Not exactly. Weight centered over the rear axle has no effect on the front axle. Weight centered behind the rear axle takes weight off of the front axle. Weight centered in front of the rear axle adds weight to the front axle. With a short bed truck, the center of the bed is about 1.5" behind the rear axle so cargo centered in the bed does lift the front slightly. The further behind the rear axle the CG of the camper is, the more it lifts the front. With a long bed truck, the center of the bed is about 6.5" in front of the rear axle, so weight centered in the bed adds weight to the front.
Truck and camper weights
- OP 🔹 Phil314
- Start date
- Jun 25, 2020
- 3,836
- 5,533
- >>US Army<<
- 2022 F350 CCLB (11/2022)
- 2015 F350 CCLB 225k // 2006 F350 CCLB 280k
- Jul 31, 2020
- 138
- 161
- 2020 F350 6.7L Platinum, Blue Jeans Metallic, Dark Marsala Leather
I haven’t weighed my 2020 F-350 Tremor with the 2021 NL 8-11 Camper loaded but the truck alone with 1/4 tank of fuel weighs just over 8000lbs. So with people full fuel, gear and 33 gallons of fresh water I’m well over my GVW of 11,500. Loaded my front wheel well is at 41.5” both loaded and unloaded. The steering feels the same also. The rear of the squats at least 2” down from 44” to 42”. This still leaves me with 1” of rake which looks and handles perfectly. Although ride height isn’t as accurate as axle weight it a good barometer as to if the center of gravity is close.I should have said it's a 2020 wetbath, so not a new camper. 2020 were lighter than the 2025.
Anyway, here are the stickers. It's just not complete clear what is included in the "as built" weight.
At this point, I'm guessing nothing.
I expected it to be a little heavier. Just not 500 lbs.
In the end, I wanted a NL 8-11 and that is just what they weigh.
At least I know what I'm dealing with and can adjust as need.
I think that puts me ahead of most.
Previous owner had this on a 2500.
- OP 🔹
- #25
Yes, you are correct. The COG on the camper is just behind the rear axle by maybe 1".
This camper was made for shortbox trucks, so it just is what it is.
Not sure where it would sit on a chevy or dodge, probably about the same.
Slightly behind the axle isn't a big problem.
Several feet behind the rear axle, that would be bad. As pictured.
It is possible to shorten the front bump stop and slide the camper forward, but I'd only gain about an inch because of the front bed lip.
Not sure if that is worth it or not at this point.
Anyway, I went into this with my eyes open. Did a ton of research.
Unfortunately a lot of the information out there is wrong, vague, or incomplete.
You can analysis paralysis all you want, but eventually you just have to do it and figure it out.
I didn't buy the wrong truck or the wrong camper as some have implied.
I may be a few pounds over when all said and done, but it's almost impossible to stay under with a hard side camper.
I really wasn't looking for criticizem or the weight police telling me what I should have done.
I posted this info mostly for the purpose of helping other and giving some accurate data.
Of course helpful info from actual owners is always appreciated.
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- OP 🔹
- #27
Very useful. I measured mine at 41.5 front (both) and rear went from 44" to 41". But I only have lower overloads.
I just wanted to add that yesterday, when researching NorthernLite's after drooling over this F550 build on BringaTrailer, I noticed that on Northern Lite's own website, they price themselves in advertising the "ACTUAL weight of the camper, not what they want it to weigh."
With a difference as large as what you are seeing, I would most definitely reach out to them for comment.
Just tried to dig up where I saw that (I think it was on a PDF or brochure...) but of course now I struggle to find it.
With a difference as large as what you are seeing, I would most definitely reach out to them for comment.
Just tried to dig up where I saw that (I think it was on a PDF or brochure...) but of course now I struggle to find it.
Last time I drove over a scale (last fall) I weighed in at 9000 lbs on the money. That was gear loaded, but no kids/our personal bags. I’ve since added roughly 250lbs to the truck, so I’m betting income in right shy of 10000 fully loaded with kids and bags.
- Jul 31, 2020
- 138
- 161
- 2020 F350 6.7L Platinum, Blue Jeans Metallic, Dark Marsala Leather
The 500lb difference is easy to account for:
2- Wet cell batteries 50lbs =100lbs.
10 gallons propane = 80lbs
33 gallons water = 240lbs.
1” thick plywood platform 100lbs.
Total weight 540lbs.
There could be additional items the manufacturer doesn’t have installed when they weigh them individually at the factory. NL prides themselves in showing the actual dry weight of each unit off the line. Some are optioned different as example the side electric awning, a/c unit all can make a difference.
- OP 🔹
- #31
I did a quick list and got this. Fact is all the little stuff adds up faster than you think.
Northern Lites weight is probably accurate. My idea of "empty" should have been "mostly empty".
Also found out it's got a gelfoam mattress (heavier - not original) but damn it's really comfortable.
2 batteries are about 140 Ah, so a no brainer would be a 230 Ah lithium at 44 lbs.
| 2 lead batteries | 100 |
| 10 gal propane | 80 |
| 11 gal rv antifreeze | 80 |
| gelfoam queen mattress | +60 |
| fastguns & tiedown arms | 50 |
| 3/4 plywood | 60 |
| 3/8 rubber bed mat | 40 |
| water regulator/filter/hoses | 20 |
| electrical surge suppressor | 10 |
| other misc | ??? |
| Total | 500+ |
G
Guest14285
Guest
As long as you aren't over and have good tires rated you will be fine. And yes 99% are well over axle weights. I'm surprised the sticker weight of the camper was more. Ours was spot on when we weighed it right around 2900.Just got done weighing the truck and camper. Very interesting results.
