Cabover Struts aka Camper Stabilizers
Dave Pyles
questions. I just upgraded my truck camper to a bigger longer heavier
camper (F350 CC Dually with 11'6" 3900 lb. Camper), I'm experiencing a
lot of "porpoising" that was not there before. I've seen that Lance
recommends "Camper struts" that dampen the movement between the cabover
and the truck cab. Has anyone used these, where can I buy them, how
difficult are they to install? A local Lance Dealer says he can get
"Percon (sp?) Camper Stabilizers" from Northwest Trailer Parts. I can't
find anything about these particular ones from a google search. I don't
want a donut to rub the paint off, but shock absorber type struts. I'm
told that setting my Ride Rite air springs up to 70 lbs will help,
they're at 40 lbs now. I just put the air springs on when I got the new
camper, they seem to make it bounce more. The back overhang bounces up
and down, which makes the front overhang hit my running lights. Guess
I'll need to add a sheet of plywood under the camper to raise it up
more, also.
Dave Pyles
da...@nospam.pyles.net - remove nospam to reply
Richard Ferguson
porposing of the camper relative to the truck.
We have a 2 inch spacer to move the camper up a couple of inches, needed
because the late model Super Duty Fords have a higher cab. This was a
Bigfoot factory option for Ford SD trucks. You may need to move it up
more than a thickness of plywood.
With the extended cab, I moved the camper back a couple of inches so
that I could open the rear doors without hitting the camper jacks, which
are extended forward by the dually brackets. We have already bent one
dually bracket when offloading in a less than level spot. The camper CG
is essentially right over the rear axle, with the front axle load
unchanged with or without the camper.
When we added air shocks, the ride improved immediately and obviously,
we started with 60 psi on one side, and 30 on the other. As the truck
was tilting a bit, that leveled it out. The big improvement was less
side to side rocking. It also made the truck sit down less in the rear,
moved it up one inch (measured). We are very close to the 11,200 pound
load limit of the F350 dually, 4000 pounds on the front axle, 7000
pounds on the rear axle.
Richard
MB
purchased my Lance Camper, I asked the dealer and also a friend about them.
Both said not to use them, as if the camper takes a big bounce, you could
rip the damper out of the truck and with today's sheet metal, it will take
out a big piece with it.
I just today finished setting up my F-350 Lariat Super Duty SC, SRW, and to
get my rear end stabilized a little better I used a "rubber spring" setup
made by Timbren. I purchased them from a company called AW Direct, and they
mostly only sell stuff made in the US or North America. I paid $222.74 for
the timbren rubber spring assemblies, and it took me less than 30 minutes to
put them on.
I picked up the camper today, it is an 1988 Western Wilderness 11'3" model.
The truck loaded with it, will weigh in at 10,700 or so. It handles so much
better now, and the factory overloads are not hardly being used now. The
timbrens are rated at 6000 pounds per side. The air bags setup is only
rated at 5000 pounds per side at 100 PSI, that is according to the Firestone
Web Site. The Air Bags seem to cost about a hundred dollars more, and you
might have had to pay to have them installed.
I would not use the dampers, just pump up your air bags to the 100 PSI
rating and it will be much better. Also check you Air pressure. If you are
using the Firestone tires that came with the rig. I believe you have to put
in 80 PSI in each tire. With you having a dully, it may be less.
Hope this helps.
MB
"Dave Pyles" <dave....@nospam.boeing.com> wrote in message
news:3DA48573...@nospam.boeing.com...
Mike Niemela
windshield where the camper "stabilizers" started tearing the cab apart.
The "donuts" that go on top of the cab don't just rub off paint they
also overload the cab to frame mounts.
Adding air shocks, air bags and other load capacity bandaids will keep
the frame off the ground but do nothing for the running gear and brakes.
I would suggest weighing your rig at each corner and find out what you
need to do about getting your load evened out. Then decide if you are
overloaded to the point you will not be able to stop when needed.
I have made just about every dumb mistake hauling campers that can be
made and from what you describe I would venture a wild guess that you
need a bigger truck or smaller camper.
Keep us posted on what the scales tell you.
Best
Mike N
Dave Pyles
MB wrote:
>
> Well Dave, I personally have never had them. However, in 1988, when I
> purchased my Lance Camper, I asked the dealer and also a friend about them.
> Both said not to use them, as if the camper takes a big bounce, you could
> rip the damper out of the truck and with today's sheet metal, it will take
> out a big piece with it.
>
That's what I'm afraid will happen....
> I just today finished setting up my F-350 Lariat Super Duty SC, SRW, and to
> get my rear end stabilized a little better I used a "rubber spring" setup
> made by Timbren. <snip>
I've got the Firestone Ride-Rites, running them at 90 lbs
>
> I picked up the camper today, it is an 1988 Western Wilderness 11'3" model.
> The truck loaded with it, will weigh in at 10,700 or so. <snip>
I stopped at the scales with my new Host camper completely empty except
for propane, it was at 11,700 lbs, 200 lbs over my GVWR.
>
> I would not use the dampers, just pump up your air bags to the 100 PSI
> rating and it will be much better. Also check you Air pressure. If you are
> using the Firestone tires that came with the rig. I believe you have to put
> in 80 PSI in each tire. With you having a dully, it may be less.
I need to check out the air pressure still.
With my camper fully loaded, 60 gallons water, a full (38 gallons) tank
of diesel, gear, and two people, I stopped at the scales - 4560 front,
8460 rear - 13,020, or 1,520 over GVWR. I did raise up the camper two
inches, which stopped the camper from hitting the cab running lights,
but it still does the porpoise thing. Yeah, I should have a F450, but
with the air springs, rancho 9000s (5 at rear), and my torklift spring
tie-downs, I think I'll be ok. The dealer told me that they sold one of
these campers to somebody with a SRW F250, they're probably only 4,000
lbs overloaded.
