I can't say enough good about my CTD now. Spent our last weekend (3-days here in Patriot land - 1 if by land, 2 if by sea....) drving 1800+ miles from Maine to Chicago and back, picking up our new slide in truck camper.
Yeah yeah... Long drive for a camper but I was due for a road trip. Our interim stop was Canandaigua NY where I dropped the wife and kidlet off with my buddies wife and kids for the rest of the trip. He and I picked up at 4:30 Saturday morning and headed west. We were hauling my 03 Coleman Utah to Chicago to trade it. I managed 16mpg on the way out with the pup in tow. Impressive to say the least considering I never got better than 13 hauling it with my Expedition. The trip out was uneventful and we arrived at the dealership at 2:00 pm CDT.
The most tense moment was when they were lowering the new Sun-Lite 1055SS onto my bed(2700 pounds). I watched the springs start to flex and then, all of a sudden, the jack legs were free and no longer supporting the camper! One of the technicans there was heard to say "Wow.. Your truck's level now!"
He was right. The suspension was handling the load with aplomb. The Timbrens were in contact with the stops but not overly compressed. Very impressive!! After a demo and paperwork, we were on our way at 5:00pm local heading for South Bend before dinner. After a stop to retighten the tie-downs, the CTD settled in to a comfortable cruise. I had set my rear Rancho's to 9 and they were doing a good job of damping the ride. No sway to speak of. The truck ran like it wasn't even struggling. Dinner in Mishawaka at Hooters and then on to Toledo before bedding down. On the road Sunday morning at 7:00pm, we pulled into my buddies' driveway around 1:30. Cruising at 70 was not a problem at all and we STILL managed 14mpg with the slide-in on!! A relaxing afternoon and the whole famn damily was on the road at 8:00am Monday morning for the drive home (with a stop at the Amsterdam NY Camping World in between! ) Even thru the Adirondacks and Berkshiers I was still able to achieve somewhere in the 13-14 mpg range. Home showed up at about 7:30 pm.

I am still smiling at the performance of my truck. It further reinforces my decision to buy the truck I did.

 

Sounds like you are a happy camper now!!! Condgradulations on the new to you truck and camper. Take some photos and put them in your gallery for us to see the new camper. My wife and I since our girls are gone have been thinking of a overhead?? I would like to see yours on your truck if it is possible. Thanks Rick

 

Nik, you write a good story. Reading most other posts one would think all CTDs are crap, but this is the place for fix-it advice so that's what we see here. Thanks for illuminating the other 99%.

 

That is so true Rare1, all we usally hear here is the fix it problems which is a good thing to have to help guys, but once in awhile it is good to hear the plus side of these trucks isn't it??? Goodluck,,,Rick

 

I remember having my slide-in in the back and hooking up my trailer with my Jeep on it for the first time and thinking : whoa, this is a big load...I wonder how this truck will do? Well about 15 minutes down the highway I was grinning ear to ear! I was truely impressed.....yeah, the truck was working, but it wasn't struggling. I don't know how to explain it, but I just don't get quite the same feeling in any other truck - I know the feeling you are talking about, xp8103 - it's awesome!

 

I too would like to see pics. We have been thinking about getting an overhead but still in the thinking stages. Never had one before, so guess the best thing would be to try a used one to see if we like it first tho.

Sure do like the idea ....

WishinIwasfishinEd

 

I used to have an old (read heavy) 10' slide in. Even the air bags needed 35 psi to hold the truck level. It stuck up 42" above the cab. I went from home to Branson, Mo and back with it. I averaged 15.8 mpg for the trip. I have Had it on a 1 ton Chevy and it handled way better on my Dodge.
Tom

 

I have uploaded a few pics to my gallery. They are pending admin approval and should be there tomorrow.
The camper weighs about 2700 pounds dry. Aside from the occasional bounce over certain specific road conditions, I never felt uncomfortable while driving, well.. save for an I-495 "detour" where the right most lane used an offramp as it's detour. The signs weren't even CLOSE when it came to describing the tight turn! I had already slowed WAY down and was darned lucky that no one was beside me!

 

Here she is. In all her glory! You wanted pix! Here they are.



Gettin 'er loaded...

 

Nik...
Nice looking camper rig Enjoyed your story and wish you all the best!

 

Sweet XP!!.....I'm jealous! .....that is a slick, clean slide-in.....me likey!!

 

That's a good lookin unit. I was very proud of my Dodge the first time I towed my trailer. Way more power and six and a half more MPG than my old chev. There's no going back now.

 

Thanks guys! Man, I can't wait to use it! I don't want to hurry May along but Memorial Day seems so far off!!

Still have some more work to do to it. Going to have a rear platform built, likely out of aluminum. Will give us sort of a back deck. Also going to get a front carrier platform for my new Hidden Hitch. Will carry a cooler or two!