By Russ and Tiña De Maris
Mike Pavel says the guy who sold him the truck assured him that the Ram pickup was the perfect match for a given truck camper. And for 25,000 miles across the U.S., it was. But a few miles into Mexico’s Baja country, Pavel’s Ram 3500 suffered a potentially terminal frame break, leaving the Eagle Cap camper pitched at a precarious angle. As for what the truck dealer told him? No matter. Mopar says Pavel will need to come up with the $17,000 to fix the broke-back pickup.
Well within load capacity?
How did Pavel get in this “expensive fix” situation? When he originally visited the Ram dealer, he says he explained the matter in full. The Eagle Cap camper he wanted to haul had a dry weight of 4,900 pounds. He knew he’d be adding some gear weight, but as he told thedrive.com, he’d be well within the range of the payload capacity of the truck. After all, he says, 7,800 pounds capacity is a long way away from the camper’s 4,900, even with some gear stowed in it.
But here’s the snarl: Mike Pavel was apparently under a misimpression—or perhaps even misdirection. He understood his 2020 model Ram 3500 had a payload capacity of 7,800 pounds—and some models are close to that, showing 7,680 pounds. But Mike didn’t have the long-bed, regular cab, two-wheel drive model with a 6.4 Hemi. Rather, his is equipped with a crew-cab, a 4×4, with the larger, 6.7 Cummins diesel. Ram’s specifications suggest a carry capacity of that model at 5,580 pounds.
Warning signs
Who told Mike the wrong specs? Who knows? Maybe in the excitement of the dealer telling him the news that the Eagle Cap was a good match, he just assumed his rig had the heavier specs. But the wrong impression led to a broken frame after some rough Mexican roads. With 2,500 miles on relatively smooth U.S. roads, Pavel was ready for the challenge. He headed into the Baja, where, by Pavel’s own admission, the roads are pretty tough. He says both with bumps and narrowness, he kept the rig speed down, averaging less than 60 miles per hour.
The first sign that all was not well was when Pavel heard some creaking noises. Eyeballing the springs and shocks showed nothing. He kept going. A few days later, while heading north, things got scarier. At first, it felt like he had a flat tire as the truck surged forward. Another roadside inspection revealed nothing but, concerned, he dropped the truck speed to less than 10 miles per hour. But another under-check showed cracks developing in both frame sides.
The next manifestation happened just across the road from a mechanic’s shop. The broken frame couldn’t be mistaken and didn’t need a crawl underneath. The photo says it all. Using his camper jacks to raise the weight of the camper back up, the mechanic was able to do a temporary fix on the frame, but obviously, something more was needed.
Thrown under the bus
Pavel turned to the dealer, who told him this wasn’t the first time he’d seen a situation like this. He urged Pavel to file a warranty claim and that if it was accepted, voila! Ram would stick a new frame under the truck. But Mopar didn’t wave the magic wand. They flatly turned down the warranty request, ruling the broken frame was not a bad workmanship issue but, rather, a result of customer overloads. At last check, Pavel was hoping his insurance company would cover repair costs.
What are the takeaways from Pavel’s broken frame problem? First, you must absolutely know the true payload capacity of your tow rig. We’ve heard that when some ask a dealer what the payload capacity of a truck is, they’re tossed out a number. Too often, that number is true—but not necessarily for the specific truck the customer is looking at. It could well be the maximum capacity of the top payload capacity rig for that model of truck. Do your homework and look it up.
Weight distribution matters
Keep in mind, the payload capacity for a pickup truck isn’t just what goes into the truck bed. Add in the weight of the passengers and other gear that may be hauled in the cab. Payload weight doesn’t just go over the rear axle—it’s distributed over all the wheels, front end included. And how that weight is distributed can make a huge difference.
