how much rear overhang is OK?

[mntlion]

I have a 5ft bed, toyota truck and looking at the falcon vs eagle.

the eagle will overhang by 18 inches, (and offer 18 inches more room inside) and same price.

the overhang will not be an issue for ground clearance as the bed is very high off the ground and the rear wheels are so close to the tailgate anyways.

any negative issues with this overhang?

 

[b team]

That is a lot of overhang. If I were offroading i wouldn't want that much of the camper un supported. Also you'll have to work out how you will tie it to the bed .

 

[jimjxsn]

I have a FWC Ranger which is 8ft long on a short bed Tundra with the tailgate down. I like having the extra room in the camper and haven't had a problem with clearance.

 

[pvstoy]

Nice Toyota

Hi Mntlion,

First of all I’m jealous that you have a right hand drive Toyota 4-door Hilux that is a diesel burner that gets 30 + mpg…

As long as you support that overhang from the underside then ok. If your tailgate sticks out further you could make a shorter tailgate to fit under.

 

[mntlion]

so I can just lower the tail gate and place the camper on top of that?
57inches is the inside of the bed with the gate up. 77 end to end with it down

So a 80 eagle will just have 3" overhang, and I'm good to go?

So why make the smaller camper anyways?

 

[winter200]

I think its all a matter of the center of gravity. You want to make sure the cg stays infront of the rear axle.

 

[benburnett]

center of gravity

Winter hit the nail on the head there. There is no way to get your center of gravity in front of your axle or even over it on that type of truck. Your axle on your truck is farther forward compared to a normal bed. Your center of gravity with the small camper made to fit your bed is still going to be behind the axle.

Now if you go with the longer camper you are moving the center of gravity 18" farther back still. I know they have done this before. I would recommend some extra suspension work though as in air bags or air shocks if you put the long one on.

 

[mntlion]

the truck has a 500kg limit (1200pound, 1/2 ton?) sticker on the back. still need springs/air bags? with either size camper?
the campers are 800 pounds + gear + people to a max of 1200pound?

 

[NJTaco]

I do not think it will be possible to keep the Center of Gravity forward...there is not much bed forward of the rear axle centerline. (Maybe 18 inches?) The front of the truck will be so light it could be dangerous, even with the double cab and the oil burner up there. If you could resolve the COG issue, please be sure the loaded truck is at least close to the rear axle's rated weight (GVWR). (As opposed to way over.)

If this were not a problem, I'd think you could support the camper with an extra sheet of 3/4 plywood to save stress on the tailgate. But like I (and others) said, Center of Gravity is your main concern here.

You could always sell one of us the truck...

(On edit... Ben Types too fast... )

 

[NJTaco]

the truck has a 500kg limit (1200pound, 1/2 ton?) sticker on the back. still need springs/air bags? with either size camper?
the campers are 800 pounds + gear + people to a max of 1200pound?

The only way to answer that is to weigh the truck with the camper on it, loaded for a trip. Don't forget a margin for safety and souvenirs...like rocks

Also, the more the weight is aft, the more the front unloads and transfers weight to the rear axle, taking up the theoretical load capacity.

 

[cabezon23]

Hi mntlion,

I had 3 of these trucks when I was living in Dominican Republic. I would say they are the definition of a tough truck. I used to drive across the island loaded with 2 55gal drums of oil, engine parts, transmissions, and other water sports equipment. After installing the air bags if was much easier to drive, after installing the turbo it was even fun to drive.
The short FWC shouldn't be a problem for the truck, but make sure the numbers (weight, size) really fit the truck bed. As far as I remember the cab is higher than the US made trucks, so you might need some lumber in the truck bed to clear the roof. Think also about the frame flex to prevent contact between the cab and the camper overhang.

 

[jimjxsn]

I know some of the guys have warned you about moving the CG too far back. I can only talk from experience. I haven’t had a shortbed camper. I’ve only had the longbed camper on a shortbed truck.

From experience, I can tell you that in all types of conditions the camper hasn’t been a problem. I’ve driven in lots of snow and on glare ice, even at highway speeds and the truck handles those conditions better than unloaded. I’ve driven it in Wyoming ice storms with cars and trucks doing 360s in front of me with no problems.

Now, that being said, it looks like your truck has very little bed in front of the wheel wells. So your experience may be different. One thing you may be able to try is to load 1000 lbs of stuff in the bed and over the tailgate - maybe bags of cement or sand??? Drive around like that and see what happens.

 

[pvstoy]

Here is a Eagle picture from FWC web page

http://www.fourwheelcampers.com/neweaglepictures/tn_ddd_sm.html

Though this bed may be longer than yours, but?

 

[mntlion]

my overhang will be similar, but the rear wheels are farther back them mine so the balance will be better.

I've had 4 people at 200 pounds each, and a 400-500 pound motorbike in the back. The overall weight was fine, Truck drove great actually, but that was better balanced then a camper just on the back.

also have filled the bed with 6-8 foot logs and again the truck drove just fine. Even smother over speed bumps then usual.

Time for a load of gravel or sand bags spread evenly on the and double check I think.

 

[pvstoy]

Drop the tail gate and add some weight back there also since the foot print of the Eagle will extend to the edge of the droped tailgate. Measure the height of the front and back bumper before and after adding the weight. The more weight out the back end will lift the front more.

You could always add a winch on the front bumper to counter balance

 

[Tomas Tierra]

MT. Lion,

I would pretty much count on doing some suspension
add-ons. I had, like Jim with the tundra and ranger set up, alot of overhang on an older rig. I ended up with two additional full leafs on the rig pictured below before I was happy...Given the choice, I would get the camper that keeps the cg as forward as possible...That said, i'm getting ready to set up a 2002 tundra with a Ranger model fwc (xact same rig as Jim), I really don't have an option as I own the camper allready.

Cool truck by the way, can't believe we never got that 6 cyl. diesel option in the U.S.

 

[Mark W. Ingalls]

Lengthen the Frame?

Heh. I didn't want to post gratuitously before, but I was seeing a movie in my head of that truck pulling a wheelie when started uphill...

Seriously, with all the fab skills you people so gaudily display, why not lengthen the frame, move the axle aft, and replace the bed with something more useful?

(And if you do, we insist on photographic evidence.)

 

[benburnett]

Cog

As everyone has pointed out, you really have no bed in front of your axle. All your weight is behind it when putting a camper on your truck. It may carry it fine but in the long run with the transfer of weight to the rear of the truck you will probably start to have front end problems if you don't put something under the truck to help transfer the weight back to the front end.

The only way to really tell is to put one one and see how it handles.

 

[mntlion]

thanks guys, I'll load it up and see.

The truck is a 1988, with a 2.4l motor non-turbo, imported from Japan. Already have the elk proof bumper on the front. Don't need the winch, but want one

 

[EdoHart]

A winch will help with the CG

If you need justification for getting a winch, consider it will add some weight up front and help move the CG forward.