The only factory stock single rear wheel truck that should be carrying that camper is a '73-'79 F350 Super Camper Special, which had a 7400 lb rear axle/tire/wheel/spring rating and 10,000 GVWR and an unloaded truck weight of only 5000 lbs. These trucks were all regular cab 2wd, extended wheelbase length (7" longer wheelbase than a normal 8' long bed pickup) with super single 16.5" x 12" wide bias ply rear tires with a weight rating of about 4000 lbs per tire/wheel. That is the only factory stock single rear wheel truck I know of that can carry a camper that heavy without exceeding any of the ratings and without needing any suspension/tire/wheel modifications.
My 2011 2500HD has a total weight of 7001 lbs. and has a GVWR of 10,000 lbs. with the stock setup. The only way to get a greater payload rating is with a 1 ton with the dually setup which adds a set of leaf springs and adds two more wheels. The 3/4 and 1 ton Chevy-GM diesel trucks have the same equipment from the front bumper to the axle - exactly the same.
The stock 17" tires on the 2500HD have a load rating of 3195@80 while the stock tires on the 3500HD have a load rating of 3640@80 for a rear axle gain of 900 lbs. GVWR. But the same type of increase can be made by putting a set of 285/70R17 Nitto Terra Grappler tires which are rated at 3750@80 on the 17" rims. No need to buy 19.5 wheels as the same load rating is available for 17 and 18 inch wheels and with little change in tire diameter and overall gearing of the truck.
Placing a 3000 lb. camper into the back of a truck is not going to place the entire 3000 lb. load on the rear axle. A portion of the weight is going to be carried by the front axle. Only by loading the camper and taking the truck to a CAT scale and getting front and rear axle weights can anyone know exactly what the load distribution is for both axles.
A dually crew cab long bed truck would not begin to fit in my driveway and it would take 4 spaces in the parking lots of the shopping centers where I live and it would never make it into the feed and building material pickup areas with its length, width, and turning radius. I would be no better off than getting a Class C motorhome. My truck is to take me easily to places where I would not want to take a motorhome. While I understand the attraction of a permanent camper and dually truck setup it should not be considered the only possible or practical way to go which is what a lot of comments seem to be saying. In my travels around the western USA and western Canada the only people I see driving dually trucks are people pulling trailers, and usually horse trailers at that.
There are quite a few things you can do to make the truck safer.
I installed the RICKSON wheels and tires on my Silverado and they gave me the extra carrying capacity I needed. I drove this combination for 20k miles before I had to sell. Still have the truck and the big wheels. My wife started with bad knees and could not get in the Lance campefr anymore. And it looked that after she had her first artificial knee that the second knee started giving problems too. So we sold our under two years old Lance camper. The buyer stole it from us and even wanted the RICKSON wheels and tires. But I still have these big wheels and tires but should really get rid rid of them, many Camper owners are looking for them.
Anyway that is the way I solved my Camper overweight and it worked great.
Placing a 3000 lb. camper into the back of a truck is not going to place the entire 3000 lb. load on the rear axle. A portion of the weight is going to be carried by the front axle. Only by loading the camper and taking the truck to a CAT scale and getting front and rear axle weights can anyone know exactly what the load distribution is for both axles.
Once you get back from the cat scales you will find that 2800lbs of the 3000lbs is on the rear axle.
Placing a 3000 lb. camper into the back of a truck is not going to place the entire 3000 lb. load on the rear axle. A portion of the weight is going to be carried by the front axle. Only by loading the camper and taking the truck to a CAT scale and getting front and rear axle weights can anyone know exactly what the load distribution is for both axles.
Once you get back from the cat scales you will find that 2800lbs of the 3000lbs is on the rear axle.
elkhornsun wrote: The stock 17" tires on the 2500HD have a load rating of 3195@80 while the stock tires on the 3500HD have a load rating of 3640@80 for a rear axle gain of 900 lbs. GVWR. But the same type of increase can be made by putting a set of 285/70R17 Nitto Terra Grappler tires which are rated at 3750@80 on the 17" rims. No need to buy 19.5 wheels as the same load rating is available for 17 and 18 inch wheels and with little change in tire diameter and overall gearing of the truck.
Your rear axle load capacity is still limited to the weight rating of the stock 17" wheels. Putting heavier rated tires on lower rated wheels doesn't do anything for your cargo carrying capacity. The wheels must be upgraded to go along with the higher rated tires, if you want to use the higher rated tires to their full load carrying capacity.
The factory stock 2500 model 17x6.5" wheels are also too narrow for 285mm wide tires. 285's are designed to be used on 8" to 10" wide wheels.
A 245/70-19.5G has similar diameter as a 285/70-17E (both are 33" tall) but the 19.5-G has higher weight rating than the 17-E. The primary benefit of running the 285's versus the 19.5's is the 19.5's can't be aired down for use in deep sand and are a narrow tire, whereas the 285's can be aired down and are much wider to begin with. If your use is primarily highway and surfaces other than blow sand, the 19.5's are the better choice for maximum load carrying as well as stability/handling, with their much stiffer side wall.
* This post was
edited 02/04/12 11:40pm by SoCalDesertRider *
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