Look at the picture of Pavel’s truck and camper. This short-bed pickup is carrying a fairly long camper. That means that a great deal of the camper weight is stuck out far behind the truck axle. Still, the rear wheels are acting as a pivot point for that weight. As the truck rolls, bumps, and bounces down the road, the frame, in Pavel’s case, ahead of the rear axle, takes a fair amount of flexion. While the bumpy roads of the Baja may have contributed to the broken frame, it could have happened anywhere. Expansion and contraction from heat, the flexing as the load weight shifts up and down, all of this adds up. Eventually, the frame, evidently hauling more weight than designed for, simply suffered metal fatigue.
Here’s another thing to keep in mind. When you toss more weight on the back of your rig, you’re transferring more weight to where it can create flexion problems. This applies not just to pickup trucks, but to motorhomes and trailers, too. Got a bike carrier on the back of your rig? It may not look like it’s a lot of weight, but sticking that weight farther back simply transfers more weight to the back, and can create additional flexion issues up front. You may still be on the “safe” side of axle capacity, but the frame may be the “weak link in the chain” that can ruin your whole trip.
Don’t make Mike’s mistake. Know your actual limits, and do not overload. And don’t believe everything that your dealer tells you.
##RVT1179
The article should be titled “grown adult can’t read payload (cargo) sticker” as these stickers have been a federal requirement since 2007. As an alternative you could label it “grown adult actually believes car salesman’s unwritten promises”. The blame game really isn’t going to work here, the information that this truck wasn’t capable of operating with that load was available even before the purchase. Sad but true. I am glad no one was hurt while this truck was operated in an overloaded state and slowly destroyed itself.
Totally agree, the information is right in front of the buyer to read. The manufacturer hasn’t any responsibility here, you have to read the fine print in the literature, and never ever trust the sales person, they’re there to sell the vehicle. I have walked out of dealerships just because I knew more about their products than they did. Then to add to his problem he added a motorcycle on the back that probably adds over 200 lbs hanging behind the axle. Buyer beware! He might find a frame specialty shop that can remove the bed and straighten it and weld and brace it back, but I doubt he could ever sell it especially if he turns it over to his insurance company as they will total it then if it was fixed it would have a “rebuilt” title. He’s up the proverbial creek without a paddle.
Agree. I have walked out of an RV dealer because I read the specs; the particular vehicle I was looking at would have been overloaded by the time our family and furry friends were onboard, without adding anything else! I think of that experience every time I see one of these vehicles on the road.
The “Big Truck, Big RV” channel did a great explanation video on this:
https://youtu.be/ci9jADPmVj0
Agree with the comments. Not only is he severely overloaded the center of gravity is well behind the rear axle. Adding the moped (or bike) to the back further exacerbated the already bad situation. This is on the owner.
That is NOT a short bed on that truck.
If you look it up, the 3500 Ram Tradesman comes in a crew cab option with a 6+foot bed. The rear is smashed in a bit but this is a short bed.
Do you have a link? I’ve never seen a short bed on a Ram crew cab other than the Mega Cab option which is very obvious to pick out. On top of that, a base tradesman model isn’t going to come in dual tone paint. I have a Tradesman and SLT and both are single tone paint. You have to step up to the Lairime trim to get dual tone.
This truck bed looks identical to both of my Ram 3500 dually long bed trucks which we carry two 10′ models on (Eagle Cap 995 and Arctic Fox 992).
Keep in mind this a 12′ camper. Eagle Cap actually lists the floor length at 12’3″ which means over 4′ of this camper is hanging off the rear of the truck. If this was a short bed truck, just about half the camper would be past the rear of the bed. The 4′ that is hanging off, plus the fact it’s buckled makes it look short, but this is most definitely an 8′ bed. The owner could have slid it back with a piece of wood or even the bumper stops, which put the CoG further behind the axle.
It all comes down to the fact an Eagle Cap 1200 doesn’t belong on a 3500 dually truck in any shape or form.
Definitely a short bed. Look up a 3500 dually long bed and compare the images. You will see the difference.
