Shortbed Camper Question?

finclipped · 03-11-2004, 12:56 PM

I have a Shortbox, 3/4 ton pickup and know what the payload is (#2,200), but what is the maximum bed length camper I could put on it? I know that the weight has to be distributed properly and I was thinking 8.5' but am wondering if I could go to 9' if the weight is within payload. Anyone know?

The box length is 6.5'.

Backlash2 · 03-11-2004, 01:07 PM

The problem with short box trucks is that you want the center of gravity over the back axle, or in front of it. I don't know of any 9 ft. campers available that you can achieve this with. As soon as you start getting the center of gravity behind the back axle, it will affect the driveability of the truck...often to dangerous levels.

You will want to check around with the campers you are looking at, and see where the center of gravity is. Measure or obtain the length from the front of your bed to directly over the back axle.

Good luck...

WaterDog · 03-11-2004, 01:16 PM

Camper manfactuers make campers that are short box specific. To get the center of gravity right they will place tanks, batts, refer, stove such that they are forward of the axle.

Lance's 820 is 8'11". 9' is about all the longer your going to get with a shorty.

Fish mojo · 03-11-2004, 01:34 PM

Backlash has it right. Biggest you can go safely is an 8'er. I have a 99 Chevy Silverado 3/4 ton shortbed and I have an 8 foot Fleetwood Caribou. I load it with the tailgate down. The end goes right to the end of the gate. Any bigger and you would not have the support necessary. To do it over again, I would have a long bed truck. The best thing I did for it was to get the air bags for the rear axle. A must have. I've driven this rig thru BC, Alberta, Montana, and Wyoming.

finclipped · 03-11-2004, 01:51 PM

Thanks for the info.

It looks like the campers with the 45" or 46" center of gravity are the SB models. It seems as though the center of gravity is 45" to 64" depending on the models. So I assume the 60" center of Gravity is for long beds. The Elkhorn has two similar models with the same length (8') but one is 46" (8R)center of gravity and the other is 68" (8S).

Well this is getting complicated. I have to buy a used camper in the $3,000-$5,000 range, which makes it 10-15 years old. A lot of manufacturers were not building Short Box campers that many years ago.

Does any one know if they put the center of gravity info on the title or somewhere? I wonder if an older 8' camper would be okay for a shortbox?

Backlash2 · 03-11-2004, 03:37 PM

You are right with the difference in center of gravity listed for the same camper.

You are also right in that a lot of manufacturers were not building short box campers 10-15 years ago.

Older model campers were typically a lot heavier than current models are. If you can go $5k, keep an eye out. Campers depreciate pretty quickly, you can probably find a 5-10 year short bed model for that. It'll just take a little patience...