Truck camper and boat towing

[TheHardWay]

I need help and advice from the Crew. The wife and I are considering a slide in truck camper. It will allow us to stay at the lake longer, and not have to return home to care for our dogs since we will be able to bring them with us and let them hang out in the camper while we are on the water. Fuel cost and racking up the miles takes it's toll when making the trip to the lake and back twice in a weekend!

I'll be the first to admit that my knowledge is somewhat limited when trying to figure out what camper will work with the truck/boat set up I have.

First things first. The boat is the one in my profile. Its a 2003 23XTI, Extreme Tandem trailer with brakes on bother axles. What am I looking at as far as the weight of the boat and trailer? What is the ball park tongue weight?

The truck is a 07 Cummins SRW 3500. 8' bed. It has a 6" lift and E rated 37s, so I realize that my center of gravity would be more than most with a camper on it, but I feel I'd be ok. Depending on what lake I go to, its anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours on good roads. Power is a non-issue based on aftermarket mods.

I don't want to get in the whole GCVWR debate. I realize I could very well be approaching the MANUFACTURERS suggestion, but people, including myself, surpass that recommendation all the time without any issues.

My best bet would probably be to go with a camper that sits flush with the bed of the truck. That way I could use the current hitch/receiver I have. But the more I look at these campers, the more I see how popular the ones are that have over hang are. The shorter bed-lengther campers are somewhat limited in availability. The extra room would be nice, but I'd have to go with some sort of hitch extension. There are extensions available, but I'm not yet sure how long /heavy duty I'd have to go, thus my questions on the GVW and tongue weight of my boat. The Torklift Superhitch/SuperTruss combo looks like it would be just the ticket if I were to go with a camper that extends past the bed of the truck.

http://www.torklift.com/

Are there any members on here that tow their boat with an extended pickup camper? If so, what kind of hitch set up are you using? How much does your camper over hang? How much of an extension are you using?

[G-Mack]

A friend of mine uses the system with a 2' overhanging camper works very well. The lift should be an interesting challenge. I personally would not do it... it's not the day to day driving more the emergency situations where you could be on your side pretty quick. I would at least use airbags as they will help with stability, level the truck and keep the front wheels loaded.

[Joeprunc]

I was looking at doing something like this too. 3/4 ton 6.5' bed, so looking at an 8 foot camper and having over hang. We just have a little ski boat so tongue weight is not an issue. We could just get a hitch extension and go.

The torklift is very beefy, we went to the RV show last year looking for cab over campers, and every mfg said that if you tow something heavy with an extended cab over, they recommended the torklift setup.

How many in your family? this will depend on how big you go. Having two people walking around in one of the 8' campers is tight, having more you are going to want something larger. A lot of the fancy campers have pop out or slide out sections which allow for a lot more room and make it feel a lot less crowded. If buying used you will most likely need jack extensions as most are setup for a standard width bed, not dualys.

Either way you will probably want to add air ride to your rear leafs.

[thethrillofspeed]

I tow my boat quite a bit with my camper on my truck. I have a Curt class V hitch and use an 18" extension (8 foot camper on a shortbed pickup). Tows wonderful. My issue the the parking at the lake, it isn't level so my fridge stops working. Now I tow the boat to the lake and have my buddy launch my boat and my camper stays nice and level at camp and we don't have to put away all the junk. Your limiting factor is going to be the capacity of the rear tires, I'm pretty close to the limit with a half ton camper on my 3/4 ton pickup with E rated tires.

[WakeGirl]

Hardway,

I had a 2001 HD Chevy that was set up very similarly with a 6" lift that we used to do a camper on quite often. I don't have time right now to go into the details, but I'm happy to chat privately with you about it if you like.

[TheHardWay]

Hardway,

I had a 2001 HD Chevy that was set up very similarly with a 6" lift that we used to do a camper on quite often. I don't have time right now to go into the details, but I'm happy to chat privately with you about it if you like.

I'll send you a PM this evening. Thanks.

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[TheHardWay]

I didn't even think about the launching/trailering thing. Unless you took the camper off the truck, that might. Be a pain to have re-level each time you launch/trailer.

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[WheelerWake]

I measured the tongue weight on a couple boats, they were less than I expected:

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index.php?/topic/47146-tongue-weight/?hl=%2Btongue+%2Bweight

[malibu2004]

I use to carry a Lance 880 (4000 pounds + fully loaded) and tow a 2004 VLX with a SRW, 4x4, 1 ton, CC, PSD, Air Bags, Rancho 9000 XL shocks, no lift. I did everything I could to make my truck as safe as possible. I didn't do it very often because it sucked. I couldn't image doing both with a lifted truck. My camper was 10 feet 10 inches so I was a pretty big camper. I really should of had a dually to carry camper and pull the boat.

