What do you expect for over 100 grand?

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

What do you expect for over 100 grand?

timbuk · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

100k only covers the truck camper is at least 60k or more they must be close to where the frame was built?

timbuk · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

would be fun to read the comments...yikes!

LeeRoy · Guru

So much for RAM TOUGH! Egg on face for Ram. Will be interesting to see how this gets resolved???

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

Real photo or fake?

timbuk · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

looks real to me i see a trailer hooked up to that one the break looks like the kind of place where that would occur have we seen this before with the colorados

Prefectca · Poncho Master!

The Ram truck in the first post with the Eagle camper is overloaded. The shipping weight of the camper is 4917 pounds for the base model. Add some options, your camping gear, food and your personal supplies like clothing you could be well over 6000 pounds. Also the centre of gravity of the camper is 61.5 inches from the front of the pickup box. Ideally the centre of gravity should be 6 inches ahead of the rear axle. All that weight behind the rear axle stresses the chassis and will cause it to flex and fatigue causing failure. On the Eagle site it shows this camper on a Ford F-450 truck, a lot heavier than a Ram 3500.
The second truck with the frame mounted camper has the same failure quite possibly due to the tongue weight of the trailer being towed. Its probably at or close to the maximum rear axle load rating before adding the trailer tongue weight.

Paul

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

Great observations Paul.

Prefectca · Poncho Master!

Canadian Poncho wrote:
Great observations Paul.

Thanks. I went through this in 2016 when I was looking to buy a truck camper. At the time I owned a 2009 Silverado 1500 extended cab. Several dealers offered campers that they claimed were suitable for a 1500 truck. The lightest camper was about 1500 lbs. I checked my owners manual and the door sticker and with the equipment that my truck was built with the maximum allowable camper weight was 700 lbs! Needless to say I bought a used 2500hd truck. I then bought a used Northern Lite camper. Everything worked out great and my wife and I went across Canada once and also to the Grand Canyon. I did see some pretty scary camper installations during our trips. I was glad that I did the research to match the camper to the truck.

Paul

-- Edited by Prefectca on Monday 26th of December 2022 10:19:47 PM

66 Grande guy · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Despite my first response to this which was totally flippant, it does make you wonder about the size and CofG moment of that monster camper. The leverage on the frame caused by the jouncing and wind gusts against that massive top would have cause that poor truck to flex in the middle in a way it was never designed to do. Eventually the metal would just fatigue and there ya go. I'm sure if these people were paying attention they must have felt the excessive flex or the thumping of the bottom of the overhang on the cab every time they hit a bump or met a semi. Should have told them what was about to happen.

timbuk · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

my 11 2500 powerwagoon is around 1900 lbs payload my 93 gmc 3/4 ton reg cab longbox will take about 500 lbs more campers get heavy quick

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

You would think these campers manufacturers would design these campers to have the majoritiy of the weight over the rear axle.

oshawacliff · Poncho Master!

The bike rack on the front was designed to transfer weight from the rear axle.

timbuk · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

oshawacliff wrote:
The bike rack on the front was designed to transfer weight from the rear axle.

good one!

hawkeye5766 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Canadian Poncho wrote:
Real photo or fake?

Fake....unless the guy cut out the side of his box for a door and some steps........ and you'd have to lift it pretty high to clear the back of the box......

DonSSDD · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Now that you point that out, check out the round shadow of the first truck?

The white one is obviously a Corvair Rampside?

-- Edited by DonSSDD on Tuesday 27th of December 2022 07:30:47 PM

-- Edited by DonSSDD on Tuesday 27th of December 2022 07:31:21 PM

timbuk · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

the fridge has to be level to work.....

Prefectca · Poncho Master!

hawkeye5766 wrote:
Canadian Poncho wrote:
Real photo or fake?

Fake....unless the guy cut out the side of his box for a door and some steps........ and you'd have to lift it pretty high to clear the back of the box......

Thats a tiger camper. It mounts to the box mounts on the frame and replaces the pickup box. Its not removable like a truck camper. I saw a couple on my trip to the Grand Canyon.

https://www.tigervehicles.com/

Paul

hawkeye5766 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Wow..just looked them up (Malayan). Wondering if these were dealer approved or you bought after warranty was up? That would be a big mod on a newer truck or were they sold as a unit??.

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

This video explaning the situation just came out:

DonSSDD · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

That explains the issues very clearly. That long wheelbase with that big cantilever weight adds so much stress to the frame. The next upgrade to these big rigs is going to a double frame like highway tractors/tandem dumps that are heavy spec. The drivetrains are strong enough, the frame shows up as the weak link.