Hi Everyone
New to the site and to the T.C. lifestyle. I find myself unsure if my truck will be able to handle the weight of a new Host Yukon my wife and I have on order. The truck is a 2007 Chevy 2500 Duramax diesel single rear axle 4x4 long bed and the camper has a single slide. Of course the RV dealership has assured me there will be no problem since they are installing air bags. Any ideas or opinions on how to make sure this combination will work as safely as possible will be greatly appreciated.
Tonto

Sir

The simple fact is that the Yukon is 2955 Dry and typically you add 1000 lbs to a camper with gear, water, bedding,etc. So you will be at or close to 4000 lbs on a single axle 3/4 ton truck.

Airbags are not meant to increase the carring capacity of your truck- they stabilize the load. Many people forget it is not how much the truck could or should carry- but how are you going to stop?? Brakes play a huge role in this equation. If you exceed the mfg recommendation on the weight, you have also exceeded the braking ability

I hate to tell you- you have to much camper or not enough truck.

Best of Luck

quote:

Originally posted by Tonto57:
..
. Of course the RV dealership has assured me there will be no problem since they are installing air bags...
Tonto

Of course the dealer will say that this installation has been done before, successfully, but will NEVER assume any liability for troubles you may have. They want the sale more than anything else. Consider these scenarios:

You rear end someone: the dealer says you were following too close, when actually your brakes simply couldn't stop the rig. What is you overall towing capacity?

A rear tire fails: they say it should have been replaced sooner, when actually it overheated and deteriorated from continuously running at the top end of it's load capability.

Your rig sways excessively: they say air bags were installed, when actually air bags do not reduce sway, they just change the height of the load. Air bags at the wrong pressure could increase sway. Shocks are the component that reduce sway and a 3/4 ton rig has shocks designed for the maximum rated load.

And on and on...

Ultimately, YOU are the one who must decide what your truck is truly capable of.

Rick

Thanks so much for the input, I had a sick feeling it was going to go this way. So would a 3500 Dually handle this camper safely? The wife fell in love with the Host so I must find the truck that can carry it.
Tonto

You are certainly better off with 3500 Dually- sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I think you could have some huge issues with a 2500 SWR and a 4000lb camper behind you.

I also was looking at a large hard side with one slide- we really liked the camper but it was 3200 dry

We had a F350 gas SRW hauling an Arctic Fox 1150 for a year or so. It drove OK, but the brakes on the F350 were not good. Fade, overheating even when stab breaking in low gear, going downhill.

We sold the truck, kept the camper and bought a 2002 3500 HD dually, LB, CC, with the Duramax/Allison. Much improved. The Allison downshift feature was great.

Why not go for a 4500 or 5500 with a truck bed?

Sold that 3 years ago to someone who took it to Alaska and they reported back it was great.

I had a Dodge dually with a Lance 1130. The truck was able to handle the camper (although overloaded) but I didn't feel comfortable with the service brakes. I added an exhaust brake and it helped on the long down hill runs. Any time I had to stop quickly, I wasn't sure if the truck would stop. Scary situation! If I did it all over again, I would go with a F450 or F550 with a pickup bed.

Good Luck!

Thanks again for the respone guys. There is a big jump in price from the F350 to a F450 or F550 and I am all ready going to loose big on my current truck. I guess it will come down to what I can afford.

Tonto

Tonto

Check this link out

http://dallas.craigslist.org/rvs/508419195.html

I hate to advise someone to go overweight, but I know someone with a 3700 lb (dry) SnowRiver on the same truck. He upgraded to 19.5 Rickson wheels & tires, and says it handles just fine. For what it is worth the scale guy in BC says they are only concerned with axle weights not GVWR.