65TerrorCuda
Well-Known Member
Wonder how much he's got wrapped up in that
An Eagle Cap Camper Snapped A Ram 3500 Dually In Half, Mopar Refuses $17,000 Repair Bill
- Thread starter Lord Sparky
- Start date
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33IMP
Well-Known Member
I don't know about the camper (I'll bet not cheap!)but I'll bet that F450 is $100k.
Edit: looks like the camper varies between $40k and $53k, depending on how many slideouts.
(and the F450 has LESS payload capacity than the F350)
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65TerrorCuda
Well-Known Member
There's a few guys in my town with semi wheels but I haven't seen any F450's yet. That thing is big
I agree. According to the detailed specs, he was grossly overloaded. That camper is the most ridiculous looking thing anyway. lol
famous bob
mopar misfit
dont forget the dirt bike on the back too , camper is seriously an idiots design anyway !
33IMP
Well-Known Member
The F450 and F550 pickups (and the Chevy/GMC equivalents) that i see are most often at the drags, pulling big racecar trailers. Fifth wheels, and tags.
harrisonm
Well-Known Member
Agree. Plus, I bet it cost more than a nice sized pull behind camping trailer. Some of them are very nice. I have a friend who recently bought a much smaller slide in Lance Camper and paid over $40K. It is ridiculously small. About half the size of the monster in this thread.
Like Daddy was so famous for saying, "A fool and his money are soon parted". lol
MopaR&D
Nerd Member
My '72 D200 is a "Camper 7500". Spent most of its life with a camper on the back from talking to a previous owner and just from the fact it has none of the typical battle damage you see on working trucks. Does have holes in the bed though indicating it had a 5th wheel at some point.
On that note, if the GVWR is 7500 lbs and the truck weighs 4400 lbs with me in the driver's seat, that means it can carry an extra 3100 lbs load right? I forget the rear GAWR off the top of my head but it is a full-floating Dana 60 and the truck uses 8-lug wheels.
I'm glad I ended up with a 3/4-ton because I certainly wouldn't want any less brakes or suspension when towing my Duster on a car hauler trailer (total weight around 5500-6000 lbs). I "upgraded" to 1981-93 front discs as it originally had front drums that were totally shot and man it really has some "whoa" power.
340demon72
Well-Known Member
2012 Ram 3500 for sale, on FB Marktplace, near me with 434,000 miles. Has a broken frame as shown in Picture below. Looks like a clean break. Maybe a weak spot in the frame right at the hole? Plus a diesel pulling hard in low gear with say a 4.10 axle puts a huge up twist on the frame at the front spring hanger.....
Yeah, that. Make the frame longer, then put a drivetrain in it with the torque just short of a locomotive, overload it cause you certainly can with all that, then drive like you're at the tractor pulls everywhere you go. What could possibly go wrong???
I don't think Chrysler is liable, but the guy that sold them that camper??? That's another kettle of fish...
33IMP
Well-Known Member
Unless the rust is worse than it looks, a good welder should be able to patch/plate that break.
If the truck is cheap enough, might be worth a try.....
Steve welder
Well-Known Member
You couldn't pay me enough to fix that frame. The steel these companies use today is to light. That frame is not strong enough to hold what a dual wheel one ton truck like that should be able to carry and mind you its a aluminium flat bed
I had a early 80's GM C30 with a 10 foot steel flat bed, a rack to carry steel, under body toolboxes, full size oxygen and acy bottles, 1500 pound welding machine, plus tools steel cables and there was never a problem with the frame. The frame on that truck was a heck of a lot bigger thicker than that thing that broke, ridiculous how light they make these frames and that's not the first ive seen break at that point
That truck needs a to have the frame replaced, its the only way.
Matts440
Well-Known Member
If you google the wet weight of that specific camper is says 6,090. So yeah he for sure overloaded it is the payload is only 5,950. Plus what else he put in there. Looks like those were designed for the 4500-5500 models which would be fine with that kinda weight.
MiradaMegaCab
Well-Known Member
Link? I’m local, hold my beer and watch me weld that up!!
Some people feel entitled no matter how frickin stupid they are.
Would really like to pictures of the frame on that Ram. Wonder if it's buckled or fatigued and broke(guessing fatigued and broke). Regardless a new frame is in order as everything around the damaged area is also weaker now.
I have a f350 with a lance camper. Was surprised how much weight is actually on the front end. Adding Carli front springs made it obvious.
