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[RC] Slide in Pick-up Camper - Tx TriggerI do live in the windy mid-west and I am concerned about it being top heavy and hard to control. I have a F250 2002 diesel pickup and pull a small 2 horse trailer. I would also have to find a way to extend out my hitch between the truck and trailer as the camper my hubby is looking will require me to leave my tail gate down. Any good/bad ways to do this?<<< Shannon , I have been a camper owner for about 20 years now. The current one is a 9.5'. Personally, I would not have one without also using a dually truck. But, we did go for a few years with a smaller 8' camper on our single axle truck. Just more stability. Some of the larger campers are heavy, and yes, you can get some sway. But having only a 2 horse trailer does help. The issue in the wind, is the amount of surface area that wind has to smack against. I pull a 4 horse behind my camper, but the stability of the duallies, and the fact we have added air bags to the truck, and use load leveler hitch, I find hauling in a side wind not that bad. 8' campers will be flush with the edge of the truck bed. My 9.5' extends 1.5' past the edge. We have always removed the tailgate for all the campers we have had. Our hitch is a Reese. it has a 2.5" hitchbar, in two sections to extend to clear my 9.5' camper. It has a rating to 14,000# trailer rating & 1700# tongue weight rating. The bar is SOLID, not tubular. I'd never have a tubular one with an extension. This is pretty solid. Been hauling all over with this set up for 6 years now, and the hitch has never given us any problems. Below is a link to photos. we also had the camper ties welded from out under the truck, from the frame. This has been the best set up. With the dually, we had to have extension hinges installed on the camper jacks, to clear the dually. http://rides.webshots.com/album/14477263kZldcwvJVd I have never had problems putting the camper on or off the truck by myself. But, I do find I don't remove it until I know the ride season is done for me. Ours has a toilet, shower, oven, stove, even a microwave. Some have small generators built in. We can camp with just the battery power for lights and water pump for about 3-4 days without starting the truck to recharge the battery. You will need to be sure you wire the camper with a line to recharge the camper battery as you go down the road. Oh, and you need to have good mirrors, that come out far enough to see around the camper. Most newer trucks extend enough. We really have loved the camper, and used to use it a lot to go camping/fishing without the horses. Feel free to ask any other questions. It is a good way to go until you can move up to a LQ. Oh, if you have a RV lot near you with a lot of campers, go look at them. New ones are really expensive, but it is a great way to see how much room they have inside them etc. Jonni in TX =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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