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It's a compact type of pickup and I believe the bed is 6 feet long. I'll have to double check that.
The tailgate was already removed when I bought it, so I don't need to deal with that.
The max payload is 1400 pounds. The bed of the pickup is in good, solid shape with no rust.
I plan on finding a small, light camper, but realistically, once it's got water in it and me and a dog and gear and food, I think it would be smart to assume I'll have 1400 pounds on it.
So, this is what I'm thinking I should do. I'd appreciate your advice. All work would be done by a mechanic, as I can't do the work myself.
First, one camper website suggests putting on the Roadmaster Active Suspension kit:
Also, I'm looking at a set of all-season tires with really good tread, and the camper website suggests getting some that are rated "D" or "E" to handle the load.
Does this make sense? Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. I plan on saving up and doing this work bit by bit, with the goal to put a camper on it in early summer.
I think you're on the right path with all thing. In this instance I'd vote for overload springs rather than airbags. Be very careful about the camper. Watch loading with water and supplies. as long as you don't go overboard, you should be fine.
I think you're on the right path with all thing. In this instance I'd vote for overload springs rather than airbags. Be very careful about the camper. Watch loading with water and supplies. as long as you don't go overboard, you should be fine.
A good LT tire should be easy enough to come by.
What is LT? I am learning a lot about this stuff! Also, could you provide a link to an example of overload springs? Or give me a name I can google? Also, would you trust a Les Schwab to do this stuff? They supposedly do suspension work and warranty their work. There's one in town.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dude111
Looks quite nice!!
Thanks! I'm glad I did some research before I just bought a camper and put it on the truck. It never occurred to me to beef up the suspension. I knew I'd have to do some work to the truck, though, so it's not horrible news I can't live with.
It sounds like overall, this is not overkill and I'm on the right path :-)
Adding overload springs and tires are great, but if the truck was only designed to carry a static load of 1400lbs, use caution when deciding what camper to throw back there. I'd err on the side of LOW because depending on gear and additional bodies it all adds up.
Trucks with higher payload capacities have larger axles, brakes, beefier suspensions and tires. You are only addressing a part of the equation.
That Eagle camper starts at 800lbs base weight, not including fridge, furnace, water heater, jacks or other extras. It's a shell. You will be close to 1,400lbs REAL QUICK, lol.
Adding overload springs and tires are great, but if the truck was only designed to carry a static load of 1400lbs, use caution when deciding what camper to throw back there. I'd err on the side of LOW because depending on gear and additional bodies it all adds up.
Trucks with higher payload capacities have larger axles, brakes, beefier suspensions and tires. You are only addressing a part of the equation.
That Eagle camper starts at 800lbs base weight, not including fridge, furnace, water heater, jacks or other extras. It's a shell. You will be close to 1,400lbs REAL QUICK, lol.
Excellent advice.
I am wary about getting a pop-up camper, because I live in a very wet climate and most of my camping will be done in Oregon and WA, which is also going to be wet a good deal of the time. I just don't want to deal with a wet canvas/vinyl popup, or deal with any maintenance involved with one.
I'm thinking about getting one of these new Rayzr campers by Travel-Lite. They're under 1,000 pounds:
I only need a single bed, and don't need or want a cabover bed I'd have to climb up into and out of.
Panther also makes one that has just a tiny cabover section that is just storage, and not a bed. They weigh a tad more than the Razr, but would give me a little more storage room and they're just over 1,000 pounds:
I figure realistically, though, even with a light camper, by the time I put in a small water supply, food, some gear/clothing, etc., and a fridge and stove, that I'll end up close to 1400 pounds.
What is LT? I am learning a lot about this stuff! Also, could you provide a link to an example of overload springs? Or give me a name I can google? Also, would you trust a Les Schwab to do this stuff? They supposedly do suspension work and warranty their work. There's one in town.
Thanks! I'm glad I did some research before I just bought a camper and put it on the truck. It never occurred to me to beef up the suspension. I knew I'd have to do some work to the truck, though, so it's not horrible news I can't live with.
It sounds like overall, this is not overkill and I'm on the right path :-)
LT is the designation for light truck tires. I'm guessing 235 75R15 will be the size of tire that would work well. 235mm is the width which is round 9 1/4 inches wide. The 75 is the aspect ratio and 15 is the size of wheel. Look at the single tire rating on the tire when buying. Mainly that the sidewall is strong enough.
You are right on the edge of being safe with a slide in camper. In fact many owners manuals recommend that you do not use the small pickups with a slide in. Honestly a pop up pull type camper might be safer. I understand the appeal of a small pickup with a slide in. I toyed with the idea years ago.