And I’ll bet the dealer told him that Mexico is nice this time of year. Maybe he can get Mexico to pay for it.
The yellow sticker on the door jam of the truck clearly states the payload of that particular truck. I don’t think he can blame Mopar for a broken frame from an overloaded truck.
I’ve never seen a yellow sticker with that info on a truck .. On RVs of all types though.
It is a white and yellow sticker and is applied to every pickup built, by law. You will find it on the driver’s door jam.
This is a great lesson on doing your own research instead of relying on sales people that may have been saying two weeks earlier ” Would you like fries with that order”. I ordered a Ram like he did and all the important information was at your fingertips. I’m no computer guy I’m a knuckle dragger in construction so it shouldn’t have been too hard of a job to find out the information he needed. Mike did this to himself though laziness and besides as old as I am someone that worked as a clean up man in a strip club was held in higher esteem than a car salesman in honesty.
What does being a cleanup man at a strip club have to do with how honest a person is? Better analogy would be a politician…
I’m sorry this happened but common sense should tell you that a short bed truck would not hold a camper that big. I’m surprised that it didn’t fail sooner. Using ford as a reference, an f450 dually with an long bed would have been a better choice in vehicles instead of an f350 short bed dually. Can’t always trust dealers opinions. They are just out to make the sale. Research is the best thing you can do for yourself when purchasing.
I believe the insurance company should deny the claim as well. No reason they should pay for a gross overload situation. This is not an accident of any kind.
This guy’s best bet is to part out the truck. He can probably make enough off the sale of the individual parts to buy the proper truck he needs.
We saw a Toyota pickup with a broken frame like this. He was pulling a TT. It was at Sand Mountain, NV and I guessed he was going too fast for the bumpy, sandy roads at that location. Probably overloaded as well. He may have been towing a second trailer with his off-road machine too but there was nobody around to talk to.
He broke in the right place. A good Mexican mechanic will have him back on the road in no time. Those guys can fix anything. And at minimal cost.
First off it’s not a short bed! Second dodge should be ashamed that happened. That’s what those trucks were built for. I would get a good lawyer and go after the dealer and dodge! What a disgrace. That’s another reason I wouldn’t buy a dodge
Apparently THAT truck wasn’t built for it. That’s why it’s imperative to know the weight capacities, as listed on the sticker, of each individual model you’re dealing with. After all, that’s why the manufacturer puts that information on a sticker then attaches it to the truck.
Why sir do you think the manufacturer is responsible?
Because he doesn’t think the buyer has any responsibility, he is of the mindset that it’s always someone else’s fault not his.
It most certainly is the short bed. Look where the fender flare ends – right at the cab. Besides, look at the side mounting of the door. That easily eats up three feet. With what looks like a motorcycle carrier on the rear, it is easy to understand why the frame failed. Ram, Ford and Chevy/GMC all used boxed-frame construction now. So much stronger than the C-Channel from the 60’s to the late 90’s. And when you looked at the C-Channel frames, they were swiss-cheesed with holes for the various configurations of spring shackles and bed supports.
You can bash Ram all you want, but any truck that is seriously overloaded aft like that will suffer from frame failures.
What puzzles me is the design of the camper. It’s obviously made for a short bed based on the door location, but is there seriously any consideration given by the designer as to whether or not there are any vehicles manufactured to handle that amount of load behind the rear axle?
This camper is designed for a long bed truck. I also believe it’s a short bed truck (or the driver is 8′ tall), however I was kicked out of a truck camper group for saying so, because the spec sheets say a crew cab dually only comes in long box. That’s the shortest long box I’ve ever seen.
Someone in that group was arguing it wasn’t overloaded behind the rear axle and that it was upward forces which broke the frame. LOL
Dry Creek, this is a long bed truck with an 8′ bed. I have this exact same truck and carry a Eagle Cap 995 which is only a 10′ camper vs this 12′ model. The fender flare is exactly how my truck is, even on long bed. Ram only makes a short box with the their Mega Cab and it’s very obvious when it’s a Mega Cab.
