Pop-up camper - weight limits

Hi,
Apologies is this question has already been asked before.

I have a 2016 Tacoma TRD Off-Road with 2WD/4WD, 3.5L Automatic, access cab, 6' bed.
I love this truck and I'm looking to buy a pop-up camper but I'm worried about
my Payload limit of 1295 lbs (which I got from the owner's manual).

One of the lighter pop-up shells ("Four Wheel Camper" Fleet model) start at 975 lbs
(without options). Add to that some basic options (sink, shower, water tank etc.) plus
2 pople with gear and you may be alooking at about 1500 lbs (at most).

I have the following questions ...

1. Is the Payload a hard limit. e.g If I am 200 lbs above it am I toying with disaster?

2. Are the aftermarket mods such as air bags and leaf springs intended to enhance the
ride/handling or do they actually increase your payload capacity?

The funny thing is that the camper in question is popular with Tacoma owners. However, I did
notice that the manual 2WD version of the truck has a Payload capacity of 1500 lbs (about 500 lbs more).
I just want to know if getting close to or exceeding the Payload is dangerous territory or are the numbers
just conservatively low?

Some more vehicle stats below.

Curb Weight: 4305
GVWR: 5600
GCWR: 11360
Payload: 129
5Model Code:GRN305L-CRTSHA

Any advice gratefully received (especially from anyone who has a similar setup)
Paul

 

no mods you add will legally increase payload capacity (infact they technically lower it because you're adding wight to the vehicle) but will improve how the truck handles it especially when pushing the max. 200lbs won't kill you because there is a safety margin factored into the capacity number but if something does go south you can be found liable in an accident because you were overweight although that may be hard to determine when you're relatively close. Maybe look into a little trailer for things like gear that way your vehicle weight stays down and you wont come close to gross weight. I've seen some neat fold-able trailers that might fit your needs and then can lean against a wall in the garage when not in use so you don't have to worry about storage.

 

probably not what you are looking for but this may give you a lead to follow up with - I pull a pop-up with my gen 3 trdor v6 AT 4x4. the camper weighs about 1500 lbs. bed weight capacity and towing are not one in the same. when towing I have an additional 200+ lbs of stuff in the bed. no issues. have an SSP for use in sport mode when towing - works great. most of my towning is from base elevation of 5800 ft over passes of 10500 ft. local shops here sell bed mount pop-ups for gen 3 and I have seen a few on the roads. (Juniper off road in Arvada Co.). may want to contact them about your desired set up and see what they say.

 

I've had a few trucks with various kinds of shells over the years, and in my experience weight is the enemy of everything that makes the smaller trucks like the Tacoma, so nice. Not only is it the weight, but the height, width, overhang etc as well. Even my 200 lb fiberglass shell, with some camping gear inside and two mountain bikes hanging off the back on a hitch rack, handles and rides worse with worse mpg than the bare truck. Yes, I know lots of people put FWC pop ups on Tacomas, but if you want the features that camper offers, you're better off with a full-size half-ton and not worry about GVWR. And, traveling light brings its own rewards ... though I preach it better than I practice it

 

It's not a hard limit. Lots of people exceed their GVWR. Swapping leafs or adding airbags will certainly assist in carrying the load but you are still limited by the drivetrain.

 

Thanks everybody for the advise. I'm beginning to lean more towards a trailer at this point (I just don't want to have to worry about maxing out on my weight). We're visiting the FWC showrooms on the weekend so all that might change we we get a closer look.

On last question: In terms of driving speed and road safety is there any significant difference between carrying a popup (close to GVWR) versus pulling a trailer of about 1500 lbs (this Tacoma can tow up to 3500 lbs)? In both cases I recon that slowing down is probably a good idea but I definitely want to travel as fast as possible (in safety).

 

speed limits while towing vary by state. CA is a hard limit of 55mph everywhere. See if you have a tow package or not. If you do your trailer weight goes up by almost 3,000lbs. A pop up will have significantly less wind resistance than a conventional trailer.

 

Check out Wander the West. There are lots of posts and discussion concerning slide-in popups like FWC. Most folks install Firestone Ride-Right air bags and switch over to E-rated tires. I was considering one (Fleet) and added up the individual component's weight and went over 1,400 lbs. And that was without passengers, fuel, food and personal gear. If you do go that route you'll have to drive very conservatively and leave lots of stopping distance. From what I have surmised from the posts is most folks seem to go the 1/2 ton (Taco, F-150..) route and find the camper weight too much for the truck to handle, and end up just getting a 1-ton rig. A small trailer or RRT might be a better option for a Taco.
http://www.wanderthewest.com/index.php/

 

Pull my 1500lb camper at the posted speed. My camper has electric brakes and I added at P3 to the truck to ensure safe braking. Never follow to close and give yourself plenty of time to stop safely. There are threads on camping and brake controllers on the gen 3 postings.

