Truck campers and towing CD 25

T

thataway

Active member
We are looking very seriously at a 2007 Chevy 4x4 2500 HD as our tow vehicle on the West coast. Currently I have a 1993 Road Trek--which does not have the tow capacity for the CD 25--and is my "condo" when visiting my children/grandchildren. We would put a truck camper on the pickup and that would become the "condo"--this also has the advantage of allowing my son to keep the truck (alone) at his condo to launch the CD 25--and sell his Expedition.

I am considering a folding top camper (to keep weight and windage down) in either a Pine mountain or Palomino brand. The Palomino I like best, is a 9'6" floor length--which means that the aft 18" of the camper hangs off the back of the truck bed. How much will this interfer with my trailering?

Other thoughts about pickup/campers on tow vehicles. My other option is a newer Chevy Road Trek or class B, which does have the capacity to tow the 25.

Thanks!
 
Bob,
Although I have a 1 ton dually, I carry a 9'10"" Lance camper and tow my 22 with an extension bar. I installed a Reese Titan Class V hitch with the 2.5" square receiver. This set-up tows very well even with the 24in extension stinger. Many campers sit high enough in the truck to allow towing without an extension if your boat trailer tongue is long enough. My 22 is light enough to tow without an equilizer-the 25 would probably require one. You do need to know the weight of the truck, camper and boat to make sure you don't exceed the Gross Combined Vehicle Weight.
 
Bob-
You might add Northstar pop top campers to your list. We are happy with the quality of our Northstar TC 650, which is designed to fit short bed trucks without extending beyond the bed. We have a 2003 Chevy 2500HD duramax crew cab. With the camper on the bed (1400 lb), and towing our 23 ft sea ray cruiser (6000 lb including trailer), I feel we are nearly maxed out, not in terms of raw tow capacity, but in terms of ride quality over humps in the road. Perhaps a load leveling hitch would improve the situation somewhat and allow more weight. Northstar makes a TS1000 designed for 8' truck bed and might be to your liking.

Anyway, if you want to haul a nice roomy pop top camper (1900 lb?), while towing a CD25 loaded with gear fuel and water, you might be happier (and safer) in the long run with a 3500HD with dually's.
 
I previously owned a 8' Palomino on a half ton Ford and had no problems camping over much of the midwest and on the east coast. The camper held up well and the lower profile of a crankup is appreciated at the gas pump and in less sway in strong crosswinds. At the time we towed at 17' Lund Fish and Ski and the combinations was comfortable in every aspect but breaking and that little boat pushed you down the road a lot further than you wanted in a panic break, so trailer brakes are a must even if you are below the weight requirement and opt for brakes on both axles if you have a choice.

Having moved to Alaska a few years ago, we decided it was time to move to something a little bigger and better insulated and traded up to an 9.5' Alpenlite carried on a 1 ton Dodge dually 4x4 powered by the Cummings Diesel which I felt was the minimum tow vehicle for a CD-25 and 2 tons of camper. The extra width of the dually's means almost no sway and I like the safety off not worrying about a rear tire blowout coming down a switchback.

We haven't been disappointed in the choice of the truck. Fuel usage is highly dependent on headwinds and cross winds but with both camper and boat and mountains almost anywhere I want to tow, I still get between 11 and 14 mpg driving the speed limit for towing -- 55 MPH. With only the camper or the boat milage is 13 to 16 and without them milage for the truck is 17 to 19 even running at 65 MPH. My buddies running gas rigs say they are lucky to get 12 MPG without a haul or a tow.

I did a lot of research before settling on the SuperHitch by Torklift with a 24" truss reciever extension. With the heavy duty springs on the truck I've had no need for a load leveling hitch. Torklift also makes great tie downs for your camper. The hitch/reciever/tiedowns come in as spendy as a camper back for the C-Dory or about $1600. You can order online from TL Central and save some bucks on the hardware over distributor price (the local dealer here marked them up almost 100%) and installation will run you about $250 for both the hitch and the tie downs.

