Slide-In Campers?

[donstergarage]

Has anyone here used a slide-in truck camper in their Tundra, AC specifically? Most of them seem too heavy; 1400-1800 pounds empty. I found a lightweight one I like from www.six-pac.com but don't know if I can buy locally.

[RockyMtnRay]

Originally Posted by donstergarage

Has anyone here used a slide-in truck camper in their Tundra, AC specifically? Most of them seem too heavy; 1400-1800 pounds empty. I found a lightweight one I like from www.six-pac.com but don't know if I can buy locally.

The question comes up every once in a long while but very few people actually have successfully used one for the very reason you identified...nearly all are simply way too heavy for a Tundra. An Access Cab has...at most...about 1200 lbs of load capacity in the bed if you have a passenger or two and a few hundred pounds of cargo in the cab. Since most people load a camper with 500 or so pounds of stuff, that realistically means the empty camper can't exceed 700 lbs or so. And that means that you have to go with the ultralight models from companies like six-pac or Four Wheel Campers.

Some people will tell you that you can overload a Tundra with no problems if you just install some overload springs or airbags to get the frame off the axle. They are wrong...unlike on domestic trucks where the suspension is often much weaker than the frame and axle; on a Tundra the frame, axle, and suspension are of equivalent strength. I have seen pictures of a Tundra with a cracked-all-the-way-through frame (on both sides of the truck) that resulted from hauling a 1500 lb camper that was loaded with about 1000 lbs of stuff. The idiotic owner of that truck thought his Tundra "could handle the load" if he just "beefed up" the suspension with overload springs. Instead he turned a $30,000 truck into a $3000 parts donor at a salvage yard. Another TS member reported his brother-in-law snapped the axle on a double cab at the spring mount by hauling a too-heavy load.

So if you're determined to haul a camper with your truck, buy the lightest one you can find (not to exceed 700 lbs empty), load it very lightly, don't try to increase rear suspension load ratings with airbags/overload springs, and stay on smooth roads to minimize shock loading on the frame/axle/suspension.

[donstergarage]

Looks like this thread got moved

Maybe, it's time to look at a used 3/4 ton diesel truck. I love the Tundra but a bigger truck w/ even better fuel mileage may be a worthwhile trade up.

Thanks Ray.

[SDtundra858]

I have a 2005 Regular Cab V8 2WD 8 foot bed, currently it has a 3 inch exhaust with Flowmaster Super 40 muffler and a K&N 77-series intake. The tires i have on there are 265/75/16 BFG All Terrains. I was wondering if the Ranger by Four Wheel Campers would be too heavy for my truck to carry Weighs only 780 Lbs unloaded and on their website they have 2 pictures of a Tundra Regular Cab with it on...Four Wheel Campers Ranger Model - Fits Mid/Mini Long Bed Trucks

Send me a PM with info, as i will probably forget about this post or not be able to find it again

[mustang67408]

Originally Posted by SDtundra858

I have a 2005 Regular Cab V8 2WD 8 foot bed, currently it has a 3 inch exhaust with Flowmaster Super 40 muffler and a K&N 77-series intake. The tires i have on there are 265/75/16 BFG All Terrains. I was wondering if the Ranger by Four Wheel Campers would be too heavy for my truck to carry Weighs only 780 Lbs unloaded and on their website they have 2 pictures of a Tundra Regular Cab with it on...Four Wheel Campers Ranger Model - Fits Mid/Mini Long Bed Trucks

Send me a PM with info, as i will probably forget about this post or not be able to find it again

I don't know about the weight, Maybe RAy can address that, but
3" exh and that Intake set up, you've probably lost alot of LOW END torque. WE have found that increasing the exh size more than 1/8" has detrimental effects on low end torque. That is what you need to haul heavy loads.
This is just my opinion , not trying to bash you.