BedRug Liner Under A FWC?

[longhorn1]

Interesting way of changing the geometry. I also thought of using a jack under my hitch receiver to take the springs out of the motion but sliding the camper forward on our hill is fairly quick and easy. Thanks for sharing an interesting option.

Iowahiker, Yesterday I posted a question about the shims, you replied, and then I posted that I had made 2" x 4' shims with a piece of TPO fleeceback roofing on one side to provide a little cushion. I really must be a geezer, because today none of our back and forth appears in this post.

On another note, when we first picked up our camper at the distributor Sean said to back slowly and make sure the bumpers were against the front of the bed, and then lower the front down first and the back last which will keep the bumpers tight against the front of the bed. Now Brian suggests lowering the back first and then the front. Even with a flashlight I couldn't tell whether the front bumpers were against the bed.

I also placed 1-1/2 roofing insulation (12" x 12") piece between the rear side of the camper, on both sides, and the the rear of the truck where the tailgate connects. That kept the rear from sliding, but one of them blew out due to airflow so I need to tape it in place on the next trip. jd

 

[ski3pin]

Iowahiker, Yesterday I posted a question about the shims, you replied, and then I posted that I had made 2" x 4' shims with a piece of TPO fleeceback roofing on one side to provide a little cushion. I really must be a geezer, because today none of our back and forth appears in this post.

John, your back and forth with Mr. Iowa was in the companion thread -

Wheel Well Shims

 

[longhorn1]

John, your back and forth with Mr. Iowa was in the companion thread -

Wheel Well Shims

Ski, I really am a geezer. Guess I did click on a link. Thanks for clearing this up.

 

[iowahiker]

Loading a camper and making solid contact with the front of the bed is difficult and I use the word "impossible". Our dealer, Sean, could not make solid contact with the front of our bed until he jostled the camper forward after the legs were completely lifted. I met a brand new Hawk owner whose camper was damaged by FWC factory installers doing a "jostle" forward (FWC fixed the damage). If a dealer who has installed many campers can not make solid contact with the front of the truck bed without jostling then I use the word "impossible". The rear of our truck drops more than the front when loading a camper so the bed movement as a camper is loading is an arc while the camper legs follow a discontinuous (front or back first) parallelogram path which are not the same. That is our geometry. But loading a camper gets worse: our dealer, Sean, and myself could not tell using high grade narrow beam flashlights if the camper bump stops were or were not touching the front of the truck bed. The truck bed and the camper follow different paths during loading and no one can see if the camper is touching the front of the truck bed, great! What can you do?

Bed mats and other non-skid surfaces reduce the need to touch the front of the bed because they create friction between the camper and the bed. Non-skid surfaces are a good solution if the camper is going on and off routinely but not a perfect option if your camper stays on long periods because either the bed mat gets wet or the camper can polish the surface and begin to move.

The downhill braking to slide the camper forward and shimming at the wheel wells has worked for us.

The hybrid option would be to downhill slide the camper forward once (without a bed mat) and then take accurate measurements to know where the location of touching the front of the bed is. Then in the future try a variety of camper loading patterns until you get front of the bed contact. Options could be front jacks first down or rear jacks down first or put a jack under the rear receiver hitch to take the springs out of the motion or jack up the truck at the receiver alternating with lowering the jacks (or you can be lucky like me with a hill nearby which is otherwise a pain during winter snow and ice storms). SAFETY note: be careful not to "bridge" the camper if the rear jacks are lowered before the front, i.e. hang the camper on the front of the truck bed, this could be why the front jacks are lowered before the rear.

If your turnbuckles stay tight and measurements or observations show the camper is not moving then you do not have the problem we had.

 

[Wallowa]

Lots top think about in these suggestions form many folks.

"No one can tell if the bumper are touching the front of the bed" ? Hmmm...having never loaded a FWC, YET, but how about placing a sheet or thin fabric over the front of the bed where the bumpers are 'supposed' to contact...insert you camper, give it you best shot...then try to pull out the fabric from between the bumper and the bed.

Interested how critical all this is....what if the camper bumper or bumpers are 1/2" out from the front of the truck bed....are not the turnbuckles sufficient to maintain the campers position?


Interesting...

Phil

Ps...I missed what constituted "jostling" a Hawk into place and what was the damage?

PPs...As long as I am asking questions: What is the box/floor width of the Hawk; the part that must fit between the wheel wells? I can't seem to find that measurement.

Thanks..

 

[iowahiker]

Webster: "jostle": push, bump, shove, rough bump (done to overcome friction between the camper and the bed and so slide the camper).

