Hunting Rig Help Needed/ 1/4 ton Truck Pop-up

C

Canadian Bush Wacker

CGN Regular
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
12   0   1
Location
Winnipeg
Last year I came across this little gem, little 1/4 ton pop up truck camper mint shape, got it from the secound owner. Now, my problem is matching it up to the right truck. I don't want to build a deck for the 1/2 ton for it and wheel well spacers for it, because it will raise the entrance another 4" to 6" higher which is just too much. Plus it would look very odd,lol.

I know nothing about slide in truck campers!! So, I need help with this match up.

The unit weighs 850lbs, is 89" long. hight to from bottom to over the cab is 3' 3", width between wheel wells is 36 1/2".

Here are some of my questions,

How many inches past the end of the tailgate of a over hang is ok?
Can these 1/4 ton foor door crew cabs work and not mess up center point of gravity?
Will air bags help with the payload rating, but with some loaded, maybe over GVW.

Main goal is not to be sliding the front seat forward to get gear, want the part door thing, or 4 door.(I am getting old and fat)

So my choices are Ranger, Dakota,Toyota in 4x4

Anyone been there, done that with these pop-ups
 
I like the Rangers as they Have been made for quite some time in their current configuration. Toyotas are tough and reliable as with most Toyotas. Having driven Rangers for a work and as a personal vehicle I can tell you they are reliable and inexpensive to fix with adequate power and good aftermarket support for helper springs and air bags. Also, a Ranger would be cheaper on a used lot than a comparable Toyota. Ford supercab bed length would be approx. 72", meaning you would have about 18" of overhang over the tailgate. Sounds like a lot, but if the camper is mounted properly, and secured well, you won't have any problems.
 
I can give you the long fluffy version or we can get right to it ;).

These trucks are too small. Your only chance on that list is the Toyota. Both the Ranger and Dakota have small brakes, too small. You'll warp the rotors every trip. The rear diff on the same trucks won't handle the load, the carriers are too small. The tranny on the Dodge could overheat with a canopy never mind a camper. The Rangers wheelbase is too narrow, you'll be driving a sailboat.

I believe all the owners manuals of your choices will advise against slide in campers.

I forgot about tires, you'll need D rated tires. Most come with P some with C, none come with D cause it'll ride like sh*t unloaded.

I don't mean to offend anyone and I know there are exceptions but my opinion is based on 24 years under your hood. ;)
 
You should look for a 4 door Dakota with a v8. Great trucks, they use the same drivetrain as the full size Dodge and unlike the 4 and 6 cyl offered in other small trucks, it wont be a dog hauling that camper. They are also a bit bigger than the s-10 and rangers. I've owned a dakota for almost 2 years now and i love that truck, tough as nails really reliable.
 
I have alot of experience with slide in campers but little with the pop up type. A good friend had a pop up and they did have condensation issue's. Seems condensation would develop on the canvas/plastic during cooler weather, used to get the bedding damp and wet. But a slide in camper is a slide in camper regardless of what the roof does. Your big advantage is a lower centre of gravity when the roof's down.

Letting it hang over the back a foot or so shouldn't be an issue as many are designed to ride that way. The issue will be can your proposed truck carry the weight without issue in out of the way places and rough gravel roads. The last thing you want is spring/suspension/tire issues away back in the middle of no where.
The camper weighs 850 Ibs. then you have gear and supplies plus your friend and fuel, thats another 1000 Ibs. no problem. So now your carrying 1850 Ibs. of dead weight. The tires on most of these lighter, smaller trucks will be only "B" class tires, and I can't recall what there weight class is, but you might want to check that out.
My experience is your better off with a truck with to much weight carrying capacity than one thats marginal or to lightly sprung for the job, as you will have issue's if the truck can't handle the weight. It is just a matter of time before something breaks.
Air springs/bags are an option as well as having the rear springs reworked at a spring shop. I have air springs/bags in the rear of mine. Had to have them put in last year while on a hunting trip as I had isuues. Which is a long and expensive story. So I do have experience in these matters. My truck is a 3/4 ton dodge diesel six speed reg cab, and I run Toyo "E" class commercial duty truck tires on it. Keep in mind regcab models all have more bed carrying capacity than the same box length in a extended cab model. Check your manufactures specs if you don't believe me.
I bought my truck specifically to carry my slide in camper which it has done a great job of doing all over the US and Canada for the last 10 yrs. But last year carrying 2500 Ibs. of camper plus another 700 Ibs or so of gear plus pulling a 16ft duel axle trailer with quads plus gear on those lovely bush roads north of Armstrong got a little much for 10 yr old weakened springs so I had to make a run into Thunder Bay for repairs. The whole rig had done the same roads on 4 previous trips without issue, but on the 5th it failed.
So my best advise is to choose your truck and it's abilities to carry the weight wisely. And remember pot holed gravel bush roads will find a exploit the least little weakness and cause it to fail 20 times faster at least than it will take to fail on paved surfaces, so over build everything.
 