Keep in mind this is a 12′ camper designed for a long bed truck, so it extends 4′ off the back of the bed. The exact specs from Eagle Cap say the floor is 12’3″. If this person added spacers in the front of the bed or a piece of wood, that can push it back another inch or two pushing the CoG behind the axle which looks like has happened in this setup.
It all comes down to the Eagle Cap 1200 is too large for any 3500 dually pickup truck and only belongs on a 4500/5500 Cab and Chassis truck.
Also, bed cargo capacity does NOT equal payload capacity. A sticker in the back of the glove box on our Silverado 3500 longbed dually 4×4 states something to the effect “do not place a load over 3700# in the bed of this truck”. I bet his insurance adjuster knows the bed capacity of that short bed and a 12+ foot EagleCap with what looks like a big bike or motorcycle on the back Will certainly be way above capacity.
Yep!
What vehicle does the truck camper manufacturer recommend? Is anything capable of carrying the ever expanding (and heavier) campers on dealer lots? The choices are probably limited. One would think the manufacturers should help guide their customers.
The camper manufacturers are just as bad as the truck dealers. Anyone with a 3 slide Host or Eagle Cap is going to be over the GVWR of a pickup F350/3500 or F450/4500 unless they get a Chassis Cab.
Years ago before everyone jumped on the bandwagon for crew cab duallies with everything but the kitchen sink onboard, trucks were fairly simple, most had vinyl bench seats, rubber floor mats, and an AM/FM radio. If you lived in the south you might have A/C. Now trucks can be specified more luxurious than what a Cadillac was 25 years ago. All those options add weight, a truck chassis is built to carry X weight depending on the chassis spec’s. If you insist on a luxurious truck you have to sacrifice some of the working capacity. Example: all locomotives are not the same, it depends on what it’s designed to do. A yard switcher is designed to move X number of cars around in the rail yard, but don’t think you can hook it to a 100 car train and pull it across the country. Trucks are similar, look at the trucks hot shot truckers use, they’re trucks that are designed to work but just enough “extras” to make it comfortable to drive nothing else.
They absolutely do not build trucks like they used to. The days of “overbuilt” are over. Government regulations pertaining to fuel economy changed all that. Trucks are now built to “just barely” specs in order to meet unrealistic government expectations, rather than to “what they should be able to do” specs. Every piece is thinner, lighter, and every corner is cut to meet what government wants, not what customers want.
This hasn’t got anything to do with Govt regulations, it’s all about GVWR. That has actually been increasing on many trucks because other components are lighter.
The manufacturer is using better materials than they used many years ago. I had a 1993 GMC 3500 Club Cab dually that weighed empty 7,162 lbs with a GVW of 10,360 lbs. that same configuration today would probably weigh 6600 lbs and have a GVW of 11,000 lbs. They are using high strength steel now meaning a greater carbon content, so that they can lighten the truck for better fuel economy. And yes that is for government standards, but not to cheapen the truck. If they had a magic carburetor that everyone talked about back 60 years ago that got 50 mpg they would’ve used it strictly for bragging rights. With the emphasis on economy they are using everything they can to improve economy.
I had a terrible time finding weight data when I was purchasing a vehicle for towing. Not only are the salesmen completely ignorant, but I discovered why. For every ‘model’ of truck or SUV out there, there can be as many as a hundred different versions, all with their own axle ratios, towing capacities, etc. No one can learn them all, and you cannot use the online search sites to filter for important numbers, just color and ‘trim’ etc.
Like the RV manufacturers, there need to be fewer models, built right, well documented. But apparently they all benefit from the confusion. Too bad if people suffer accidents or death.
The VIN will tell you everything to know about the truck’s capabilities.
Not really. The VIN will tell you what came on the truck, but not it’s capability. You still need to research towing guides for the details.
