Bought a slide-in truck camper - suspension upgrades

for anyone that's interested, fuel economy with the camper went from 12.8 L/100 km to 14.4 L/100 kms. That's only an 11.25% increase which I'm very happy with.

 

Haha. I drove 1700 kms one way to get this one. I drove from Nanaimo BC to Saskatoon (a third of the way across Canada) and paid 6k for it.

If you're talking about the one in Queen Charlotte, that is ridiculously remote and a long trip with a ferry ride for you. If you are talking about the one in Nanaimo, if has a soft rotten floor from water damage.

 

Congrats.

 

How is the headroom standing up in the camper? I am about your height?

 

They call it 5'11" and I think that's about right. It's not uncomfortable or awkward to be in it though. It helps that the ceiling it carpeted and padded.

 

I have a 2013 Dual cab long box with the exact same camper. I am using airbags and it handles like a dream. My Northern lite is a 1992 and it is stickered at 750 lbs. Is yours a newer model? I know the newer ones weighed in heavier. I also have the Torklift tie downs as well. Only other thing I would consider doing is maybe putting on a sway bar. I am still using the stock tires and no issues but will probably upgrade them. Pics of my setup are in the Truck camping thread. Only thing I need to do to my camper is take out the AC unit that the previous owner put in. It only works when plugged into shore power and I never camp with shore power so I want to remove it and save the 50 lbs.

It's an amazing camper setup. Only real issue is when loading and unloading. The front camper jacks barely clear the fender flares. I have about 2 mm on either side.

 

One other tip. Do a search online for LED camper lights. Guy out of Victoria sells them. They plug right into the existing bulb sockets for the lights. They will save you a tonne of juice from the camper battery. I think the stock bulbs are 20 watts where as the LED are 1.5 watts.

 

I like it. Great find.

 

Thanks for the tips. I am planning on swapping out the LED's but didn't know about the guy in Victoria. I just installed a new 35 amp hour gel battery in the camper beside the water tank along with a trickle charger so it will charge when plugged in, and not just when the truck's running.

My camper is rated for 352 kgs, and it's a 91. The guy who owner this previously mounted jack brackets with more clearance so I've got a little extra room.

I was also surprised that I needed to lay sown some lumber under the camper in the truck bed because the be'd a couple inches too deep for the camper.

 

I too should get some of the wider camper jack brackets to help clear the jacks. As for laying down lumber, I had to put two bed mats down. The stock Toyota one and then a really thick one.

These are fantastic camping machines! Enjoy.

 

Sweet score! I have a Four Wheel Camper and initially just had the TSB leafs with the Ride-Rite bags. That worked well. I've since upgraded to Dakars, much more betterer. Good luck.

 

Hey Matt, nice camper!

Question, how are the timbrens working out for you now that you've had them on the truck for a while?

 

Holding up great. No sign of wear and I have the camper on probably 70% of the time. With the HD ones, you have about an inch of downward travel in the rear before the frame settles on the spring so they don't affect unloaded ride. Once its loaded up and the frame hits the bumpstop it settles in nicely and doesn't sag more than that. You would expect a rough ride when settled on those but its not at all. I am very happy with them. I have been wondering about a suspension upgrade down the road when priorities settle and I have some money for it, but am worried that if I use a HD leaf pack such as Dakars, the truck would have to settle an extra inch or 2 before they hit the bumpstop so they wouldn't serve much purpose. For now I have a nice smooth ride and can load up to well over capacity without sagging or loose handling. If I don't end up needing extra clearance this is the perfect solution.

 

Thanks, glad to here that. I like the idea of the timbrens over air bags. Cause with air bags I would have to add air and remove air everytime I change the load. Plus no chance of air leaks.

 

Yeah I hear ya. I had air bags on my '06 and didn't like the ride. Also had the pin in the valve fall out one day when I pulled over to top up the air in the middle of a long roadie about 200 kms from a gas station and more from an auto store. lucky I was able to find it in the dirt. For a couple hundred bucks, to me they're a no-brainer

 

That is an awesome setup! I could spend weeks exploring the backcountry in it. Appears to be in good condition as well. Nice find!

 

Thanks man. Unfortunately the only thing I am using it for right now is taking my wife to medical appointments in Seattle and Vancouver.

Once she is doing better we are really looking forward to doing a roadie down the Washington Oregon and California coast, then a trip to Alaska after that. We've always really enjoyed long road trips and camping so it's a perfect setup for us. Only like a 10-20% increase in fuel consumption with the camper on which is so much better than pulling a trailer. We used to double our fuel consumption with a 19ft travel trailer.

 

Hope your wife feels better so.

 

Have you spent some time on rougher washboard gravel roads with the timbrens and camper? I'm having a four wheel camper built and thinking about running the OME Dakar leaf springs to carry more of the weight, and using a taller and softer timbren to help give a decent ride off road. My truck will have a small lift, so I can run taller timbrens that also have an addition 1/2" of compression.

Thanks

 

I have the HD Timbrens and am adding a 3/8" spacer tomorrow so the truck will sit a hair higher when the camper's on. (Wheelers spacer for their bumpstops)

I have had the truck on washboard uphill gravel and find that they do very well. It rides much nicer with them on than it did without. I had airbags on my 06 and while I didn't have a camper, I did tow a 19' travel trailer and I thought they rode very poorly over bumps: sharp and abrupt.

What are you doing in the front? OME kit?