Hello all I usually hang out in the Class A forum, because that is what I have. It is a shortbed 6'6"
But now I'm looking for a truck camper to go hunting in. The rest of the famly doesn't go so no need for the Bounder.
Anyways I've been looking at some older campers and my question is can I get an 8' camper for a shortbed?
The truck has airbags on it. I know what my weight restrictions, the cargo sticker in the glove box says 1998 lbs rating.
Other questions what else do I need to buy for tieing the camper down?
I have an 8' Palomino Pop Up TC in my 2002 1500 HD. I just leave the tailgate down. Depending on the TC that you get, you may be able to remove the tailgate, depending on if the TC floor can handle it. A friend of mine has a Lance 815 that you can use in a 6.5' bed as well (has removable pods on the side with lights built in to fit between the back of the truck and the camper). He uses it on an 8' bed, but he purchased it from a guy that had a short bed dodge. One thing that I am curious about is the weight rating at only 1998 lbs. Granted, my camper is only 1800 lbs, my payload capacity is 3300 lbs. I'll double check that. What I usually haul/tow is the camper in the back of the truck and a 16' tandem axle flat bed trailer (full steel deck) with my 1976 Jeep CJ-7 on it and have no problems at all. I don't feel that the truck is near it's limits at all. I can probably do the same with my buddies Lance 815 in the back of my truck, but I may invest in some air bags. My truck is 2wd so it came with the front low, but I raised the front by adjusting the torsion bars to where the front was only 1" lower. It worked perfect before I got the camper. The reason I say that is because when I hook up to my trailer with the Jeep on it, it sat level. With the TC in the truck, it also sits level. Unfortunately with both, the rear squats a little.
As for the tie downs, I went with the Tork Lift frame mounted tie downs in the rear and I made my own belly bar for the front and has worked out nicely. The belly bar worked great because it sits directly against the frame at one of the body mounts. You can get the front Tork Lifts if you have the money (I am on a slim budget) and would be more convenient because the belly bar can be cumbersome to get in place when hooking up.
I'll check the capacity in the glovebox and get back with you later.
2002 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 HD LT, 2WD, 6.0L
Home-made belly bar up front and Tork-Lifts in the rear
2nd Hand Happijac spring loaded turnbuckles.
1995 Palomino Bronco 1200 Pop-Up TC
1976 Jeep CJ-7 - usually on trailer behind truck.
You can put an 8 foot t/c in a 6.5 bed on a 1500. In a lot of cases, you will be over the gross of the vehicle, but only you can decide if you can live with that.
I have a lance 805 on my s/b silverado. Started with a 1500 Dodge, and have now went to a larger 2500. The ride is so much better now.
I use happi-jacks for the tie down mechanism. Very easy to load and unload camper. Easy to install also. I installed mine on the new truck. took about 2.5 hours. ( I am slowly methodical)
That's most likely what it is. I think the way that they calculate it is they take the GVWR and subtract the actual weight of the truck (full of fluids and passengers at 150 lbs or so each, quantity depending on how many your truck seats) and that is the number that you get. Depending on the options on the truck (since yours is 4wd), that value will be less. Since yours is 1998 and mine is 2379 (also mine is a 2002 model and yours is a 2006 which to my knowledge is only a slight difference in the front sheet metal) the 4wd could easily be the difference in the capacity which is 381 lbs.
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