Even with beefed up suspension you will be safer, but you cannot increase carrying capacity.
LT is the designation for light truck tires. I'm guessing 235 75R15 will be the size of tire that would work well. 235mm is the width which is round 9 1/4 inches wide. The 75 is the aspect ratio and 15 is the size of wheel. Look at the single tire rating on the tire when buying. Mainly that the sidewall is strong enough.
You are right on the edge of being safe with a slide in camper. In fact many owners manuals recommend that you do not use the small pickups with a slide in. Honestly a pop up pull type camper might be safer. I understand the appeal of a small pickup with a slide in. I toyed with the idea years ago.
Even with beefed up suspension you will be safer, but you cannot increase carrying capacity.
Thank you so much for this info. I appreciate your advice and will take it to heart. Since nobody said my thinking was, indeed, overkill, I think I'll plan to put in the suspension kit and the better shocks and get some great tires. Then, maybe I can try one out at an RV dealer on my truck and see how it handles. The lighter the better, for sure.
Loading such a small truck to it's maximum rated capacity with a slide-in camper is a recipe for problems.
Despite installing improved suspension and higher capacity rated tires, the basic structure, brakes, engine, and transmission are still the limiting factor in performance, durability, and safety. This will be a very tedious rig to drive for any distance, and you may even find that it's incapable of maintaining posted freeway speed in a lot of situations. In surface traffic driving conditions, you may find that it's remarkably slow to accelerate and keep up with traffic.
As you acknowledge, it may be very difficult to even stay within that max rated capacity when fully set up for the road. Driving such a load may be seriously lacking in being able to keep up with traffic, climb grades, and fuel economy is going to be very low from the truck engine struggling to just get down the road. It's not only a matter of weight, but of windage with the camper. Then, when you are on descents you will find the brakes very marginally adequate for normal driving; in an emergency situation, they will likely be inadequate for the task. Prudence will dictate leaving a significantly longer distance between you and the next vehicle then you'd normally need in traffic.
For reference, looking at a slide-in camper designed specifically for these smaller capacity trucks, I looked at an Alaskan, a well built and thought out unit for a 6' small truck bed. The Alaskan comes in at 1,030 lbs with a 2 gallon Propane tank and a minimal amount of water on board. They advise that with passengers, clothing, food, and a frugal amount of gear on board that you should expect the camper to be at the max capacity of the truck. Think about it, you're asking the truck to work to it's maximum capacity all the time it's in motion. My guess is that you'll not see much better than 10-12 mpg with one of these rigs on the road. Don't expect much longevity for the engine, transmission, or brakes on this rig.
In addition to the suspension upgrade, you'd want to upgrade the transmission oil cooler capacity to keep the transmission from cooking itself. With a 1993 vehicle, if it's got a normal amount of miles on it, don't expect that the transmission will have much useable service life remaining to begin with and now you're asking it to work at it's rated maximum all the time? Again, it's not just the weight that will be a factor, but the windage of the slide-in camper that will be a major factor on the load going down the highway. This will not be an easy rig to drive much of the time, you'll be constantly having to pay close attention to keeping it in your lane and trying to keep up with traffic.
IMO, your better option will be to find a lightweight camping trailer well within the towing weight and max trailer tongue weight rating of your truck. You'll still have very modest performance under this load, but at least you'll not be pushing the truck to it's maximum performance and braking capability all the time.
What is LT? I am learning a lot about this stuff! Also, could you provide a link to an example of overload springs? Or give me a name I can google?
LT = Light Truck. The tires will be rated for specific maximum weights, with the low capacity of your truck you shouldn't have any trouble finding tires that are rated for far more than the truck is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe
Also, would you trust a Les Schwab to do this stuff? They supposedly do suspension work and warranty their work. There's one in town.
Not a chance, the one closest to me can't even rotate tires without screwing something up. But it will come down to the specific techs doing the work, if the guys working at the shop near you are talented, experienced and know what they're doing I'm sure they'll do a fine job, but the store isn't going to tell you if the people doing it have no idea how to work on your Nissan so you won't really know if you can trust them or not.
Don't forget that 1,400 lbs of payload isn't just what you put in the bed of the truck, weight of passengers and anything else in the cab is counted against that as well. Also the weight of the camper will almost certainly be the empty, dry weight. You can easily add another 1,000 lbs once you start adding food, camp gear, and especially water. At 8.3 pounds / gallon the weight of water adds up quickly.
Four Wheel Campers popup might be your best bet if you want a truck camper and not a towable, they aren't super common but people do use them in WA, I just saw one on Friday.
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