 

man sweet pop up

 

Thanks! can't wait for camping season again. It is nice - has a furnace, 20 gal water tank, 3 burner stove top, city water/power hook ups, awning with l.e.d. lighting, solar for battery, heated beds, frig. Third one I have had in the past 30yrs and by far the best.

 

very nice.

 

Recently I did an 7500 mile round trip (Yukon - American Southwest - Yukon) with my 06 AC OR V6 AT loaded up to the nuts with and old school camper (for mid sized trucks), wife, two hounds and the kitchen sink... lol. I had zero problems, tons of power, milage was never worse than 16MPG ( driving pretty relaxed though) . Sure I'm on stock wheels 265/70/16 10ply tires , have OME 866 coils and shocks, added old school Hellwig helper springs that I had laying around. I added the OME stuff while visiting family near San Diego plus a nice heave steel bumper while I was at it ;-) and that made a big difference on the handling. Other than that I went all over the place, some gravel road traveling as well and never looked back... I would love to have a 4wheel pop-up camper but then again I can do with the one I've got for a few more years. The weight did not bother me whatsoever but sometimes gusty sidewinds were a bit of a pain but never did I have to slow down because of it.

 

I ran this camper on my frontier with timbren, zero issues. an on my 91 Toyota truck with out any suspension upgrade. Zero issues. Weight with full water propane and 75 Lb of food is 925. I still have this camper in NY. I’ve been debating on trying to fit it to my 17. I did find a place to make my front tire down mounts

 

So been trying to do research myself. 15 Taco, V6 SR5 with the tow package. I keep reading different things. Who knows the actual tow capacity to these trucks? I'm hearing over 6000, I'm hearing keep it around 5000. Anyone?

 

Hi Paul,

1. Depends on your definition of "hard limit". Legally.... yes, abso-f'n-lutely. If you exceed your weight limit and get in an accident, you are at risk of being liable for any damages to the other person and their vehicle/property regardless of fault. You might consider an umbrella policy if you go this route.

2. Any stock vehicle can be modified to carry an increased load, i.e., suspension, brakes, tires, sway bars, etc. I had a Scamper slide in pop-up camper on my 98 Tacoma with air-bags, and I had a Hallmark Milner slide in pop-up on my '07 Tundra with Superspring AL's, then switched to airbags. Both were quite a bit above factory weight ratings. Both were adequate for typical street driving scenarios, but severely limited my off-road ability. Both were fairly cheap ways to deal with suspension sag only, many other options existed, but I went thrifty.

Long story short, if this is what you've decided to do, it's do-able. But don't guess your way through it, and be prepared to spend some money to do it right. There are very few people on this sight who can really guide you in your quest. You need the help of a reputable off-road shop, with experience dealing with these exact scenarios. Best of luck with it, hope you'll check back in and let us know what you've found.

 

Weight limits are there for a good reason. Exceeding those limits by a small margin occasionally probably won't make a huge difference. Exceeding them on a regular basis, even by a small amount will cause excess wear. Exceeding them by a substantial margin is really bad.

Each truck is different, it depends on the exact model, accessories etc. But between 5000-6400 is accurate.

But it is not towing capacity that gets you in trouble. The trucks will PULL that weight easily. It is payload that limits tow capacity. The actual payload varies some depending, but around 1200 lbs is typical. A 5000 lb trailer will have 650 lbs of tongue weight leaving around 550 lbs for passengers and cargo. At 5000 lbs or more you need a weight distribution hitch which adds about 100 lbs to tongue weight. I weigh 220, my wife about 140, so that leaves me with less than 100 lbs for anything else in the truck. And any accessories you add eat into that 1200 lbs. Even though your truck may be rated for 6400 lbs, 4500-5000 is a much more realistic maximum. Unless you weigh 150 lbs and don't plan on having any other gear and passengers in the truck.

You CAN modify the suspension so that the truck is sitting level, but that doesn't solve the problem. It only hides it. If your truck is sitting to low in the rear that is a good sign you are overloaded. An overloaded truck does not have enough weight on the front wheels to maintain traction when braking or cornering. Leveling the rear doesn't add any weight back to the front axle.

For the guys using slide in campers you have the same limits, and problems. The camper may only weigh 950 lbs. But that only leaves you 250 lbs for the driver, passengers or anything else in the truck.

I don't think it is a good idea. If you want to carry those loads by a Tundra or other bigger truck.

 

Of course there are limits but whatever safe margin one wants has also a lot to do with driving style etc.. weight is only part of the equation.

 

My max on the scale is 6400 lbs.

Riderite air bags help.