Pick the camper first.
It going to depend on what you want in the camper. A modest size camper will overload an SRW F350. Many of the large campers are too heavy for an F450.
The only thing that makes sense is to pick the camper first. Get the dry weight of the camper and add the weight of it's water capacity plus the weight of it's holding tank capacity. Add the weight of options like A/C, generator, fuel, etc. Add reasonable weights for groceries, cooking utensils, clothes, propane, sporting supplies, people and pets, tools, bathroom supplies, linens, etc.
Now that you have the weight which depends on your idea of a camper will be from 3000lb on up over 7000lb. Then look at the actual payload sticker and / or slide in camper certification on a truck to determine what you need. Without slide in camper certification your not really going to be able to use the entire payload because the weight is too far back on most large campers. Unless you follow the COG recommendations when calculating for the camper which may not be possible depending on the camper your going to not get it right. I would only go with a certified vehicle.
A 250 is not usually certified for slide in camper and the payload is only 2500lb. This is not safe for even a small camper without a slide out.
Don't rely on any sales pitch from the camper dealer or the truck dealer. Most of them lie about what is right. I had a camper dealer try to sell me one that was 1900lb empty. Loaded minimum weight is going to be 3000lb. 3000lbs would actually be empty. people, fuel and water weighs 1000lbs alone. This was a very small camper. He said it was perfect for my c1500 which I already know has a payload of 1200lbs. A salesman at a Ford dealer told me an F150 can haul 3000lbs. I looked at all of the payload stickers and the most I found on the lot of F150's was 1280lbs.
I would love to have a camper but I went with the 5th wheel because it works for what I need and takes way less truck for hauling it.
There were a lot of truck campers turning over in Colorado last winter when I was there. Anything can be done but if you want to be legal and safe make sure you know what your getting.
Last edited by DavidPhillips : 07-06-2009 at 06:21 PM.