Daily Driver to Camper/Tow

[Coby61]

Well I have not been on in in a while because the advice I got from the forum help me to make some smart mods on my 02 F250 CC 4x4 and I have not need to do anything to it for almost two years.

Two years ago I was moving out to CA from GA (I know, wrong way) and was going to be towing 10,000 lbs across. I added the 6.0 trans cooler, AIS intake, guages, and the truck already had Superchips programmer (tow safe mode always). The truck performed great. At the time she had 92,000 miles, now with 124,000 miles her role is going to change in the next year.

The truck has been my wife's daily drive since her comute to work is about 15 miles and she drives my 05 Rubicon unlimited on 35's on the weekend, I have a company 08 F250 6.4 (hate that truck!). Now we are looking to add newer 4door Wrangler to the family and that alows the truck to become the camper/tow rig.

I plan to get a light weight truck camper for the F250 and I have an aluminum trailer to tow the Jeep on. So I was looking for advise on other mods that need to be done to help with towing and adding the extra weight. I already run load range E Bridgestones tires.

Suggestions on a light wieght TC with internal shower (important for washing the trail dust off for the wife)

Suspension mods for TC and towing. I have to go over alot of passes in the sierras and it is all steady. I think the jeep is about 5,000 lbs trail loaded.

Already posted performance mod questions in the 7.3 performance section.

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by Coby61

Suggestions on a light wieght TC with internal shower (important for washing the trail dust off for the wife).

That inside shower limits your selection of lightweight truck campers. I know of one - The FourWheel Camper 9' Keystone popup camper:
Four Wheel Campers Keystone

Assuming your truck is a long bed, then that one should do nicely. But AC is not an option. If you gotta have AC too, then you need more truck than an F-250 so you can haul an 8' hardside camper without being overloaded. For example the Lance 815 has an inside shower and is a so-called light weight, but combined with hitch weight of probably 700 pounds or more of your Jeep/trailer, it will overload your F-250.
Lance 815 truck camper

[Coby61]

Its a short bed but I have been looking at the Lance 315 and some of the pop up TC

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by Coby61

Its a short bed but I have been looking at the Lance 315

Never heard of a 315. Did you mean 815? Lance now has 5 different campers for shorty trucks and that have an optional or standard inside shower (and AC). 815, 825, 830, 845, and 861. But even the "light weight" 825 weighs almost 2,000 pounds dry, so it will scare 3,000 pounds wet and loaded for the road. So it will definitely overload your F-250, especially when you add the hitch weight of your Jeep trailer.
Lance product overview: short bed compatible models

So you need to look at the "off-road" pop-up or fold-down tent campers. But good luck in finding one that has optional AC.

Way back when my kids were at home, we had a tent camper trailer. No AC. But I had to have AC, so I bought an ordinary 110 volt window AC, aimed it at the bed through the window screen , and "made do". At least I could sleep in the summertime heat. And my tow vehicle wasn't overloaded.

[FF1967]

try outfitter or hallmark campers. Both have inside shower models

[Parts Jimmy]

Take a look at Northstar Campers I have a 2005 model and and I am very happy with its performance. My camper will fit a short bed model also. They also offer pop-ups and are priced better than Lance with equal quality in my opinion. Here is a link to some pics:

Northstar Campers