buffer between flatbed tray and camper

[nico]

i have recently bought and installed a flatbed and purchased a flatbed grandby that will be ready in november. I am prepping for it now and i am wanting to put some sort of mat on the deck of my flatbed to protect it. I am wondering when four wheel installs the flatbed campers, if they recommend putting them on something like a protective mat. seems like it would protect the bottom of the camper and reduce friction. since i need something anyway, as the bed/truck is also used for work, I wanted to get something that would also act for the camper. I reached out to the people at four wheel and they havent gotten back to me on the matter in weeks (i guess i have to spend more than 35k to get their attention).

 

[Jack]

We don't have a flatbed, but I recall that the camper is bolted directly to the bed, so I assume that there''s not much chance of the Grandby moving much. The Tacoma regular bed mount has two 1/2" bars across the bed and FWC fills the rest of the bed with 1/2" horse mats. So if you would like a mat between the Grandby and the bed, horse mats should work fine.

 

[ntsqd]

I used a heavy rubber bed mat in our pick bed. Prior to that our camper would move around in the bed quite a bit with the turn-buckle type hold-downs.

If you are directly bolting the camper to the bed this may not be a problem.

 

[DarinH]

I put a 1/2" thick rubber mat under our slide-in Grandby, and it is working great. I think it absorbs a lot of vibration that you get on rough roads and seems to give the camper a better "bite" in the bed.

 

[Durango1]

On both my previous 2015 Hawk flatbed and current 2018 Grandby flatbed I filled the air spaces between the floor stringers with rigid foam. Never have seen the need for any sort of mat given that the camper is bolted down with 3" x 5" 1/4" thick aluminum washers and Grade 8 bolts. Never an issue in 6 years.

NOTE: I did use a thick horse mat with my 2012 slide-in Hawk that was secured with turnbuckles. (FWC should have a brass plaque in my honor mounted somewhere at headquarters!)

 

[ri-f]

i have recently bought and installed a flatbed and purchased a flatbed grandby that will be ready in november. I am prepping for it now and i am wanting to put some sort of mat on the deck of my flatbed to protect it.

This is what I used on my aluminum flatbed, it's worked out very well:

https://www.etrailer.com/Enclosed_Trailer_Parts/DeeZee/DZ85005.html

Rich

 

[Idahojolson]

I put a flatbed Grandby on my flatbed f350 in January. We live in snow country and I researched this heavily with fwc before installation. They assured me the use marine board and the underside is good to go. As you know it bolts to the bed directly. So far, I would say I feel comfortable with the set up and can’t see any leakage under the camper. I did have holes on my flatbed for a fifth wheel jack that would probably drain if it were an issue anyways but like I said, it looks solid so far. I was going to put this horse mat under and chose not too. Hope that helps.

 

[rando]

I don't have anything between my Fleet flatbed and my aluminium tray, and really don't think anything is necessary. If you are bolting the camper down (you should) there is no ability for it to slide or shift so no need for extra friction. If you do want some protection, I am sure you can find something much thinner and lighter than a horse stall mat. My memory is that a 6' x 6' 1/2" mat is something like 100lbs which is a lot of weight for something with little benefit.