Hope this gives you a reference point or two...

Terry
 
I recently purchased a Northstar Freedom (hardside) truck camper for my 1/2 ton Ford 4x4. I was able to still utilize my Ford OE hitch because I changed out my surge brake actuator for a low profile model. (see my photo in Swee Pea photo album). Luckily, I did not need a hitch extension because my boat trailer tongue fits under the truck camper overhang and my trailer tongue is long enough not to interfere with sharp turning. With the 3/4 and 1 ton trucks, there are hitches that allow long extensions without great loss in towing/tongue weight, as have been mentioned in previous posts. They are not available for 1/2 tons, so I lucked out.
I think you should seriously look at the Northstar line of truck campers. If you have any questions, call Rex Willett at Northstar and ask. Their company reminds me of the old C-Dory crew, who you could call and talk to for any info. He will keep you on the phone as long as you want. He is the owner and VP of Northstar. Northstar is a very respected company in the truck camper industry (thats all they build).... And no, I do not have stock in the company. Just very happy with the product and service. http://www.northstarcampers.com

John
Swee Pea
 
Bob,

I will toss my 2 cents worth in.

We have a 2000 F250 diesel, automatic, 4x4. A Caribou 10F camper, and a Superhitch receiver with 3' stinger.

I like the truck, but a 3/4 ton is not enough for a camper of this size (3300# dry). I added airbags, but would recommend a 1 ton, and dual tires for weight and stability reasons.

The Caribou camper is an abomination of poor workmanship and poor quality materials. It was made by Fleetwood, and I am of the opinion that it was made by morons. The nose cap has cracked and allowed water intrusion. The cap at the rear was improperly sealed and allowed water intrusion down the rear wall. I occasionally find staples with my finger tips. The rubber roof started to deteriorate until coated with a latex sealant.

The Superhitch is great. It has a twin bar stinger that is stabilized with chains to the side of the receiver.

Back on the topic of campers, I would look seriously at a completely fiberglass, monocoque construction. The two that I am aware of are Bigfoot and Northern Lite. Both are highly weather tight when compared to a conventional frame and panel camper. They are usually lighter unless loaded with all the options, and then I think they are roughly equal in weight to the conventional camper.

Steve
 
i'm seeking wisdom as well on this subject, although my situation is slightly different. i have recently purchased a motorhome and plan to trailer either my c-dory or a small vehicle with it. not sure exactly what to expect when launching the boat. also, i have found a company that manufactures an amphibious jeep. i have emailed them for pricing, and think this might be an interesting combination. you can check it out at www.watercar.com .
on a personal note, dr. bob, my son is now gainfully employed and thus the blood letting has stop. i can now stand up without feeling light headed!
pat
 
Hi Bob, it is not often that I feel qualified to provide input here. Especially to you. You normally have everything so dialed in. So here goes. I have owned multiple RV's and trucks over the years and researched many others that I have not owned. I like the idea of the 4x4 truck for the launch ramps and for its unloaded versatility. If I were in your position, as several of the other folks have said I would be looking at least to be in a one ton or a 450. The reason is that there is always weight creep. One thing leads to another and pretty soon you are at or over the GCWR. I think that you are on target w/ the low profile camper w/ towing the 25. I would definitely go to a 450 chassis if a full sized hard wall camper becomes the choice. Those things can weigh up over 4000# then throwing the 25 on the back of that would put me into the creepy zone on a one ton and in the no way catagory for a 3/4 ton.

I would be really hesitant to try to pull a 25 on an extended hitch. What is the max tow rating when you use an extension? The ones that I have seen lower the tow rating.

As far as the RV portion goes, Four Wheel Camper out of Woodland, CA might be another alternative for a camper. Generally speaking, depending on layouts, the the liveability of a camper should be similar to the Roadtrek. Except for bathroom shower arrangements. Door access on the fold downs can be an issue.

