Had a good scare on the I-5 in California this week.

[GasCan]

After heading back from holidays last Monday, we were headed back on I-5 and I was booking along with a pretty good load on my rig. My truck has beefed up suspension, heavier rated wheels and 34" Toyo's so I thought all was good, until the tire pressure monitor alerted me to the right rear. I was in the left lane when it went off due to a rear tire going down. I reacted quick, got to the shoulder , and I pulled right into a trucking yard just before it went flat. Guy in the shop helped me out to get the tire changed with a 22ton jack and a short jaunt down the road led me to Les Schwab.

I'll post a picture of of the flat later, but it sure caught my attention real fast

 

[GasCan]

Here's a picture of the rig while headed down through the Snake River Canyon. Had the wheel checked and turns out the wheels I used to have were light weights and were only rated for 3100lbs. Wheels have been upgraded and it goes for not as my wife wanted me to buy the 5th wheel toy hauler anyways.

 

[Rockwerx]

Which 5th wheel toy hauler are you thinking of purchasing? You will probably want a dually to tow any of the triple axle trailers as they have an 18,000 lb GVW.

 

[GasCan]

Looking at a Keystone Cougar SRX 5th wheel with a side door on the garage. It's 35' long and weighs 9500 with 1920 on the hitch. Loaded up it should be around 12500 lbs and that's no problem for this truck as it's rated for 12800 with 4:10 gears. This camper is supposed to be half ton tow-able so I should be good with it on my 2500HD.

 

[any1butjj]

Gas Can, do you ever pull any kind of trailer with your truck and campers, we have a 10 1/2 ' camper and need a 18" extension to pull a quad trailer but would really like to pull something bigger.

 

[Rockwerx]

Looking at a Keystone Cougar SRX 5th wheel with a side door on the garage. It's 35' long and weighs 9500 with 1920 on the hitch. Loaded up it should be around 12500 lbs and that's no problem for this truck as it's rated for 12800 with 4:10 gears. This camper is supposed to be half ton tow-able so I should be good with it on my 2500HD.

Sounds like a very nice upgrade from your camper! Also, your truck is setup better for towing than a lot of people. Low gears like yours really help when you have to tow loads like you are planning.

Post some pics of your new baby please and good luck with your new toy hauler!

 

[teeroy]

Here's a picture of the rig while headed down through the Snake River Canyon. If you're running a short box with a heavy a$$ed camper like this, you might want rethink the wheels as there aren't many after market rims that will handle this sort of load. The wheel that failed was rated for 3600lbs. Tires are rated for 3900 each. Still not enough to haul this puppy.

Yes the campers for sale on Kijiji now! Buying a 5th wheel toy hauler on Monday. lol

with your configuration, the entire weight of that camper is over the rear axle. must steer light....:d

I wonder if it could be scaled on a longbox crew, or ext cab 3/4 HD.

 

[Cyle]

Really no wonder you broke a rim, they are clearly overloaded by like 10% by your numbers. That is even probably pushing your axle weight. The only SRW rims and tires I know of that could take that weight would be a 22.5 conversion to super singles. I was looking at doing it with my current truck would never break one of those!

And the weight of the 5th would be ok, but nothing heavier whoever said it's 1/2 ton towable is a idiot. That would tear a 1/2 ton apart in no time.

I knew campers were heavy but didn't figure it was that bad. Almost any SRW has to be overloaded with them on stock equipment

 

[GasCan]

Gas Can, do you ever pull any kind of trailer with your truck and campers, we have a 10 1/2 ' camper and need a 18" extension to pull a quad trailer but would really like to pull something bigger.

I pull a 17.5' V-Nose Hauler with this setup. I had a Torque-Lift Super Hitch installed on the truck and it's good for 13,000 pound towing. The trailer I pull behind the camper is 2800lbs dry and I've pulled it all over the place. My camper overhangs by something like 2.5' so I have a pretty long (dual draw bar) extension that I use. It come out under the camper and keeps everything clear behind the rig. I'll post some pics later, but will be selling all this hitch related stuff with the camper.

 

[Catchme]

Good to see you kept your wits about you there bud and got pulled over safely.

 

[GasCan]

Here's a picture of the rig taken May long with the trailer connected. I'll be loading up this week for the S&M Jamboree and can't wait to do some dirt biking at Outwest. Maybe see some of you there.

