Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives With or without Airbags on Pick up camper?

Well, I've used it both ways now and I can honestly say the airbags by firestone are well worth the time and expense to install!

My truck worked well without them, but it works almost as if the camper is not there now. I have a Lance Light 815 model 1700 dry and probably 2500 fully loaded to go.

It's an easy fit and a great match to a heavy truck used on rough mtn roads in the mountains. I've not had a lot of experience yet but I did spend the last three days in the mountains and it was fine. Just gotta be darn certain that everything is secure inside!

I have had air bags on my Ford for many years, its an old truck but gets the job done. when i have my camper on board, another oldie, I bring the bags up to 55 psi and the only time you know the camper is with you is in cross winds. Especially comming down I-90 into Vantage. A new Dodge Cummings is on my schedual of purchases in the next couple of years and you can bet it will have bags.

Bullwnkl.

Funny you mention that particular spot. The Vantage hill climb has brutal cross winds. That is the one place that really scares me with this camper!

Jim, Your setup looks great! There is a simple antidote for those crosswinds. Drop the speed of the vehicle, especially since you have a tall truck. That Cummins will just pull you too fast for the conditions. When taking I-90 over the pass in summer, it seems to never fail that some local suburbanite is pulling his 20 ft speedboat around those curves with a 1/2 ton truck or SUV and passing most other vehicles. Now, none of them looked like you <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> and I'm not suggesting that you drive like that either. Two things about the 70's era camper trucks that were an advantage were the spring package and vehicle weights that allowed for heavier payloads, and the engines lacked the power to drive as fast as the modern diesel. All it takes is a surprise wind gust timed with an unexpected lane shift or bump and the rig can get away from you. I certainly hear you regarding the shifting of contents in the camper. I can remember coming down some badly eroded mountain roads and full of washboards, with the disappointing resultant mess inside. Are you going to install one of those extended hitches so that you can pull your boat? That is when you need the longbed model so that the camper fits inside and the customary frame mount hitch does the trick. Been there myself with all of these compromises, trying to get all the equipment to match up and work together.

Marv

One thing you DON'T want is the overload shocks. The shocks are fine, but on most vehicles the mounts aren't fine. Most shocks mount on a single bolt on the top which is not supported on the nut end. A few thousand miles of bouncing over bad roads will break the mounting bolt, or worse, tear it out of the frame so you have a welding job to repair it. Either one can leave you stranded if you don't have the right wrenches to pull the shock off. With a regular shock, you can still drive ok if you take it easy. With an overload, however, you'll be unbalanced because the opposite side will be sitting higher with it's spring-loaded shock.

Dick

Nice looking rig, JJ. Glad you're happy. E