. This is going to be heavy.
Also, the bummer about the driver aids is that with the truck camera we'd be blocking some of our camera views. Does anyone have experience driving a truck with a truck camper and an enclosed trailer? This seems really nervousing. I'm aware that I made that word up.
I'm gonna go check out the truck camper thread now too. This is so helpful! Thank you!
Ford offers an aux camera for the rear of the trailer. It’ll integrate with existing cameras.
Also the blind spot system will cover the trailer once you input the trailer length into the system.
As far as the anti-collision I’m not sure if it will bring you to a stop now. The dash flashes red and alerts you and the adaptive cruise will slow you but I’m not sure if it goes to zero.
@Mrs Tox, most are friends in the film industry, it is mild weather almost everywhere we shoot so I don't know much about cold weather. The one thing I hear over and over is they are high quality. I think when you see the prices and condition of pretty old ones it's reflected in that. There's also a strong tie to the San Fernando Valley with Lance so that probably adds to the bias, most of the studios and prop houses are located there. Almost all the studio trailers I dealt with had slide-outs and we never really had issues with them but we returned them after every use so we never got dirty with maintenance. The trailers with slide-outs were really heavy so I'd think about that more than reliability.
Driving trailers is just something to learn. You get mirrors that are wide enough and have somebody get out and help you. I have a friend that can parallel park like you wouldn't believe. Her husband used to make fun of how bad she was at it and one day she thought, "screw that, I have a PHD I can learn to park a car" and she did. That's all there is to it. In my experience big tow rig and very small trailer is where things start to get difficult.
Driving trailers is just something to learn. You get mirrors that are wide enough and have somebody get out and help you. I have a friend that can parallel park like you wouldn't believe. Her husband used to make fun of how bad she was at it and one day she thought, "screw that, I have a PHD I can learn to park a car" and she did. That's all there is to it. In my experience big tow rig and very small trailer is where things start to get difficult.
Take a look at four wheel campers. Great construction and lower profile when on the road. Trail recon and we’re the Russo’s on you tube have some information on them.
Something you really need to keep in mind with what you are wanting to do.
Hitch capacity/rating. You would need a minimum of a Class V (2.5") hitch.
https://www.reese-hitches.com/learning_center/general-towing-classes
Then, you're also limiting your trailer/tongue weight even further using a Receiver Extension.
https://www.torklift.com/rv/supertruss
Hitch capacity/rating. You would need a minimum of a Class V (2.5") hitch.
https://www.reese-hitches.com/learning_center/general-towing-classes
Then, you're also limiting your trailer/tongue weight even further using a Receiver Extension.
https://www.torklift.com/rv/supertruss
OP
I need to diagram this...
A 20ft bumper pull with V nose is actually 25ft long (plus 3.5ft tongue). Plus ~2ft extension for the truck camper.
A 30ft gooseneck is a true 30ft long. And I assume somewhat equal spacing between the truck as a bumper pull tongue (3.5ft above).
So does that mean it's closer to being a 3ft difference between them?
A 20ft bumper pull with V nose is actually 25ft long (plus 3.5ft tongue). Plus ~2ft extension for the truck camper.
A 30ft gooseneck is a true 30ft long. And I assume somewhat equal spacing between the truck as a bumper pull tongue (3.5ft above).
So does that mean it's closer to being a 3ft difference between them?
Gooseneck trailers are generally classified by their deck length then you add the "typical 8'" length for the gooseneck itself, so a 30' would actually be 38' from ball to back bumper.
OP
This is a really good point and something that we're still thinking through.
Part of the leaning toward a truck camper is realizing that it's one of those things that we'd probably use more than we realize once we actually have it available to just load up and turn what normally would be a day trip into an overnight trip.
OP
@Apparition do you have the package and 8ft bed? If so, how far from your bumper to the gooseneck ball?
Biggest disadvantage to going tongue pull with an extended length slide in camper is the weight limits you'll have depending on which hitch you use, and the length of the extension. An enclosed trailer is likely to go over the max of your total weight capacity with a Jeep in it with a 3 to 4 foot extension.
OP
Junk in the truck back seat: 500lbs(?)
Truck camper: 2970lbs dry or ~4000lbs wet(?).
Bumper pull trailer: 2800lbs empty or 7400lbs with the Jeep (and I'm sure I'll find a way to put an extra 2000lbs of parts and tools in it).
I can't find definite info on how tow ratings change with so much payload and an extension. Any charts?
This is the probably the heaviest duty extension you can get but you also have to have the hitch to go with it.
You can look at the specs for each length, the shortest (21") has a tongue max of 1400 with weight distribution and the longest (48") has a tongue max of 1200 with weight distribution hitch.
Edit: max length is 60" but it's not even worth looking at for what you are wanting to do
https://www.torklift.com/rv/supertruss
Here's the hitch you would need to use that style extension. (they run about $1k for the hitch)
https://www.torklift.com/rv/superhitch/superhitch-magnum