What kind of truck would I need for this slide-in?

[highdesertranger]

x2 on what bob said on everything. so you have a 6.5 liter in that. does it have a turbo? can you post a pic of that glove box sticker? highdesertranger

 

[K1ngN0thing]

x2 on what bob said on everything.  so you have a 6.5 liter in that.  does it have a turbo?  can you post a pic of that glove box sticker?  highdesertranger

That's the VIN... 2700 pounds. Doesn't look like there's any way around this for my 3400lb dry camper.

 

[highdesertranger]

wow ok, it sure does say 2701 lbs. is it a 6.5 turbo? highdesertranger

 

[Canine]

Long story short is that even older single wheel one tons are way short on payload for the big TC's. I had a 77 GMC 1 ton 4X4 with a 400 small block that weighed 7800 pounds with just a canopy on it, GVW was 9600, so I didnt have even a 2000 legal payload. All the air bags in the world don't help you with a broken axle or undersized brakes.

Now the newest trucks have serious payloads, the newest DRW F450's are 5-6,000 pound payloads and even a F350/3500 DRW can haul that much, however have you seen their prices? I wandered a car lot with my brother who has a 33 foot 5th wheel that has about a 2500 pound pin weight, and a new Dodge 3500 CTD extended cab 8 foot 2 wheel drive was MSRP'd at $72K...

Those gorgeous 11 foot Lance, Bigfoot or Arctic Fox units take a serious truck to haul them.

Oh and the weight police are out there. I was up in northern ID a few years ago with my piddly 8 foot TC on the old blue bomb when we went through a checkpoint (4th of July). The highway officer was checking trucks pulling trailers for safety chains and such. He also had a half ton on the side of the road that was seriously overloaded with a 9.5 TC on it.
One look under mine at the 1 ton spring pack and he waved me through. No slide, no bathroom.

 

[highdesertranger]

dusty I can't see how you would break an axle on a 77 gmc 1 ton and the brakes are huge, much larger than todays 1 tons. highdesertranger

 

[Canine]

dusty I can't see how you would break an axle on a 77 gmc 1 ton and the brakes are huge,  much larger than todays 1 tons.  highdesertranger

I didn't break the axle, that was correct, I broke both main leafs in the spring packs... The brakes diameter was big yes but they were drums and faded badly under load. The old turbo hydromatic 400 didn't gear down very well and it crawled up passes. I had to use 4xlow range once just to make it up a really steep grade pulling the trailer. Turns out the old trailer electric brakes had locked up, duhh.

Point being, old is just that, old. All the stress cracks on the frame and the broken leaves didn't help haul much weight. Newer frames (not the 90's fords that had the holes drilled in them) are substantially stouter and stronger than the old steel was. Campers are heavier now with the slides. I just wouldn't have a 30' year old truck, even if it was pristine underneath, and carry a 4-5000 pound wet camper. I wouldn't feel very safe. Stopping it is another issue, my old 77 didn't brake well at all, ever.

 

[highdesertranger]

well we will just have to agree to disagree. I will give you this, the newer trucks have a lot more power at any elevation. however I feel that gets a lot of people in trouble, going way to fast for the conditions. if your 77 didn't stop well something was wrong. my brakes work great, I have a 78. I do have a manual transmission so I have plenty of compression braking. once you let the maintenance go on an older vehicle then you are in trouble, if you keep up you'll be fine or you can just buy new every ten years or so and not worry about it. my 2 cents. highdesertranger

 

[Canine]

We actually aren't that far off... I like old tech, when it breaks I still have an idea what is wrong. I just had a lot of metal fatigue. Not rust, metal fatigue. The truck was an old CP railroad truck used for service. It bounced along the rails a lot I guess. While it was a good ol truck, it's weight cut into the payload. I don't know how they do the new high strength steel alloys but to have a 2014 F150 with the payload package have a 3000 rated payload from the factory is well, surprising. My 77 gmc 3500 didn't have 2000. My brakes would fade, new or not. My miserable 3 speed auto had virtually no compression braking, and the 77 motor didn't have much compression period. 8.5 I think. I believe my s block 400 had under 210 hp and not much more torque. The newer trucks absolutely spank the old stuff. Now I don't ever think the new ones should be trying to crest passes with trailers behind them at 65-70 but my 30-35 was, well, slow. Even semis passed me. I will say it didn't let me down, the broken springs were caught by the annual inspection at the shop and I didn't get blown around by winds. At nearly 8000 lbs on the road, not much could blow it around.
All I'm saying is that I couldn't safely carry or stop a 10.5 or 11 foot camper, much less one with multiple slides.

 

[highdesertranger]

it's cool, I know older isn't for everybody. highdesertranger

 

[Canine]

No problem. For a 9.0 or 9.5 any heavy 3/4 or 1 ton from the 70's up would work, just would need the tired old springs reached, replaced or air bagged. I'd prefer a DRW for that big of a camper just for the sway. Motors can be rebuilt or a crate dropped in. Not much you can do with the tranny other than just accept driving slower.