6 ft. camper on 5.5 ft. bed

[AndyT]

I know there are a lot of posts about this, but any additional advice would be much appreciated. I'm looking at a used 6 ft. Hawk shell to put on a 5.5 ft. bed of a crew cab F150. My truck has a payload of a little over 2,000 lbs. The Hawk is roughly half that, so I'm not worried about payload, but I am worried about the length of the camper in the bed and having that additional weight off the bed. Guessing I'd leave the tailgate on for a little extra stability, but should I be concerned about tongue weight? Any mods to the suspension, even though I'd be way under payload?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Ted]

To lower a spare tire from the mount under the truck bed you insert a long rod through a hole usually right above the license plate. That hole is blocked when the tailgate is down. So you will need to find a different way to lower the spare or carry it somewhere else if you leave the tailgate in the down position with the camper on.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Doesn't seem like a 6" rear overhang should be any problem.
The access to the spare is more important.

To place the spare some place else would be more of an inconvenience,IMO.
Frank

 

[JaSAn]

My bigger concern would be how much weight is on the rear axle and what is the GRAWR.

If you are pulling a trailer the tongue weight needs to be adjusted for the extension to get the ball beyond the lowered tailgate.

 

[BlueSky]

It will be fine but you have to take some precautions. When you put the camper on the truck and the rear of the truck squats down you will need some air shocks or Suomo Springs or some other rear leaf spring help in order to level the truck or have a slightly raised rear. When loading the camper for a trip put all the heavy stuff up front (water, firewood, gear). Don't hang anything off the back (bikes, water cans, fuel cans, gear, etc.). Take the tailgate off, otherwise you are just adding weight back there where you don't want it. Common sense stuff that applies to all truck campers.

 

[Beach]

"Hawk weighs roughly half of that" You might be surprised once you get that rig loaded with gear and food + people.

 

[57Pan]

I never gave it much thought until I saw this post. My ATC Bobcat measures 80” and hangs out the back of my Tacoma by 8”. I don’t use the tailgate because it would interfere with lowering the spare, and I think it would make it more difficult to climb thru the door.
Never had any problems with this arrangement.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I never gave it much thought until I saw this post. My ATC Bobcat measures 80” and hangs out the back of my Tacoma by 8”. I don’t use the tailgate because it would interfere with lowering the spare, and I think it would make it more difficult to climb thru the door.
Never had any problems with this arrangement.

You nailed it…

 

[AndyT]

Thanks to everyone for the help and insight!

 

[vmurnane]

I know there are a lot of posts about this, but any additional advice would be much appreciated. I'm looking at a used 6 ft. Hawk shell to put on a 5.5 ft. bed of a crew cab F150. My truck has a payload of a little over 2,000 lbs. The Hawk is roughly half that, so I'm not worried about payload, but I am worried about the length of the camper in the bed and having that additional weight off the bed. Guessing I'd leave the tailgate on for a little extra stability, but should I be concerned about tongue weight? Any mods to the suspension, even though I'd be way under payload?

Thanks for the help!

I know there are a lot of posts about this, but any additional advice would be much appreciated. I'm looking at a used 6 ft. Hawk shell to put on a 5.5 ft. bed of a crew cab F150. My truck has a payload of a little over 2,000 lbs. The Hawk is roughly half that, so I'm not worried about payload, but I am worried about the length of the camper in the bed and having that additional weight off the bed. Guessing I'd leave the tailgate on for a little extra stability, but should I be concerned about tongue weight? Any mods to the suspension, even though I'd be way under payload?

Thanks for the help!

 

[vmurnane]

Did you end up doing this and if so how did it work out?