I am wondering if anyone here runs a overhead camper on their truck with a lift. How does it handle? The reason I'm asking is last year I had to sell my Class A Motorhome because of slow business and I grew up camping in Dad's overhead. I have never driven one with a lifted truck. I have a 4" Rancho with 285's and tow a 18' boat. Thanks

Check the weight of the camper....most 3/4 tons can't handle the weight.

Weight is not my worries, handling is.

Anybody run a Camper with a lift?

Yes... Here it is on my Chevy 1 ton CC SWR with a six inch lift kit. The jack system is made by Stable Lift. Here is their link; http://www.stablelift.com/

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=96365&d=1262632147

Yes... Here it is on my Chevy 1 ton CC SWR with a six inch lift kit. The jack system is made by Stable Lift. Here is their link; http://www.stablelift.com/

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=96365&d=1262632147
So how does your truck handle with the camper. The reason I ask is most people I see now days are runnin duals.

I have a 9' that I run on the 2500hd. No lift but the camper jacks were about 2" from full extension with my 285's. I would think a lift would require blocks under the jacks to get it to the height needed to put it on the truck. I'm actually loading up on Friday and will take some action shots. As far as handling the truck handles it fine and the camper is 1900lbs. dry. I don't have a loaded/wet weight.

Ya I loaded my dads camper on and off a lot when I was younger. It had hydraulic jacks at the corners. It got pretty scary for some people watching me do this, and this was on a 2 wheel dr '78 dodge. I am mostly concerned with the height and how top heavy this can get.

I have had several OH campers and trucks to haul them. I have done both SRW and duallies. Here is my opinion based upon my experience. Summary, I would not have a dually if it was only to carry a camper! The dually only gives you extra side walls from the extra tires to handle the wobble between the tread and the center of the wheel. I found that a quality XPS or LTX gave me the same support. In all cases the truck suspensions where a bigger problem handling an OH camper. As an example. I have the same camper that is shown on that 1993 1T CC SRW. It had Michelin XPS tires, front and rear stablizers, and Firestone air ride bags. It handled very well even in very heavy cross winds! I bought the new 2005 Dually, 1T, x-cab and put the camper on it and it was honnestly the most unstable truck I have ever driven. The dually had 250 miles on it when I added air bags and a heavy duty rear stablizer. After that it handled the same as my SRW with the same upgrades. The only difference was it still had the cheap General tires but since there were four of them, they handled ok. The Generals only lasted 8,000 miles and I switched to XPS's on this truck as well. My camper is 3,600 pound wet plus whatever gear may be in it. I bought the dually only because it was the closest to what I wanted at the end of the 2005 tax year just to take advantage of the $50,000 tax break that year or I would have waited for a SRW. Feel free to PM me if you would like more info.... I do love the D-max. In fact, I now have two of them and would not go back to a gaser but as far as DRW vs SRW.... I would do duals only if you have a need for over 4,000 pounds on your back. It just is not worth the extra tire expense and lower fuel milage of the DRW if you do not need it. Either way, add the stablizer and the air ride bags!!!
Hope that helps. :) Roger

Thanks Roger... you summed it up perfectly. All of my Dad's rigs for campers were srw and we never had problems. Now onto the next step finding one that suit's my needs. 8 or 9 ft is all I really need for my wife and I. Quite honestly when camping we spend most of our time outside anyways. If I had it my way I'd just pack the tent , food and camp box...

Thanks Roger... you summed it up perfectly. All of my Dad's rigs for campers were srw and we never had problems. Now onto the next step finding one that suit's my needs. 8 or 9 ft is all I really need for my wife and I. Quite honestly when camping we spend most of our time outside anyways. If I had it my way I'd just pack the tent , food and camp box...


That's the way we camp. Very few extras and not a lot of "luxuries". The rear sway bar is a great suggestion. I have air bags only and 265 Michelin ltx m/s and with the full 80 lbs. in the tires it is very stable an does not give an uneasy feeling at all.

When camper shopping look for one with a "north/south" front bed. Makes climbing up and down much easier.

Ya I had a class c with the overhead bed east to west and it was a pain getting in and out, and if you were the one on the inside, well forget it. Needless to say that bed ended up a storage area, or one kid could sleep up there.

I went with S&S on my current unit because it had a queen size bed with a real matress on top and it is tall enough to sit up and not hit my head on the roof. (and I am over 6' tall) It is a 9.5' model with all of the bells and whistles including the generator. I am currently thinking about solar on the roof to make it better for week long hunting and fishing trips in remote areas. I can still pull any trailer I want behind... like my 4-horse trailer without any problems.