 

[GasCan]

Above is the rig all loaded up for 12 days at Outwest, and no it didn't steer all that light as it still had well over 2 tons on the front end.

 

[Transporter]

How come that camper is made for a shortbox then because there isnt to many dually shortboxes other than mega cab is there? Can a side by side fit in the cougar rear door toyhauler 325 i think its called.

 

[teeroy]

.......and no it didn't steer all that light as it still had well over 2 tons on the front end.

I was kidding....

 

[Rockwerx]

Here's a picture of the rig taken May long with the trailer connected. I'll be loading up this week for the S&M Jamboree and can't wait to do some dirt biking at Outwest. Maybe see some of you there.

You sure have a nice truck, camper and trailer! I was thinking of trying something like that combination with our new truck but now we are thinking like you that a 5th wheel toy hauler may be the way we want to go now...bascially we want some more creature comforts and some more room.

I have had 5 truck campers over the years (none as nice and as new as yours though) and they have worked well for us over the years. We used to tow a few different types of trailers behind our pickup/camper including a small van trailer...it was my favorite as we used the van trailer for so many different things. Lots of times it was our workshop, kitchen or even extra sleeping quarters for friends and family.


For the past couple of years we have been using our camper but I put it on the deck of my 30ft 5th wheel tri-axle trailer instead of on the truck. We call it our "red neck toy hauler". I made a few crude guides to help secure it and use some small chains and turnbuckles to hold it down. We can carry 4 full size quads easy and probably 1 or 2 more on the beaver tail if we had to. We really like it because it can carry just about anything we dream up. It is also built rugged enough to take it just about anywhere we want to go within reason of course.

One nice thing about a 5th wheel trailer is you can unhook to run around with the truck and not carry the house. We carry a slip tank of fuel so we can go further between fill ups (also to remote areas) and so we know that the fuel quaility is up to par...questionable in some places...especially diesel fuel. If I wanted to I am sure I could make some boxes to help cary even more gear under the front and the edges of the camper. Not sure how "red neck" I want to go though! lol One nice thing is I don't have a lot of money tied up with this combination. Also it take me about 20 minutes to take it off or put it on. I could do it quicker but I remove the jacks after loading it.

Good luck with your new toy hauler!

 

[firecatab]

Graham,

You will like the trailer, I just picked one up a couple of weeks ago and so far so good. We wanted a toyhauler for our 1 quad and could not see spending the additional cost for the larger garage so this fits us very well. Fit and finish along with comfort makes it a nice spot to entertain fellow campers.

 

[GasCan]

I was kidding....

Sorry man, didn't mean for that to sound too serious, and figured you were kidding. I'd say that bin truck falls under the light steering category. lmao

 

[any1butjj]

Here's a picture of the rig taken May long with the trailer connected. I'll be loading up this week for the S&M Jamboree and can't wait to do some dirt biking at Outwest. Maybe see some of you there.

GasCan, so you pull this trailer with and extension bar on your truck? how long is the extension? how heavy is the trailer and what is the tongue weight?

 

[rubirose]

Nothing but a long box for hauling any camper. I don't believe the salesman when they say that a camper 8 feet and over can be hauled on a shortbox. We have a Bigfoot 9.5 and first had it on a long box 2500 dodge pulling a 20 ft something trailer with 4 quads. Truck handled everything just fine but did not like the swaying action or windy days. Went to a Dodge 3500 dually, the only way to haul a bigger camper.

 

[Rockwerx]

Nothing but a long box for hauling any camper. I don't believe the salesman when they say that a camper 8 feet and over can be hauled on a shortbox. We have a Bigfoot 9.5 and first had it on a long box 2500 dodge pulling a 20 ft something trailer with 4 quads. Truck handled everything just fine but did not like the swaying action or windy days. Went to a Dodge 3500 dually, the only way to haul a bigger camper.

I have been looking at lots of RVs including new campers...I agree that not very many of them are suitable for a short box truck. We have a 9.5' Bigfoot also! They are a pretty light camper but it still catches the wind like all campers do. I also enjoy driving my dually as it toys with most loads and I am not near as beat up after a long day traveling as when I was using my old 81 Chevy 3/4T 4x4 for the camper. The dually trucks are one of the best choices for hauling campers or towing large 5th wheel trailers...not saying you can not haul with other trucks...just that they are a better tool for the job.