If you do get one it's more about weight than size. Some campers are super heavy and if you add a slide it's even heavier. I wouldn't go over 9 feet and if you have a lift I wouldn't go over 8 feet. And yes get torqlifts to hold the camper down. If you get a 8 foot camper you wont need the hitch which will save you some bucks.

I backed the boat into the lake with the camper on the truck.

What are you looking at getting?

[Big Jay D]

8'Lance in the back of my Mega Cab.

14" hitch extender.

23LSV WS

Air bags, stock height with e rated 35s".

I added a front hitch and built a carrier for my camp gear, fuel tanks, extra water, generator. Then after I drop the boat I drop the trailer. Move the carrier and it converts to my stairs/porch.

[Andrew63]

Thehardway mentioned

I don't want to get in the whole GCVWR debate. I realize I could very well be approaching the MANUFACTURERS suggestion, but people, including myself, surpass that recommendation all the time without any issues.

Don't know about insurance companies in the US, down in AU, should you need to make a claim as a result of a road accident, they will look for any reason not to pay up.

If you exceed the manufacturers or transport towing weight for the vehicle or trailer, they will claim this contributed to the accident if it occurred on the road in transit.

Just my thoughts on exceeding manufacturers recommendations.

[MalibuTime]

I would stick with an 8' camper and get the lightest one you can find. I had a Lance 11' and until it was on a dually it always seemed a bit sketchy. With in the 6" lift and I think you should go as light as you can. I had a 2" solid steel extender that was 3' long and towed a 19' Io. If I ever bought another p/u camper would be about a 9'er on a dually diesel.

[WakeGirl]

Hardway,

Just sent you a pm.

[TheHardWay]

Little bit of an update. After doing some research, we came across the CampLite truck campers from LivinLite.

http://www.livinlite.com/truck-campers.php

The more I read about them, the more I liked. The all-aluminum frame construction and composite interior is what really sucked me in. These things are built to last. It just so happens that the marine supply shop near me is also a LivinLite dealer. What is even more remarkable is that they have two campers sitting there, both for long bed trucks, one is the 10.0 model and the other is a 8.6 model. Now if you lived here, you would know how surprising it really is for someone to have something you are actually looking for. This never seems to be the case, at least for me, so it appears to be a sign from above!

I'm dealing on the 8.6 model as I won't have to mess around with any hitch extension. The camper weighs in a shade under 2k pounds dry , so it is pretty light comparatively speaking. It's also a leftover from '13, so the dealer is very motivated to get it sold. As of now, he has offered it several thousand under the MSRP, and I think I can do a little better.

The bigger camper is'nt out of the question yet either. It's a leftover as well, and he is just as motivates to sell it too. I'm headed out there Tuesday with the wifey to let her take a look and make the final decision.

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[WakeGirl]

Cool, good luck!

[old skool malibu]

What is the approximate cost?

[TheHardWay]

Well, we took delivery of our camper this past Friday. When my wife and I went to look at them, she fell in love with the 10' model. I have to admit, the extra room is nice. Now I have to look into the extended Super Hitch extended hitch, but that shouldn't be too big of a deal.

I'm definitely dealing with a little big of a body roll issue now because of the increased COG. I was thinking of air bags to help with the little bit of squat and side to side stability, but I'm on a RV forum, and am being told that bags will worsen the side to side body roll. Basically those people are telling me that I will kill a bus load of nuns if I haul a camper with a lifted truck, haha! Gonna also check out the Stable Load kit from Tork Lift. It may be the ticket.

What is the approximate cost?

Out the door price was a little over $19k

[old skool malibu]

Ever think of loosing the lift? Love to see some inside picks

Edited March 2, 2014 by old skool malibu

[WakeGirl]

Well, we took delivery of our camper this past Friday. When my wife and I went to look at them, she fell in love with the 10' model. I have to admit, the extra room is nice. Now I have to look into the extended Super Hitch extended hitch, but that shouldn't be too big of a deal.

I'm definitely dealing with a little big of a body roll issue now because of the increased COG. I was thinking of air bags to help with the little bit of squat and side to side stability, but I'm on a RV forum, and am being told that bags will worsen the side to side body roll. Basically those people are telling me that I will kill a bus load of nuns if I haul a camper with a lifted truck, haha! Gonna also check out the Stable Load kit from Tork Lift. It may be the ticket.

Out the door price was a little over $19k

That was not my experience, at all. The air bags helped a lot. Keep in mind, most people that like to give advice on this point have never run a camper on a lifted truck, so take it with a grain of salt.

Congrats on the camper. Yeah, 9'6-10' seems to be the sweet spot in terms of comfort, ride, towing, etc etc. I think you're going to be really happy with the setup.

[TheHardWay]

Ever think of loosing the lift? Love to see some inside picks

Taking the lift off is not an option for me. Something about lifted trucks makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

Here's some inside shots.

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[TheHardWay]

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[TheHardWay]

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[TheHardWay]

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[TheHardWay]

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[TheHardWay]

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