Now that we have purchased our Palamino HS-2902 camper I am busy prepping the truck to carry it.
I think I have a good start already. First of all the camper is designed for a 6.5'-8.0' bed length. Its center of gravity is some 5" forward of the rear axle.
Secondly, the truck is a Ram 3500 with a GVWR of 11,800, about a thousand more than some other Ram 3500s.
I have already replaced the factory shocks with Fox HD units. The truck is leveled with 2.5" Carli suspension front springs and a 1" rear block. I also opted to relocate the lower control arms to keep a good caster number, and in fact, I am aligned to factory specs in the middle of the adjustment range. (Great job Carli Suspension!)
I opted for 37" tires because I did want some limited off-road capability, but on the downside, it raised the truck nearly 2". To offset that, I purchased Icon wheels that space the tires 2+ inches further out into the wheel well. Whereas before the tires sat well inside the fenders, now the tires are nearly flush with the fender. That gave the vehicle a more planted and stable feel, which will help with carrying a lot of weight way up high.
Finally, I have already installed a set of 5,000lb capacity airbags for when I carry trailers which are weighing more than 6K-7K. I do not want any squat, and with the airbags, I don't get any.
Next up, I purchased a set of Torque-Lift, Stable-load units. These clever mechanical devices can be quickly turned to engage the primary spring pack with the overload spring. This alone would vastly reduce squat, but reading about the subject, I can see many others reporting great results. I have used these before on my 2500 Duramax truck and indeed they made my truck corner nearly flat on these windy Kentucky roads.
One of the other huge benefits of these devices is that they reduce body roll. Going around a corner with a ton and a half perched at windshield level can get spicy, but devices such as this will really tame the ride.
Coming right up, but not quite yet, I plan to install a 1 1/2" rear sway bar. I think with all that going on, I will have the camper/truck handling as good as it possibly could.
The set on the Chevy were made of mild steel and rusted and corrouded. This time they offer Stainless steel units and I ordered those.