I have an 07' Dakota with the 4.7L V8, it'd have no problem getting rolling with a camper in the back, but it wouldn't be safe to keep rolling or try and stop.. There's a reason these things are rated for certain weights, listen to the guys above that are advising you not to. I have a F-350 for when I actually need to haul stuff. Buy a half ton, you aren't saving yourself a DIME thinking a little truck is going to be better on gas and cheaper maintenence, because once you load that sucker down its going to be WAY worse on gas than a half ton and your going to go through alot more parts and it WILL cost you more in the long run. If you don't beleive me, take your chance, but I have a little truck (and not a peice of crap one at that) and I know what its about. With my quad in the back and a strong headwind the dakota will be getting about 10-13 mpg on the highway (19-21 unloaded) and in my 1 ton Ford with over sized tires (gas jobby) I'll get between 14-16 mpg with the quad and an additional 800+lbs of camp supplies.
 
My pal has a Ranger 4x4 and bought a new F150 4x4, the new full size truck gets much better mileage than the Ranger.
 
I agree with most of what other people have said, but I disagree about the ranger not handling a small camper like this. The Ford uses an 8.8" rear end and will easily handle whatever you need to carry. As far as the mileage thing goes, it is absolutely true: a full size pickup is designed to carry more cargo and will not have to work as hard to do the job, consequently you will get comparable or even better mileage. If I had a choice and needed a truck to haul an on bed camper and all of my gear it would be a late 70's F250. 400 ci torque monster engine, C6 auto transmission or heavy duty 4speed, Dana 60 or 70 axle, and inexpensive to fix. Lots of advice for the OP here, good luck n the search!
 
I concur with the opinions about go big or go home when it comes to a pick up for your camper. Air bags help the truck drive level and handle better but do not increase your GVW. You can actually crack your frame if you start over loading an air bagged frame. 10 ply tires are a must for gravel and the highway IMHO. The loggers around here use M55 Toyo's so I do. I have a so-called 1/2 ton camper but a 2500HD Chevy. Lighter the better when you start bouncing down some pot holed mess that used to be a road.

If you are looking for a dedicated camper pick-up, the GM 3/4 tons with the 350's in the 1990-1999 style are very good. I put close to 400,000 K on a 93 Silverado, excellent tough vehicle. Had a 454 so was a little tough on gas but good in every other way.
 
Last edited:
I saw a guy who had a slide in camper who got an old junker truck, cut the whole back end off and made it into a trailer, he then slid it on the "trailer" and had his new camper ready to go. If you know anyone with a welder it would probably be easy enough to do
 
just went through this when buying my new truck I have a 9"1' camper it weights 3100 lbs empty, the law states vehicle gvw minus actual vehicle weight is the maximum capacity you can carry, once over that in the event of an accident if they can prove you were over no insurance. long story short for my I looked at ford f350 and dodge 3500 could not buy dodge the ford has a 1100 lbs heavier capacity and no the air bags by law do not change your gvw, you would have to get the vehicle re-certified no inspector is going to do that because everything from brake size to frame size to tires size to trans size comes into play to get the rating the factories come up with. Unless your vehicle is 1990 or older then they don't care how much you haul I have seen trucks with their front tires just about off the ground. This is the law in B.C.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom