FWC Eagle and Ford Ranger

bootpacker

Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Messages
12
Location
BC, Canada
Hi everyone

I am about to pick up a 2005 Eagle to fit on my 2008 Ford Ranger FX4. I am hoping to keep the truck and camper in the garage and wondering if any one with a similar set up can tell me how high approximately the truck/camper is with and without the top popped. My truck does not have lifted suspension by the way.

Also, do I need to have anything special to install the camper on the truck? My truck bed is standrad with spray-on bedliner. The previous owner has a Toyota.

Thank you very much for helping out a newbie.

Jeff
 
bootpacker - feel free to read this - link

I'll measure - to the top of the dome on the fantastic fan is our All Terrain Camper is 86"

Our truck is a bit higher than the standard 4x4 ranger.

We have an 8' high garage door and our rig spends its off time indoors.
 
I have an older Ranger (2000, super cab, 4.0L V6) with a newer camper (2010, All Terrain Camper - Bobcat, the equivalent of the FWC Eagle). I know that we have at least one or two other WTW forum members with something similar, so they should be able to add to the discussion.

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Height:
It will depend greatly on what size tires you have, what type and stiffness of rear leaf springs you have and the height of the camper from bottom to top (which is a little different between FWC Eagle - taller and my ATC Bobcat - shorter by an inch or two).
You should be able to get the seller to get you the measurement for the height of the camper you are purchasing, then add that to you truck bed height, subtract 1" or 2" for rear leaf spring sag and you'll have a good estimate.

Mounting:
On my Ranger I have the following "in the truck bed" tie down eye brackets.

Eye brackets
I wanted to easily remove the eye brackets when the camper is off the truck and I can use my removal-able plastic bed liner.
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I've never had an issue with these, I think they are very strong.



Forward bracket, as far forward as possible, same on the other side.
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Rear bracket. I'm not sure if your FWC will be the same as my ATC.

Note that the rear gas tank filler clearance stamped into the bed (that Ford never made a gas tank for, but some guys use a Bronco II rear gas tank) may need to be hammered down so the camper will sit flat in that area. When I ordered mine from ATC, I was given the choice of doing the hammering, or have the camper section modified (by cutting the wood corner in a triangle fashion) where that unused filler was stamped into the bed. You can see what I opted for, I wanted the interior of the camper to not have that triangle cut out.. Take a 2-3 pound, short handle sledge hammer with you so, if it needs to be hammered you can do it. I did eventually clean and paint the area.
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If you only mount the eye brackets through the place where the truck bed has a double layer of metal, then you would be OK. That is the way most of the camper eye brackets are mounted. However, I wanted a direct link to the frame rails, so, I made some brackets that mount the truck bed eye brackets to the frame rails. I am often on very bad dirt roads, so far, no problems with the brackets I made below.

Bed to frame brackets.
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Turn Buckles.

The previous owner should have the turn buckles for you.
On your way home, stop every now and then to check that they are staying tight, but NOT too tight to pull out the eye bolts in the camper.
Some guys have experimented with how to keep them tight and not coming loose, double nuts, cotter pins, you'll find several threads in the WTW forum on these details.


Bed cushioning and anti-sliding.

I got this floor runner at my local hardware store. Protects the bed of the camper, in your case the spray in liner, and it's slightly sticky, so the camper doesn't slide around.
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There are other similar types of options available, I think you'll want something.

Carrying the weight.

Suspension.

I think you'll find that getting the camper home the first time will be an interesting experience. Take it easy, go a bit slower than you might normally drive, allow a lot more room ahead so you can stop when needed without an incident and when you get home, think about helping the truck carry the weight.

I tried air bags and that did an OK job, however, it was more for left/right leveling of the camper as one side of the camper is often heavier than the other side (cabinets vs no cabinets). I could pump both airbags independently and to different pressures if needed.

I eventually did what other Ranger owners have done, get stronger rear leaf springs. I went with a 4 leaf pack, which was double the stock two leaf unit. When I don't have the camper on the truck it is a real rough ride, so, I lower my tire pressure. However, when the camper is on the truck it is just right for me. Note, I built my own interior and I think my camper comes in at a lower weight than a factory built interior.

I don't have the FX series, it wasn't around back in 2000 when I purchased my truck new. If your FX has a 4 leaf rear pack already, you may be OK. I think Ski has gone to a 7 leaf pack from Deaver Springs, however, I believe he keeps his camper on the truck all the time.

Tires.

Your original tires will probably need to be upgraded to a "D" or "E" (better). I have the 15" wheels on my Ranger, so, the highest rating for that wheel size in my choice of tires was a "D" rating. They work great for me. You can air down when you think you need to soften the ride or get more traction by widening the footprint, and pump them back up when you get back on pavement. Lots of threads on tires here in the WTW forum, look them up.

Well that's about all I've got at this time.
Time to get to work.
Good luck and congratulations.
Happy camping to you, until we meet on the trail...
 
bootpacker said:
Hi everyone

I am about to pick up a 2005 Eagle to fit on my 2008 Ford Ranger FX4. I am hoping to keep the truck and camper in the garage and wondering if any one with a similar set up can tell me how high approximately the truck/camper is with and without the top popped. My truck does not have lifted suspension by the way.

Also, do I need to have anything special to install the camper on the truck? My truck bed is standrad with spray-on bedliner. The previous owner has a Toyota.

Thank you very much for helping out a newbie.

Jeff
Welcome,Jeff.
Once again I will make the suggestion to contact Marty at All Terrain Campers.
I know you have an FWC Eagle,but ATC may have more time to help you.
You will need to have "eye"bolts for each corner and turn buckles to hold the camper onto the truck.
There again Marty would be able to help.
I see you live in BC that's a long way from the factory but you could call or e-mail them.

I have a ATC Bobcat that was originally made for an 06 Ranger but I changed trucks to a 02 Tundra.
The camper fit nicely on the Ranger just didn't like the "no" power of the small V6.
If I can be of any other help feel free to PM me.
Frank
 
You will also need to run wire back to the bed in the appropriate spot and install a connector in the bed wall. This is to connect the truck's alternator to the camper's battery for charging - there are many posts here on WTW on that process.

I installed everything in our Ranger myself insofar as attachment. After many many miles of fairly rough roads, everything is holding up fine and I haven't had any damage to the camper's attachment points. Sometime this summer I may anchor to the frame as Alley-Kat has documented.

I cut the bottom of the camper to fit the unused gas fill hump. I also have a spray in bed liner.

Best wishes and happy travels..
 
It is 83 inches to the top of the Fantastic Fan vent for my '99 Ranger/2008 Eagle combo. As you have already been warned, it can be different for you, so take the measurement with the appropriate grain of salt.

FWIW, my camper was built for a Ranger, so has the notch cut out over the unused fill line "bump in the bed".
 
Thanks for all the helpful info so far. I did not expect to get an used camper until very recently so I need to learn a lot fast. By the way, I did talk to Marty at ATC recently regarding their campers and he is indeed a very nice guy. But still I am not sure if I would trouble him with my questions now that he just lost my business...

The good news is that I should be able to park the camper in the garage. The bad news is that there seems to be a number of issues to deal with before I can properly mount the camper on the truck. I do have air bags installed and plan to upgrade tires soon.

Really hope that I won't have to hammer anything in order make the camper fit :oops:

I shall continue to research on the forum as suggested and welcome any further advice regarding mounting.
 
Jeff chances are this used camper won't fit correctly at that gas filler area,so you will have to hammer it down as Ally-Kat has said.

He has given a lot of great info.
On my 06 Ranger I used the Suppersprings and they worked well.
On the 02 Tundra I went with air bags as I wanted to be able to have the adjustment option.
Frank
 
Illustration of the "ranger notch"
 

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Maybe for the first ride home you could use a few 2x4's under the camper to clear the lump. Once home get a good look then decide whether to hammer the bed, cut the camper, or [SIZE=14.3999996185303px]build a permanent spacer under it.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=14.3999996185303px]--[/SIZE]
[SIZE=14.3999996185303px]Pat[/SIZE]
 
wuck said:
Maybe for the first ride home you could use a few 2x4's under the camper to clear the lump. Once home get a good look then decide whether to hammer the bed, cut the camper, or [SIZE=14.3999996185303px]build a permanent spacer under it.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=14.3999996185303px]--[/SIZE]
[SIZE=14.3999996185303px]Pat[/SIZE]
Yep, I'd say that would be a good way to go.
You would need to come up with something a bit longer to attach the turn buckles between the truck bed eye bolts and the camper eye bolts (maybe something can be thought up for that, by you, me, or another WTW forum member).

I don't think the cutting and patching on the camper in the area affected would be all that hard.
I've looked in my photo archive for a photo of the triangle style cutout that I remember seeing at ATC, but, maybe I didn't take one, because I can't find it, and I'm a pretty organized guy.
So, in a day or so, I'll sketch out what I remember seeing and post the sketch here. The triangle is a little different and smaller than what SKI did.

BTW, my hammering of the rear unused gas filler stamping was a personal choice because I wanted/needed that driver's side rear flat floor space on the interior of the camper to "perfectly" fit my Port-a-Potti (a wife unit "must have"). Ski had other ideas for that area. So, want do you want to do in that area?
 
Like the idea of using 2x4 to clear the bump.

No plan to get a Port-a-Potti. Would be cool to hear some ideas about using the area if it's modified.
 
bootpacker said:
Like the idea of using 2x4 to clear the bump.
If you are thinking permanently, then there are few threads on how several members built a platform for the camper to sit on. Everything from a simple lift type thing (mostly to have the sides of the camper clear the higher sides of the newer truck beds), to something with a bit of storage space under the camper bottom. Made of various materials, plywood & fir 2x4's, hard core foam insulation glued together and including that recycled plastic fake wood 2x4 or 2x6 decking stuff (very inert, no water proofing needed). Might need to think about the camper sliding on the platform issue.

If permanently then I'd say get longer turn buckles... easier, simpler, less components to fail.

One thing to think of is how high will the cab over section be above the truck cab if you are going to do this kind of thing permanently. I've noticed that mine sits a fair amount higher than Ski's does and I'm not exactly sure why that is. So, I built a "V" shaped plastic air fairing under the cab over to deflect the wind away from the flat front under the cab over. See previus photo of mine and Ski's to see what I'm talking about.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

If the 2x4's are just temporary for the trip home, then a split chain link, the thing that you can join two circular things together, like two pieces of chain, except the split chain link would be put on the camper eye bolt and a length of chain would also be connected to the split chain link that is long enough (longer is OK, too short to use is a no go) to use with the turn buckles that the seller is giving you. You could place the split chain link and length of chain on the camper eye bolts before you mount the camper on the truck, then after the camper is loaded on the truck get inside, open the inside the camper turn buckle access doors and attach and tighten the turn buckles. Don't worry about the height of the cab over for the ride home. I didn't build my air fairing until several months after I got mine home.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

One last thing if the camper doesn't have the hard rubber bumpers on the lower front, you may need to take a 3/4" thick x 30" long x 3" or 5" wide piece of plywood or something similar to place at the front of the truck bed (i'll go out a take a photo a little later). This will space the camper towards the back just enough so the front of the camper does not touch the the top of the front truck bed. The top front of the truck bed (the folded over edge) sticks back more than the bottom front of the truck bed, and that piece of plywood is just right if you don't have the hard rubber bumpers on the front of the camper. I'm not sure when FWC started using the bumpers.
 

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