Online arguments abound regarding GVWR and towing capacity. Often reading statements like, “You know manufacturers add a 10% fudge factor, or I’ve towed 2500# over weight for 5+ years without a problem”.
These people were lucky, and got away with it. This gentleman was not so lucky.
It’s not just trucks that have an overloading problem. When towing our 2000 Komfort 25′ 5er with our 2003 Dodge 5.9L Cummins the trailer is always a little higher in the front, transferring more weight to the back axle. Swapping out the factory axles with heavier-duty ones and flipping the axles helped but still the rear axle supports more weight than the front one. Last year an inspection revealed a couple of flexion cracks in the frame; luckily they could be remediated and the frame was reinforced in areas that were seen as future trouble spots. In addition to the cracked frame I also have to keep an eye on the rear tires as they wear faster.
With truck campers you, the buyer, are an RV manufacturer. Essentially, by mating a given camper with a given truck you are building an RV and it is your responsibility to make sure the resulting combination is safe. ‘Safe’ means the truck is not overloaded and the center-of-gravity is forward of the rear axle. That said, buying a truck to carry a specific model of camper is a bewildering exercise. We picked a camper first (2019 Cirrus 820 – 2,700 lbs. empty) and then sought a truck to carry it. Luckily, we wound up with a Ford salesman who was sincerely interested in making sure we got an adequate truck. He was able to get very close estimates of the doorframe sticker GVWR for various combinations of truck style and options. In the end, the sticker on the truck that was delivered (F350 crew cab, 4×4, SRW, short-bed, XLT, gas 7.3) was under the estimate by 10 pounds (4,090 vs. 4,100 pounds). We were lucky to find that dealer!
To be safe you should never be over 85% of gross. Yes it will carry it with 10 lbs to spare, but what will happen in an emergency? What will be the result when a child’s ball followed closely behind by the child sudden runs in front of you at a 25mph street? What will happen at 60mph when a car suddenly pulls into your lane. Very few ever ask “What if”.
It NEVER ceases to amaze me on absolutely how many people do not understand payloads or how to adjust their TT hitch correctly. I knew zero about any of it 3 years ago when I retired and purchased my first TT. Knowing I was going to be primarily in rural areas with my 30′ trailer on mountainous roads, I absolutely knew I had to educate myself with how to prepare as such. My Equalizer hitch has several INVALUABLE videos on how to correctly set up the hitch. The dealer was close but not close enough. People assume the dealer will take the necessary time and effort to set up hitches, HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA. How many idiots do we see on the road watching the rear end of their truck and the front of the trailer both down 6-12″…. How many heavy 5th wheels being towed with newer 2500/250 diesel pickups grossly over their smaller payloads. BigTruckBigRV taught me all about payloads. Quick google searches brought up a couple of sites where you can punch in your vehicle’s vin# for weight
Definitely a short bed, I’ve owned 4 Rams since 96 and all were SB except for the last one, which was a long LB SRW 3500, to put an Arctic Fox slide-in camper in it, and towing a boat. The reason I didn’t buy a dually, it wasn’t needed for the model of camper I bought. Or so I thought. I installed Timbrens helpers over the back axle and that did level it out, bit I lost the carrier bearing at one point because of the weight. With that camper, the center of gravity was slightly in front of the axle. My point is, I would never try to carry that size camper in a short bed even tho it is a dually. Center of gravity is the key here and weight distribution is everything. IMO,this is on the buyer. BTW the first thing my salesman asked was, do you have a 1 ton long bed?
not a shortbed you need your eyes checked. ONLY MEGACAB ARE SHORTBED DUALLIES
uh, sorry, look at the flare of the fender. It’s almost to the cab.
AND as one commenter points out, if you turn the guy (in the first picture) sideways, he’d be 8′ tall. It’s a shortbed
Definitely not a short bed. In the Dually models with double cab, only the Mega Cab is short box model. This is definitely not a Mega Cab and is a full 8′ bed with a 11.5-12′ camper hanging out the back which is why it gives the illusion of a short bed, but certainly is not.