Truck:
I expected the truck to weigh around 7460 lbs. Or basically 11,300 GVWR - 3840 payload = 7460.
Trucks actual weight was 7520. Front is 4260 & rear was 3260. I actually though it would be heavier.
But it makes perfect sense, since I've added a few things.
Truck plus NL 8-11:
Camper is listed as 2800 lbs dry.
Camper actual weight was 3360 lbs - WTF???
Camper was essentially empty, I just bought it.
It did have some winterizing antifreeze in the lines and some in the tanks.
But nothing that explains it weighing about 500 lbs more than it should.
Conclusion:
1. The extra weight of the camper only leaves me 500 lbs capacity instead of the 1000 lbs I was expecting.
2. Front axle got 240 lbs lighter with the camper. Went 4260 down to 4020.
3. Rear axle is almost at maxed out 6860 with the camper. Rear GAWR is 6950. Only 90 lbs payload left.
4. Most people with truck campers are probably over GVWR.
Raw numbers for people like me who geek out on that stuff.
View attachment 206390View attachment 206391
These trucks have safety factors in their design. You are just using some of that safety feature so if you’re close, don’t sweat it. Maybe @BroncOh can chime in on Fords safety factors but I’m guessing it’s at least 25%.
Cheers
P.s. I worked on rockets for 40 years and we had at least a 25% factor of safety in their design. I’m confident ford has at least that.
Cheers
P.s. I worked on rockets for 40 years and we had at least a 25% factor of safety in their design. I’m confident ford has at least that.
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G
Guest14285
Guest
Airbags and a sway bar will get it done. Shorten the rubber bumpers to move the COG forward even 2" will make a difference. The NL is light compared to a Arctic Fox. Put thousands of miles on with both rigs. Bought a dually to carry the camper now. Happy camping. Nice to be able to stop anywhere and have zero setup.
- Feb 8, 2023
- 834
- 1,385
- 2024 F350 SRW Lariat 4x4 6.7L 3.55
- 2022 F350 SRW Lariat 4x4 7.3L 4.30 (RIP)
Surprising that happened with a dually. Wondering if the right side of the picture got clipped and didn't show the boat or other trailer he was towing with a hitch extender.
Nope just way overloaded with the weight centered well behind the rear axle. To top it off it happened down in Baja where I'm sure the roads are in just the best condition.
The owner based his math using a bare bones 3500 work truck payload rating instead of the actual rating of his truck with all the options.
Broken Ram 3500 Dually Shows a Camper Can Still Overload a Big Truck
This Ram 3500 is awaiting a $17,000 repair job after an enormous slide-in camper snapped its frame.
www.thedrive.com
- OP 🔹
- #37
Nope just way overloaded with the weight centered well behind the rear axle. To top it off it happened down in Baja where I'm sure the roads are in just the best condition.
The owner based his math using a bare bones 3500 work truck payload rating instead of the actual rating of his truck with all the options.
Broken Ram 3500 Dually Shows a Camper Can Still Overload a Big Truck
This Ram 3500 is awaiting a $17,000 repair job after an enormous slide-in camper snapped its frame.
The frame broke behind the cab. It broke because of stress cracks from repeated flexing.
I'm not convinced that this was purely because of overloading or the cog being behind the axle.
Both of those are bad obviously, but would be unlikely to cause the frame to break where it did.
I think the ebikes were a huge factor in causing this. I believe he had 2 on there (from another pic I saw).
So say they are each 50lbs + 50 more for the extended bike rack. That's 150lbs, not much you say.
But it's about 8 feet behinds the rear axle. That could create 150 * 8 = 1200 (ft)lbs of torque on the frame.
And that is static. Now bounce that down a mexican road and you could easily get 4-5 times that dynamically.
That could be 4000 to 5000 lbs or more of force on the rear frame. That would definitely cause frame flex.
On a similar note, my bobcat can easily lift 2800 lbs. We put a 15ft truss boom on it to lift trusses onto a garage roof.
The trusses only weighed 240 lbs. But the bobcat almost couldn't lift them.
The 15 ft make the 240 lbs trusses weigh the equivalent of 3600 lbs.
The suspend distance and torque are MF'ers.
Anyway, just my thoughts.
I mean the guy was basing his math on a single cab 2wd gas truck with a 7800lb Payload rating when in reality he would've been closer to 5K payload rating. The camper he was hauling weighs over 6500lbs empty and they had enough gear and supplies to be on an extended trip through Baja so they were probably over 7500lbs of actual weight on the truck. They also had over 25,000 miles travelling like this by their own admission.
Your right those Ebikes hanging way off the back were just making things worse.
I'm not saying your use case is bad. Chances are what you're doing will be fine. Overloading by a few hundred pounds isn't going to hurt the truck. Overloading by a few thousand and then going off roading absolutely will.
I'm technically overloaded pulling my fifth wheel with my F250 based on the door sticker. I know the truck is mechanically a F350 so I just add the extra 600lbs of payload I would have if I had the higher GVWR and base everything on that number. I'm still over by about 100 lbs but I'm within my axle, wheel, and tire ratings so I'm not worried about it for the dozen or so times a year I tow it.
That's unfortunately no longer the case with the newer trucks. Gas 250s (non-T) have the 10R100, 350s have the 10R140. A few other differences as well.
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The 2025 F-250s with the Tremor option still get the 10R140 with the 7.3.
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