Towing with a truck camper

Valkyrie · Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 5:02 pm Post subject: Towing with a truck camper

Marcia and I are looking for a way to get both a camper and boat to one location with one tow vehicle. We don't want to get a motorhome and because we have an '06 Dodge Ram 2500 diesel we are considering getting a truck camper. It's a short bed model and the Northstar camper we are considering has an 8.5 foot length, which the truck can handle.

However, I talked with a local RV repair guy that I know and he said that the rig we have in mind would necessitate getting a two foot tow bar. He also mentioned that no one makes one that long for liability reasons and that for every foot of length on the tow bar, 1000 pounds of tow capability is subtracted and we would have to fabricate one ourselves.

I have dealt with Chuck on other issues and he has been on target, but this seems to contradict rigs that I have seen on the road.

Any info is appreciated.

Nick
"Valkyrie"

Matt Gurnsey · Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 5:09 pm Post subject:

I have seen rigs with receiver extensions, but from what I recall of my years in the RV business, they were often not recommended, and I think the longest I saw as 18".

I have seen many rigs on the road that do not follow conventional wisdom, and the probably work just fine- until an emergency maneuver is called for.

You may be able to set a trailer up with a longer tongue. It will mean crawling under the camper a bit to hook things up, but would otherwise work fine.

I know EZ Loader offers "long" versions of their trailers, which is made by having the tongue beam be longer. Of course this will make the boat and trailer longer, so if you have tight storage spaces, that can be an issue.

Flyer · Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 5:51 pm Post subject:

We towed an 8000# Sea Ray behind a GMC crew cab dually with an 11-3 Lance with no problems in 50,000 miles. That included some pretty strong cross winds.

Lots of companies make extensions Reese makes a Tow Beast extension that is 48" and rated for 6000#.

There are others that will allow the towing of a bunch more.
Cool

lloyds · Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:01 pm Post subject:

18" is the standard longest manufactured but most of the guys are buying the torklift superhitches with longer stingers that are stablized with chain on the sides. Your camper is much lighter and shorter than the one I carry. I have a Northern Lite 10 2 and it hangs out like 32 inches. I carry it with a Dodge/cummins single rear wheel. I use a 12" extension with a dropped hitch but have to almost crawl under the camper to hook and unhook. But there is room between the camper steps and the trailer upright so no interference and it works fine. I just carry a piece of rug to lay down when I get under there to hook up. I will probably do the same thing if we get a 22. I would definitely go with a superhitch if I got a 25. It wouldn't be any problem at all if it wasn't for the steps that drop down. If they weren't there it would be a snap. Thinking about doing away with them.

Wandering Sagebrush · Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:34 pm Post subject: Stingers

Hi Nick,

We have a 10 foot camper that is actually pretty close to 11 feet long. I have the Torque Lift hitch, and have pulled both my Arima and CDory with the 36" stinger. I believe that the rated tongue weight is around 600 pounds, with the tow rated at 6500. If you need, I can go look that stuff up.

Regards,

Steve

Post Script: For what it's worth, I am going to sell the camper. I do not like that much total weight on the truck. We are going to camp on the boat when we tow distances, and take the Airstream when not using the boat.

captd · Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 8:00 pm Post subject:

Torklift in Kent , Washington. I have used their hitch extentions for years. The super hitch. will handle 10,000 lbs with hitch weight of 1000 lbs. Plus built anything you want to go with it. See my album in Tugnuts.
captd

thataway · Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 9:00 pm Post subject:

I was looking at a new GMC 2007 diesel two days ago, which had a Bronco 1251 on it. (Great buy) My first thought was a longer trailer tongue. Many of the trucks come close to capacity with the larger campers on them. Probably not a problem with the 22--but when you get to the 25 and 255 then you are close to the capacity of the rear axle of the truck capacity with the weight of the tongue and the camper.

Also with the larger boats your tongue weight necessitates an weight distribution hitch. I wonder if these work with the Tork lift extensions?

The Tork lift and superhitch look like items to explore. (But my wife doesn't seem very enthusiastic about a truck camper, and she rules.) We do "camp" in the boat when on the road.

T.R. Bauer · Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 10:28 pm Post subject: I say go for it!

Only 18 inches?

I have a f-350 crew cab diesel dually that I have a Eagle Cap 1160 (4000 lbs wet) and tow my CD 22 at the same time. I am just under the 13000 GVW with a cab full of people and the camper on the back. This set up requires a 48 inch extension and means you must use a very heavy duty hitch. I use the Tow Beast and their extension. It is extremely heavily built and was a small fortune to buy. So far, I have logged 95,000 trouble free miles using this set up. Fuel mileage with this 17,000 pound load: 13.1 mph at 55-60 MPH.

The bottom line is it is you can have an extended camper on the back and tow, you just have to buck up and buy the super hitch or the tow beast like I have. As others have mentioned, you must pay attention to your GCVW and your truck's actual GVW. One of the reasons I bought a dually after looking closely at the f250 was after it is full of people and full of gas, it has only about 1500 pounds available for the camper. With the f350 (single axle) there was about 2500 pounds. With the f-350 with the 13000 GVW, you have 5000 or so. I thought how in the world can there be that much difference? I found out later, the f350 dually is built on the same chasis as the f450 and the only real significance between the two is the tires. With the Tow Beast hitch, the CD 22, the dually, and the Eagle Cap I am well under GCVW. And, I am also under the truck's GVW so this is a legal set up.

I hope this help!

Valkyrie · Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 10:56 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the comments and info. It looks like I have some more research to do! If anyone else has any comments, feel free to jump in.

Nick
"Valkyrie"

Discovery · Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 11:04 am Post subject:

Nick,

We have towed the TC255 for maybe 40,000 miles with the Ford F450/Lance Camper setup. The camper is 10' 10". The hitch extension is 32". I fabricated the tow bar myself, and it has a three point hook-up to the truck. Three regular receiver hitches welded to the F450 frame. Each spaced about 16" apart. The tow bar looks like a three pronged fork. The camper has an inverted U shaped bracket on the bottom of the bumper. The tow bar pins through the bracket. This stabilizes the tow bar further. The pix below shows the rig. I also have a weight distributing hitch on the TomCat trailer. The rig actually rides more level now than it appears in the pix.

Since we have purchased a motorhome the truck and camper are now for sale.

Brent