New to this - Palomino Bronco questions

[Sun_Lover]

We are just in the process of buying a used Palomino Bronco 1250. Getting it inexpensively as it has been a rebuild project by a charming older gentleman who rebuilds campers as a hobby, and we didn't want to spend a fortune on a FWC until we know if we're going to like this, (Never had a truck camper before.)

A couple of questions: it has no mattress. Is there a preferred brand or source? (we can't afford a huge amount!) Saw some "Short queen" ones online at Walmart that would fit - anyone used something like this? https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sleep-Revolution-8-Memory-Foam-RV-Mattress-Short-Queen/37456751

Also, we had a Leisure Travel van once that had an awning on the side, and it was great. Is there any way to install one on a Bronco, and if so, how and what brands?

Many thanks for all your help, from a newbie.

PS - my husband thinks ordinary hardware turnbuckles from Home Depot are ok for tiedowns. I say we should get the ones designed for RVs. Does it matter?

Thanks!
Sharlene

 

[Mark G]

Here's a good discussion of mattress choices: http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/13808-couldnt-handle-it-any-longer/

Do a search on "tarps" and "awnings" and you'll find a number of options.

 

[Sun_Lover]

Thank you! I should have searched first.

 

[longhorn1]

You need to watch the height of the mattress or the roof won't close properly. My recommendation on the the turnbuckles is to contact the camper manufacturer. Also, having a professional, install the attachments and wire the camper so the camper battery is charged by the truck battery while driving. Good luck. jd

 

[Backroad Joe]

As far as turnbuckles, I use the spring-loaded Happijacs on the front and regular hardware store turnbuckles on the rear. And it gets heavy off-road use. I believe that many blow the tie-down method out of proportion.

 

[DoGMAtix]

You'll need tie downs (attach to the truck and give you a place to mount the turnbuckles) as well as the turnbuckles themselves. I'd recommend spending the $$ to get a good system (yeah, I know, you went cheap with the camper but don't try to cut costs too much when putting together the fastening system, you may be VERY sorry). Frame mounted tie downs are generally stronger but you have to make sure you get the right ones to fit the truck. Torklift is a good company that makes these http://www.torklift.com/index.php/products/tiedowns/tie-downs .
Happijac makes these http://happijac.com/tie-downs.html , which are what we own because they fit our truck/camper setup better (pull the camper up snug toward the truck cab, and fit on back with our after market exhaust). They've proven to be strong enough to take some major forces off-road even if they're not quite as strong as the Torklifts that mount to the truck frame itself. The Happijac rear tie downs depend on a reasonably strong bumper, our Dodge Ram 2500's has held up fine.
Whatever you get for tie-downs, I'd recommend you get turnbuckles designed specifically for mounting campers onto trucks. Even the cheapest of the Torklift turnbuckles will do a good job, the fancier ones tend to be more convenient to put on and take off and may be easier to adjust correctly, but maybe not worth the extra money to you.
We have these http://www.torklift.com/index.php/products/turnbuckles/anchorguard because they work particularly well with our tie downs, and we love them. Others swear by the "fast guns," which didn't fit on our setup because of limited space getting to the anchor points on the front of the camper.
I'd recommend calling Palomino to see what they recommend for mounting your specific camper to your truck, and also calling the tiedown and/or turnbuckle company(s). Torklift's customer assistance is excellent!
I'd say stay away from plain chains and hardware store turnbuckles. Some people use them with no trouble, but we had no end of problems with them on bumpy roads. If you do use chains, make sure not to fasten them with open crimped links - use screw-on quick links instead. The crimped links will open up under load, allowing the camper to lurch and shift (maybe even fall off your truck altogether).
There are plenty of threads on camper mounting such as this one describing our experience http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/11134-mounting-hallmark-guanella-on-dodge-ram-2500-short-bed-project/, do a search and happy reading! We've enjoyed the process despite a few very frustrating setbacks.

 

[Josh41]

I have a Palomino B600 on a Nissan Frontier. We put in a foam mattress from Ikea, we were able to cut it to size, and still close the top with bedding.
You need to have springs in your turnbuckles as your camper (and mine) is made of particle board. To much stress and you will just pull your attachment points out. I recently put large backing plates on mine to help spread the load as well.
Josh