"Damage": I did not ask since previously our dealer said to "jostle" only on a part of the camper frame or you will damage the camper. Never "jostled" again after original installation, see "downhill camper sliding".

Visibility is very difficult between the camper and the front of the bed. I never measured what size gap is or is not visible at the front.

The turnbuckles point mostly up-and-down and so provide little control of lateral camper movement. Turnbuckles act like tethers. Lateral motion is controlled by friction with the bed or in our case shims and contacting the front of the truck bed. Our truck bed is smooth (no liner) and our camper started to "walk" left and right 1/4-3/8" and so we went to shims and then moving the camper forward the last little bit. When we put our first shim in, the shim did not slide all the way down to bed. We were not concerned and just waited for the camper walking to move the camper enough for the shim to slide down which is what happened. Newer campers have a non-skid coating on the camper bottom and so have more friction than ours (maybe no more "jostling").

As long as your camper does not move and the turnbuckles stay tight there is no symptom of a problem. Our camper both moved and turnbuckles needed to be retightened after the initial settling period.

 

[LookyLou]

"No one can tell if the bumper are touching the front of the bed"

I'm skeptical about this statement also. I know for certain the bumpers on my Grandby are touching and tight against the front wall of my truck. I also know by settlement marks on my tailgate that is doesn't move and is in the correct position when loaded. I can also tell my camper doesn't shift around much because I have very little wear on either the truck bed or camper bottom after 3 years. Had it out a few weeks ago and another fellow comment on my new liner. Loading it all the way forward can be done consistently without to much jostling.

 

[brianjwilson]

On another note, when we first picked up our camper at the distributor Sean said to back slowly and make sure the bumpers were against the front of the bed, and then lower the front down first and the back last which will keep the bumpers tight against the front of the bed. Now Brian suggests lowering the back first and then the front. Even with a flashlight I couldn't tell whether the front bumpers were against the bed.

Hey it's just what works for me.
With my previous (and current) truck and camper, I was able to see that the bumpers were making good contact. Additionally, while using my technique I can hear the bumpers squeak as I lower it down the final amount. I'm very particular about the way the camper sits, and lower small amounts at a time while walking around and verifying position.
When I picked up my fleet the other week, the shop in Tigard had it sitting on a spot that was sloped nose down a bit. So I actually attempted to lower it onto the truck nose down. Backed up until the bumpers touched, let the front down first, then lowered the back and the bumpers were about 1/2" back from the front of the bed. I raised the camper back up, backed up again to make contact on the bumpers, and lowered it down nose high. As the front lowered I could hear the bumpers squeak and watched as the maintained good contact up front. So again it is just what works for me. YMMV

I would not want to set the camper in the truck, drive forward and hit the brakes to slide the camper up. That is a recipe for disaster if you ask me. Even a low speed can create a lot of potential energy, and the front walls of truck beds are not generally reinforced.

 

[billharr]

Guess I have just not worried that much about having the bumpers in perfect contact with the wall. The front wall is the weakest part of the bed anyway. I back up very slowly until I see the camper just move then lower the camper down. Measure side to side and adjust with a bar. On my 2005 Tundra there is only about 1/2 inch each side at the tail gate. Tighten down the turn buckles and check after driving for a while. So far no problems.

 

[Wallowa]

Bill,

Thanks for that. Questions:

#1 How much room between the Hawk base and the wheel wells in your '05 Tundra?

#2 And help me visualize what you describe as 1/2 each side at the tail gate? Tail gate is off, so are you referring to where it was mounted?

Thanks...relevant since I have '05 Tundra and Hawk on order.

Thanks...Phil

 

[billharr]

Bill,

Thanks for that. Questions:

#1 How much room between the Hawk base and the wheel wells in your '05 Tundra?

#2 And help me visualize what you describe as 1/2 each side at the tail gate? Tail gate is off, so are you referring to where it was mounted?

Thanks...relevant since I have '05 Tundra and Hawk on order.

Thanks...Phil

Not sure between the wheel wells would have to take the camper off and measure, can't see there with the camper on.

This picture will give you an idea of how little room there is at the tailgate. I did not have room for a 1/2 inch copper pipe. I drilled the side and take out the drain when I put the tailgate back on if the camper is off. Note this is my old 2002 Hawk but it is the same on my 2013 Hawk. Tight enough I can not push my index finger in the space.

 

[Wallowa]

Thanks Bill..great photos as always .

I can't find anywhere on-line or at FWC website what is the width of the box/floor of the Hawk which slides/sets in between the wheel wells. Guess I will just wait and see when we get ours. Really a moot point as it will obviously fit between our wheel wells!

Phil

 

[snuffy]

My 2013 hawk is 48in. wide hope that helps