This is the correct answer.
Matt D is 100% correct. Shortbed. And center of gravity is key. Also, with the heavy front end, imagine the force on that frame going over a bump.
Never….believe….a…..Salesman. Any salesman. In this case, the real numbers were easily available. Needed only to look them up himself.
I had the same issue once. Bought a GMC truck. Told the salesman I was going to buy a camper and he said this would do the trick. Got home and was looking it over, opened the Glove box and could not believe my eyes. Sign said “Do Not Put a Truck Camper On this Truck”. They would not take it back.
“Professional Grade” BS!
Not this profession!
repeat the lie often enough and you (and they) will believe it. I am always amazed at the number of recalls that are on the trucks in the US..
Study the manufactures tow and load limits for each particular model. Information is easy to find. I have found most salesman know very few particular specs and options available, especially on trucks.
Very unfortunate indeed. Sadly, too many buyers are unaware of an excellent calculator specifically designed to learn just how big of a camper a truck can handle. It is up to you all to share this important free, accurate application. http://tcLoadCheck.com
His own fault. He should have done the research himself to be absolutely certain it would work. Not even that hard to go on a website and look up all the specs for a vehicle. Everyone knows not to trust a car sales person
I know of one who didn’t.
Exactly.
This is kinda stupid. Is it only me? but the payload sticker is right inside the driver door jamb. I’ve looked at dozens of trucks for my truck camper and the first thing I did was open the door and check that sticker. I was always surprised to see a beefy truck with a small payload rating. For sure that dodge did not have a payload of 7800 lbs. Probably less than 5000. Anyway I feel bad for the guy but the info was right in front of him.
BUT, he’s got to be intelligent enough to read it, from the picture it looks like he may be in that age group that doesn’t subscribe to common sense. Lol
Curious. What age group is it that doesn’t subscribe to common sense, what is the tell that says this poor guy is in that group?
That will work for autos and trucks, but I remember an RV trailer recall where the manufacturer (which I don’t remember) put the wrong axle on the unit. Their only fix was to add a new (lower) weight sticker. If you depended on the first sticker’s info, you’re out of luck.
Feel sorry for this guy, but here’s your sign!
Long or short when you cant dump a black water tank the bike on back you’re going to be way over weight and that black water tank was it . For sure because across the US he was able to dump it but down there. I’ll bet he wasn’t ,and anywhere from 200 -500 extra lbs was in that crapper . And I know this from reading the weight limits on my new trailer while waiting on a new axle for it. I added up everything but that black water tank.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qOiuNWdTOV8
That camper grosses out at around 6000#, has a nearly 12 foot floor length with a 1/3 of that weight cantilevered beyond the end of the bed. Only an idiot would think that a one ton truck could handle that load. That should have been mounted on a F-450.
5500 ram only
Careful. The F450 and F350 pickups have the same GVWR spec. The F450 is actually rated to carry less cargo because of the extra factory weight on a F450.
Most salesman don’t know their own products. I’ve gotten into arguments at dealership’s that I used to work at, explaining them the importance that EVERYONE must do their factory training. The response? I’ve been selling cars for 30 years, I know what I’m doing. The very next day: I have a customer screaming at me over the phone, what’s this DEF thing he’s talking about? Obviously, this was when the technology was still new, but you get the point.
As far as the payload goes, I have a personal rule of thumb, that you shouldn’t exceed 50 percent of your weight capacity, as to extend the life of your front end and brakes. But obviously, that’s not always a realistic scenario.
Heck I got some ocean front property in Arizona if he wants to buy that too!
Let’s see the sticker on the frame….
It works the other way too. Often a dealership trying to sell you a truck camper will say, “oh yeah, that 3/4 ton truck will be fine”, when you might actually need a 1-ton dually. I’ve seen various truck campers advertised as being suitable for 3/4 ton trucks but they never state which one specifically. Truck capacity varies so much, and total payload depends if you’re fully stocked with water/propane and how much gear you’re taking. Add another 500-750lbs easy to the camper weight.
