Which route to go for a slide in camper that won't be run full time?

I am ordering a Four Wheel Camper Swift model. It's going to be about 1000lbs all said and done. Even more loaded. I need to have at least a temporary suspension solution in place before I take delivery. When driving the truck around town the camper will be off. But I do plan on some longer mileage trips with it so looking strictly on mileage it's probably a pretty even split. I'm looking for advice on what route to go.

With such a heavy payload I think it's better to err on the side of it riding rough unloaded, rather than to have it ride terrible (unsafe) with the camper on. I currently have Old Man Emu 885 front coils and 90021 front shocks,OME 60091 rear shocks and Toytec AAL. The AAL was just a placeholder until I knew if I was gonna go camper or RTT. I'm thinking of trying the Dakar leaf pack with AAL and some Firestone airbags for when I'm loaded up. I know there are a million different options which is why it's so hard to compare. I see people on the camper forum happy with stock suspension and airbags, and others with full custom suspensions having issues.

I suppose it's important to note that the trucks main purpose when off road is just going to be driving fire roads/exploring. I don't intend to wheel too hard but as we all know there are plenty of times where the conditions suddenly take a turn for the worst and I'd like to be somewhat prepared. Thanks in advance.

Truck in question is a 2014 double cab short bed

 

I had an Eagle on a DCLB. Originally all I had was E Range tires, and Ride Rite Bags on TSB springs. Quickly upgraded to Dakars with AAL and kept the Ride Rites. That handled the weight pretty good. Seriously consider upgrading to SS Brake Lines, that makes a world of difference. Checkout Wander The West in the FWC forum there's a lot of good info in there. Congrats, enjoy the camper!

 

Thanks, yeah I've been reading on there. And SS brake lines are definitely in the near future.

 

Good deal. Just leave plenty of stopping room and you'll be okay. Definitely ease into the turns, my VSC was real touchy and thing scared the hell out of me every time it went off. I got to the point that I just disabled it whenever I got in.

 

Mine has done this to me before when towing my current camper. First time it scared the hell out of me. I'm gonna try and recalibrate with the new set up

 

At least you'll be ready for it if it happens again. The recal does help. I did upgrade my front discs and pads as well, I'll have to dig back and see what I went with but that seemed to help as well.

 

Yeah for sure. I'm a pretty slow and steady driver when loaded up. Definitely need to respect the added weight and stopping distance. I'll see how bad it is the first time out and then go from there. I don't want to be too cheap but I'm trying to save every penny I can right now until after I take delivery. That's when I figure out exactly how much I have to finance. I'd like to keep it as little as possible.

 

From reading on WTW people are saying to be very careful on segmented concrete roads. Lots of reports of bucking and "porpoising" on these types of road. People with lots of diff vehicle types and suspensions.

 

I read about that but fortunately never experienced it. Like you said, baby steps and you'll get it dialed in.

 

Honestly dude with a 1000 lb camper empty, once you load it up and put people in the truck you are over the payload capacity of the truck. You dont need suspension upgrades, you need a bigger truck.

Beefing up the suspension is not going to change the fact that the rest of your truck is undersized for the load, brakes etc. To be safe you should be buying a Tundra.

 

Well its been quite a while. How did this turn out? Curious minds want to know...

 

250 lbs. Was thinking about it when I was selling the Tundra and possibly going with an Access Cab Tundra:

https://www.gofastcampers.com/

 

I have seen these. Pricey for what you get...but it still takes bucks to play with trucks. Seen another one...
https://capricamper.com/models/cowboy/
About the same price...