The new truck and camper should also be less expensive than a new Roadtrek.

I will be watching this one. I am interested to see where you end up and why.
 
I had a Four Wheel Camper for several years. I was never very happy with the build quality.

Quite a while ago I got a PM from HunkyDory who recommended I look at the Hallmark and the Apex 9.5 popup campers. If/when I am in the market for a camper for my new truck I will definitely be looking at these two.

Warren
 
Bob-

I have a 2500 HD Chevrolet truck, 3/4 ton truck with the Duramax Diesel and the Allison 5 speed. Mine is a 2004.

I would highly recommend this vehicle for your West Coast tow truck, but only with the Diesel and the Allison.

This is a wonderful truck, a true beast with 600 pounds of torque but still gets about 20 MPG with no trailer! This truck could pull your 25 footer up and down the Grape Vine all day with no problems. It also has a nice breaking feature going down hills that breaks the trailer for you under engine and transmission compression.

Best of Luck in Your Vehicle Search.

Jim
 
Jim Gibson":3bbd54g3 said:
It also has a nice breaking feature going down hills that breaks the trailer for you under engine and transmission compression.
Click to expand...

Thank you for bringing this up as I have been wondering if the tow/haul and the manual shift features on my new Allison/Duramax are equivalent to and as effective as an an actual exhaust brake?

Warren
 
Doryman":2vfsp41t said:
Jim Gibson":2vfsp41t said:
It also has a nice breaking feature going down hills that breaks the trailer for you under engine and transmission compression.
Click to expand...

Thank you for bringing this up as I have been wondering if the tow/haul and the manual shift features on my new Allison/Duramax are equivalent to and as effective as an an actual exhaust brake?

Warren
Click to expand...

Hi Warren,

Having had exhaust brakes on several of our coaches, I think the tow/haul feature on the Duramax w/Allison (actually a transmission retarder) is every bit as effective as an exhaust brake, if not more so.

You're gonna like that truck.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
We haven't heard from Brent, yet, but he made a triple receiver hitch to be able to tow his TomCat with his truck camper - nice piece of engineering.

That's the best solution to towing that I've seen with a camper that hangs over the truck bed.
 
Thanks for the great responses, and putting out several ideas and truck campers which I had not seen before. Surprisingly there are a lack of truck camper dealers in Florida. The nearest ones are in N. Alabama, and they only order in a model you are willing to buy site unseen.

To answer a couple of questions. Yes, we already use a weight distrubting hitch. We have disc brakes on both axles of the trailer--and when towing with my 30 foot Class A, I rare touch the brakes, because I gear down and start at a low speed at the top of grades.

There are great buys in the diesel dually trucks. The sales manger of the local Dodge dealer called me first thing this AM, knocking another 7% off a new long bed diesel dually which already had 35% off sticker price. The problem is that I don't think I can get a dually thru the gates to my daughter's back yard, in fact I may not be able to get a truck camper thru these gates--which she will measure this PM. I thought I had a "deal" on a 2007 Road Trek--but it was not a model which had enough room for me to sleep comfortably.

So we are still looking. I do think that a single rear wheel gas engine will suffice for us--we only tow any distance twice a year--and most of the time my son tows only a couple of miles on the level to the ramp. As much as I like diesels (economy, longivity, torque etc), the economics don't make a lot of sense unless I can get one for close to what a gas engine runs. With Diesel being a dollar a gallon more than gas, this almost negates the better economy, and 6 to 7,000 dollars difference does buy lot of gas in the differential of the current prices. Any camper we buy will be light weight--in the 1500 lb range. I don't carry a lot of gear in it, so we will not be over the weight capacity of about 3400 lbs of a 3/4 ton. I guess I will just have to see how the clearance of the winch post is, but I have 36" at least, since that is the length of my equalizing bars to the tongue pole cross bar adaptor.

