Anyone hauling truck campers w/ 6.5? Mpg?

[brhynard]

Just curious if anyone has a truck camper they haul around with their 6.5 rig, and what kind of mileage you are getting roughly?

I have a K2500 6.5 with 4.10 rear end. I get 15-16mpg consistently unloaded. Trying to determine approx what my mileage would drop down to if i was hauling a 1500lb truck camper. Hoping to get a soft sided one just to keep it light weight but i will probably just keep my eyes open for any good deal.

I am thinking and hoping that i will get slightly better mileage with a lightweight slide in camper vs a ~20ft tow behind trailer, but i have no data to prove this. I have towed a travel trailer with this truck before and seems like i got around 10 or 11mpg.

If anyone has first hand experience here, i would like to hear it. Even if you have a different axle and/or a dually and your camper is really heavy.

 

[MrMarty51]

I too dream of getting a slide in popup type of a camper but I know that aint happening for a very long time, if at all.
With the slide in I can then pull the boat too.
Be sure that You have all of the cooling system uprated components before hauling a camper.

 

[Stoney]

@brhynard first of all I would advise against the slide in. My experiences they make your front end feel light.. and they cause a whole lot of window resistance which really destroys your fuel mileage. I have a 97 crew cab dually 6.5.td .. I ran a lot of hot shotting loads with it for a couple years.. I regularly pull a 28 ft enclosed trailer that weighs about 8,500lb loaded. I'll Grant you my truck is not in good health right now. But I still get approximately 10 and 1/2 to a gallon. A tow behind depending on brand usually gives you less wind resistance than a slide in on top of the fact that they give you more room to use. And worst case scenario they do make wind deflectors for the top of the truck
. Never used one myself but I've had friends telling me they do help and improve fuel mileage to a degree. just my two cents

 

[dbrannon79]

I have been wanting one myself but those things are so darn expensive, even used. I have often thought about building one using a ladder rack as the frame. that way I can keep my tool box/aux fuel tank in the bed too. i would use the lid of it as a base for a bed and couch on the inside along with installing a filler neck to the exterior and vent.

I have seen some youtube videos online of diy slide in campers made out of foam board and fiberglass that weighed less than 400 lb without all the insides done, just the shell. my dream slide in would have a overhead area the entire length of the cab roof giving a bed the size of a king size bed!

 

[MrMarty51]

I think the popup overhead wouldnt be too bad on wind resistance.
I have seen those popups that cover the full length of the crew cab trucks. They look a lot better than the ones that goes only 1/2 way over the cabin or so.
Years ago I had an overhead camper on a 1/2 ton 1967 GMC. That was not bad at all for wind resistance but that camper wasnt too heavy and I could still get the tail gate closed.
That is something else I want in an overhead pop up. To be able to fully close and latch the tail gate.
I think they can still be bought, it is like an inner tube that fits between the top of the truck cab and the overhead of the camper. Those really help to reduce a whole bunch of wind drag.