I toured the inside of one of those Eagle caps campers at an RV show. They have an amazing amount of room in them. But they are heavy.
My guess is that a lot of vehicles with a single slide camper on a rear single tire pickup are not to far behind this scenario.
If ya just have bikes on the back a trailer or motorhome may be a nicer route ehh.
I have a f350 with a lance camper. Was surprised how much weight is actually on the front end. Adding Carli front springs made it obvious.
I toured the inside of one of those Eagle caps campers at an RV show. They have an amazing amount of room in them. But they are heavy.
My guess is that a lot of vehicles with a single slide camper on a rear single tire pickup are not to far behind this scenario.
If ya just have bikes on the back a trailer or motorhome may be a nicer route ehh.
autopar3000
Well-Known Member
Check this out, a 61 Dodge "Dart" D100 with factory mods to support a camper.
If you don't want to watch the whole video then scroll to about 8:10.
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autopar3000
Well-Known Member
As an aside, Steve Magnante's YouTube channel is great. Videos are mostly him doing the junkyard thing, each video is only 8 - 10 minutes long, and he puts out a new video every day. Plus he's a Mopar guy, so what's not to like?
Dale Davies
Well-Known Member
Load rating for a vehicle gets adjusted by the different options additions. A diesel engine is a lot heavier than the V8 gas burner. Then add the 4wd front axle and transfer case. Screw cab reqires a longer wheel base and extra weight. These all come off the GCWR figure. Now he added a big camper that MT approached the limit. Hanging motorcycles off the back just added a pile of weight out past the fulcrum point, the rear axle center line. To top it all off, in the original post it is stated that the road is a bit rough. Not quite like washboard, lower frequency. This sets up bending stres
My 99 Chev Silverado broke the frame both sides just in front of the rear spring hanger. The frame has a similar oval hole in the vertical side rail. In line with that there is a 1" hole in the top and bottom of the frame. What the truck was used for before I got it I cannot be certain. I did have to install a trailer brake controller to tow my car trailer. When driving with a load I always slowed down. Obviously these are a weak spot on all makes. Then you throw in the calcium chloride they pour on the roads these days for icy conditions, corrodes the steel bodies like battery acid.
BillGrissom
Well-Known Member
I would more blame the camper designer than Chrysler. There is more to it than just weight, which apparently exceeded the vehicle's rating regardless. I too suspect an fwd-rear rocking oscillation which broke the frame from metal fatigue, like bending a paper-clip back and forth. Might occur at certain speeds, dependent on the moment of inertia of the camper and spring-rate of the suspension.
I worry about many products, especially electrical from a perhaps unknown Chinese factory. If their incompetent design burns down your house, what is your recourse? At least if branded, you can go after them. This Eagle Cap company might declare bankruptcy if this is a generic problem, and proven that they spec'ed their camper to work on that truck. I give wide-berth when passing a pickup camper on the freeway, as some are rocking back and forth scarily, with the driver barely in control, though some of those idiots still speed.
I worry about many products, especially electrical from a perhaps unknown Chinese factory. If their incompetent design burns down your house, what is your recourse? At least if branded, you can go after them. This Eagle Cap company might declare bankruptcy if this is a generic problem, and proven that they spec'ed their camper to work on that truck. I give wide-berth when passing a pickup camper on the freeway, as some are rocking back and forth scarily, with the driver barely in control, though some of those idiots still speed.
diymirage
HP@idle > hondaHP@redline
I can guarantee you if I were the person putting rig together I would have gotten written affidavits from both the truck dealer and the camper dealer stating the combination would work
And if the would refuse to sign those, well that would tell me all I need to know about that particular combination
Dale Davies
Well-Known Member
Sales personnel will say anything to get the signature. Too many people towing or carrying much more than the vehicle should. Slowing down a bunch helps.
I worked at a RV dealer for a bit. Can not get my head wrapped around who would decide at the manufacturer to put lights inside hanging down in a trailer. Then you have the brain inhibited that head to the lake down a gravel road and its potholes at 75 to 80MPH. Then they want warranty when the lights break loose.
You just can not fix stoopid!
I worked at a RV dealer for a bit. Can not get my head wrapped around who would decide at the manufacturer to put lights inside hanging down in a trailer. Then you have the brain inhibited that head to the lake down a gravel road and its potholes at 75 to 80MPH. Then they want warranty when the lights break loose.
You just can not fix stoopid!
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