I am looking at all of the alternatives you all suggested--thanks again.
 
You may want to go with the 35xx series of trucks regardless of the camper you choose. There is not much reserve capacity left on a 25xx series truck when you get right down to it. The 25xx will tow a lot but the camper and the boat tongue weight may get you. If you are looking at a light camper consider the SRW 35xx series.

For a new gas rig there is only one truck out there with what would be considered a big engine and that is the Ford V10 which has of late been getting very good reviews.

We had a big Lance on a DRW GMC and it worked well towing an 8500# boat. We are now looking for a smaller camper and the boat will probably be a little lighter as well.

Rick 8)
 
We are familiar with the V 10--have it in the RV we have towed the boat with. We have 63,000 trouble free miles on it. The single rear axle V10's in long beds are very scarce. We have not seen any--there are duallys with the V10 but they are rare also in our area. Definately the Camper with be light weight. If we have a 1500 lb camper, and 750lbs tongue weight, this still leaves us with 1250 lbs capacity in the 3/4 ton. Looking at the Ford SRW one ton it will have an additional 1100 lbs over the 3/4 ton.

Interestingly I had the worst dealer experience at Ford. I had sent in for an "internet quote"--didn't get one, but a call and E-mail to make an appointment with the sales manager. I had a "confirmation number" which was to have all of my information. I spent 20 seconds with the "sales manager"--until I was shunted to a salesman, who had no clue about what we wanted. He didn't know where the stock was, kept us waiting while he went back to get the only 2500 truck they had in stock--and it was a 6 foot bed! He then showed us 3 duallys, including one which was in the body shop, and one which was V10, with a short bed--each time we were left sitting for 10 to 15 minutes in his bull pen, while he "confirred" with the manager. The Chevy dealer had a truck waiting for us--and found several others in a matter of minutes..Guess who I would be more likely to buy from?

This truck will only be driven 5,000 miles a year max--and serve as my "condo" in Calif--as the Road Trek as done in the past. The towing is to avoid driving either my Excursion or the RV out so we can do a trip like Lake Powell. It is considerably more expensive to drive across the US, plus takes at least a week longer (consider wear and tear on the body and soul).

Thanks. My chinese Fortune cookie--says "Look to good friends for help this week!"
 
Flyer wrote "For a new gas rig there is only one truck out there with what would be considered a big engine and that is the Ford V10 which has of late been getting very good reviews."

What happened to Chevy's 8.1L V-8 that is being used in the Workhorse MH Chassis? Isn't that still GM's big gas motor for 3/4 and 1 ton trucks? :disgust
 
From what I saw at the Chevy dealer, the 6 liter gasser with a 6 speed transmission is the engine used on the HD gas series currently. Then you jump to the diesel. The Work Horse chassis I think was spun off--not know the relation with GM at this time--but they certainly do use the GM 8.1 in RV's still. A little looking on the internet shows that there were still some 8.1's used in 2007 pickups, but the 2008 brochure shows the 6.0 gasser as the biggest.
 
I did find a used (2005, 36K) Dodge Diesel, single rear wheel, short bed--no long beds around).

My daughter measured the gate at 100 inches. The campers all seem to be 98" wide with the camper jacks attatched.

Are there easily removiable camper jacks? The campers themselves are 86" wide--and the 7" on each side is plenty. The dually seems to be out--since the jacks have to have an extension which makes them over 102" wide on the front jack to clear the dual wheels.

This takes us back to the Class B vans--even the widened ones are only 9" wider than what I have currently. If I was just towing on the level, I would be temped to try the 1993 Dodge 3500 which I own--It would be slow, and the hitch probably would have to be re-enforced.

Thanks again for all of the comments.
 
Bob, The front jacks on my Lance camper rotated out to clear the dually fenders. The security feeling of an extra rear tire drove me to the dually and I never regreted the decision. In spite of a light camper you really have the feel of something up top and on the back. Ron
 
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