Ideas for lightweight cab over bed board?

[ckent323]

I tend to agree with ntsqd.

The bed of a pickup moves around somewhat independently from the cab (not so in a jeep or bronco type vehicle).

The motion of the bed and the camper may impart loads into the cabover portion that is connected to the truck cab that it is not designed to handle. In particular I am thinking of off-road scenarios and even on-road big speed bumps wherein the truck twists somewhat.

The differential motion could bend and permanently damage the camper frame.

Caveat emptor!

Edit - looking closer I see that the vehicle is a jeep type vehicle so you may be able to get away with this but I still worry (as ntsqd wote) about loads during twisting motions being transmitted to the windshield frame. I would talk to a shop that does modification work on Jeeps for off-road use about this as a sanity check.

 

[ntsqd]

TJ jeeps tied their OEM rollbar into the windshield frame, though nearly all aftermarket rollbar kits eliminate this. I don't recall that YJ's had this feature, CJ's certainly did not. Early Bronco's, all Scouts & K5 Blazer's never did either. Some cage kits have tabs to tie the windshield frame to the cage, but that is to keep the rattles down, not to be structural.

When you triple the loading, as happens at the least in a dynamic event, what used to be strong enough and stiff enough no longer will be.

 

[Boonie]

ckent323 and ntsqd,

I apologize to you and others that this thread based on my decision has moved away from a discussion about the FWC camper, which is why it was posted here, to a discussion of Jeep design, which to people who own trucks with campers, is foreign. My build thread, again posted on this forum, may have been best posted elsewhere, because a permanently mounted Grandby on a stretched Jeep YJ is again outside the experience of most people reading this forum. I posted it here because it is about the camper and not the Jeep. It is also posted here because I have heavily drawn on the experience of guys like PokyBro, Livingthedream, and others who have torn apart their campers and rebuilt them, which is what I am doing.

Please let me emphasize I appreciate your comments, because they make me think of the full spectrum of possibilities, even if I finally chose to go in a different direction. And that ultimately is why I love WTW. We have a diverse community with diverse experience and diverse ideas.

Boonie


P.S. I am modifying a 900 pound Grandby to be permanently mounted on a Jeep YJ that has been stretched 24", has a Chevy 350 engine and transmission and a Ford 8.8" rear end. I FAILED THE SANITY CHECK A LONG TIME AGO.

 

[ckent323]

Boonie,

No worries. I'm just trying to provide helpful input but I'm not always on target. ;-)

I am interested in hearing how this all works out in the end after you have had it on the road awhile. I hope it works out well.
Others may want to leverage your ideas for their own projects.

Regards,

Craig