How are Four Wheel Campers Mounted?

[anonymous]

I have a late model Tundra. If I bought a used Four Wheel camper, what would I need to do to mount it to my truck? How are they mounted from the factory? I would get airbags too. Thanks

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

For the Toyotas, I believe there is a kit from the factory that strengthens the composite bed. Otherwise, it is secured by four eyebolts through the bed, that are then connected to the camper by turnbuckles. If you want charging from the truck, you will need to run an electrical circuit from the battery to the left side of the bed. FWC uses Attwood trolling motor connectors to mate the camper to the truck.

I would give the folks at FWC a call to get specifics.

 

[anonymous]

For the Toyotas, I believe there is a kit from the factory that strengthens the composite bed. Otherwise, it is secured by four eyebolts through the bed, that are then connected to the camper by turnbuckles. If you want charging from the truck, you will need to run an electrical circuit from the battery to the left side of the bed. FWC uses Attwood trolling motor connectors to mate the camper to the truck.

I would give the folks at FWC a call to get specifics.

Thanks. No composite bed. Anyone have pictures of the eyebolts/turnbuckles?

 

[RC Pilot Jim]

If you are over age 60 and/or have a bad lower back I would advise either
bolting the camper down or buying the external "Tiedown System" and the "Torqlift " turnbuckle systems.

For me over age 70 getting my body in a position to tighten or loosen the inside turnbuckles was impossible

 

[ski3pin]

You should find 4 eye rings on the bottom of one of the plywood steps that make up the base of your camper. As Wandering Sage states, turnbuckles are used to tie these to large eye bolts that are installed in the corners of the truck bed. There are many many threads here on WTW that cover the subject.

 

[PaulT]

I have a 2010 Tundra Double Cab with a 2014 Hawk. I had FWC install the camper. The installer had a diagram with dimensions where to put the turnbuckle eyebolts in the truck bed. It was apparent that Jay had installed more than one FWC as he had little wasted effort in mounting the camper or running the wiring.

Access to the turnbuckles depends on whether you have front-mounted, side-mounted dinette, or full length couch. On my front mounted dinette, rear turnbuckles are accessed while laying on the floor but front turnbuckles are accessed through a panel under the dinette seats.

Contact FWC with info on your Tundra year & model and camper year & model to get mounting hardware & instruction if you do it yourself. I would increase the truck to camper wire gauge to 4 or 6 to ensure low voltage drop. The factory 10 gauge is too small in my opinion. Read the threads on battery charging/isolator and decide for yourself.

Welcome, good luck, & let us know about your experience if doing it yourself.
Paul

 

[Cayuse]

I did the install myself. Had to get a couple of longer turnbuckles than what the previous owner had in order to use the recommended spacing from the FWC website. I bought the eyebolts from the local Fasteners as I was able to get Grade 5 there, I think they called them elevator bolts, about 3/8" diameter if memory serves (see geezer thread).

I wired mine up running the wire inside the frame most of the way and then bringing it through the forward part of the bed at one of the rubber plugs but this year haven't even connected the wiring to the truck because the solar does such a great job so if it already has solar or you're going to install right away you might be able to save yourself some time there.

 

[Bwht4x4]

I love my camper but installing the turnbuckles or loosening them is a pain in the rear. I have a couple of hunts still to do this fall and I just plan on leaving it on until the beginning of December.

 

[thatsatechnique]

Here's an example of how NOT to mount it. As my dealer used that as a mount point, I didn't really question it. In all fairness, I have had the camper on since purchase and have taken some pretty sweet jumps . Putting in new eye bolts now...

 

[snuffy]

hey ribs , i know of two campers mounted like that too and they never had any problems, i had mine like that for some time and no trouble ..

 

[thatsatechnique]

Well, I've got two out of two mounts that look just like that. Maybe it's my right foot that is the problem (gas pedal). No biggie, it's fixed now.