The worst of it is, as this bloke is finding out, you’ll not be insured if you’re over your truck’s payload rating. Moral of the story – don’t trust anything any salesperson tells you.
Thanks, After years of seeing this shocking picture on social media, the story comes out. Thanks
All Duallie Trucks are Longbed.
Ram offers a short bed dually, the only one on the market.
Not true. Dodge offers a shortbed dually. If you don’t believe me watch the YouTube channel Less Junk More Journey. They tow a Solitude fifth wheel with one.
Two mistakes right there.
Haha, this article is dated Oct. 19, 2024 yet every comment (as of this writing) except one is marked “1 year ago”. I guess RV Travel is into recycling.
Many articles are worth recycling and this is one. People who are new to RVing need this info. Don’t be so snotty.
Yes, I also read this article a year ago, but read it again just now. Still worth a read. You should move on to another newsletter to complain about.
This is entirely on the buyer/owner for not doing the proper due diligence on weight capacity. Never, ever trust anyone, especially in today’s age where facts and data are not required to support thier claims.
Rule number 1. NEVER trust any statements from someone at the auto dealer, or the RV dealer, that’s trying to sell you something! I personally had one at CW tell me, “Just go get a F-150 and you can haul anything on this lot.” In this case, the insurance company will absolutely refuse to pay, because in the end, it was the owners responsibility to do his due diligence on whether his vehicle was properly loaded. They’ll tell him kindly, “When it breaks, you get to keep all the pieces.”
Unfortunately, automakers have to cut every corner they can in order to meet arbitrary government fuel efficiency standards. This means less steel, and lighter-built everything, and that cheats owners out of a really good truck.
Ram…the first indication of a mistake. Anything that heavy and one needs a F-450 or larger with higher GVW …no rinky dink pickups…they don’t make em like they used to.
There’s no way to post a picture in this comment section. But there is a photo and article about a Ford 1 ton dually with a very large camper and a broken frame. You can find it in a Google search. It’s of a white 2016 Ford. Overloading a pickup no matter if it’s Ram, Ford or Chevy will result in a broken frame.
I don’t need to quote Forrest Gump here but, Stupid is as ………………..does.
Since the frame broke and the camper dipped to the rear of the axle, my guess is the center of gravity was rear of the axle and is a big No No when carrying a truck camper. I expect the rear axle was Carrying ALL the weight of the camper. Had it been a long bed (8ft) truck the center of gravity would have been forward of the rear axle and had the frame failed the camper would have nosed down in the front.
This was first posted over a year ago.
It’s not just Ram. If you do a Google search, you will see a white 2016, 1-ton Ford truck with a large camper and a broken frame. Overloading is overloading no matter if it is a Ram, Ford or Chevy. I wish I could’ve submitted the photo with this comment, but there’s no place to insert the photo.
Hi, Angela. Thanks for the info. If you Google “pickup broken frame” you’ll see several pictures of different trucks with broken frames. Yikes! Have a great day. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
I’m not going to blame Mike. I’ve tried to dig through the various combinations of ‘trims’ axle ratios, engines, transmissions etc. for hours trying to find this kind of information. The car-buying websites do not let you filter on this information. The car makers deliberately make dozens of combinations and then don’t make the towing capacity and payload information clear, and car salesmen will say anything you want to hear. This problem is caused by too many variations of each type of vehicle, and hiding key specs while trumpeting how many cupholders the thing has.
Thank you, Russ and Tina! Poor Mike! That is a hard lesson to receive. We were on the verge of buying a Jeep Cherokee Limited and our salesman assured us that it could be flat-towed. After spending a frantic several seconds seeking an owner’s manual, I found the correct section, which stated that only an optional transmission could be flat-towed. We walked away. Have a great weekend and safe travels!