Putting together a flat bed camper

[Paul B.]

I bought a F-350 flat bed and am looking for info on mounting a camper on it. The bed currently is a steel frame stake bed with a lift gate. I want to take that off and either replace it with an aluminum flat bed and camper, or a chassis mount. I've likely ruled out the latter idea, there seem to be few economical ways to go with a chassis mount.

So I contacted Fout Wheel Campers and All Terrain Campers (narrowed quickly to these two). But both manufacturers seemed reluctant to say which brand of aluminum bed to buy. So, of course, I looked online. I can't find anyone selling these things in Los Angeles. Further, there is little mention on any sites as to their bed's usage in such a case. FWC has a dealer in Jackson Hole does this, but that's pretty far from LA.

Anyone out there have thoughts or experience with this? FWC has a distributor in Southern California, Azusa precisely, going there this weekend. We want to see the units in person, and maybe they can point us in the right direction.

Thanks for your assistance.

 

[billharr]

I think any of the alum beds would work. If you are doing a standard camper you would need to put in attachments for the turnbuckles. I would look at a flat bed camper if I was gong to a flatbed on the truck, lots more room inside.

Both ATC and FWC make flatbed campers.

 

[K6ON]

Marc at XP Campers in Grass Valley makes aluminum flat beds, give them a call.

 

[ntsqd]

Has Marc progressed to building his own?At one time I knew that he had a very highly rated vendor/supplier for them.

There are mfg's out there that offer aluminum as I found a few when I looked into this a while back. Some of the service bed mfg's also offer flat beds, so don't rule them out until you know for sure. One brand made what I'd call a flat-service bed. Had built-in storage below the deck, not just off the shelf boxes bolted on. Something like this one:
http://bigtextrailerworld.com/beaumont/truck-beds/?sort=date&tsp=0&id=41961

though I think that might be steel and it definitely hangs down too low.

A thing that has me wondering is if it has a flatbed & lift gate on it now, is it dual rear tires? If so, are you thinking to go to super singles? Duals aren't the best choice off-pavement as they can suffer stone bruises from a rock trapped between the tires.

 

[fish more]

YEH, CONTACT MARC AT XP CAMPERS IN GRASS VALLEY, THEY MANUFACTURE ALUMINUM FLAT BEDS FOR TRUCKS,

 

[Paul B.]

Thanks to all. Honestly, I had eliminated XP from my list as they seemed too pricey, like way more than the others. It seems strange to buy the bed through them, but the camper?

Good point. It's not a dually. Single rear tires. Harder to change a flat off road with duals, too.

Checked XP again just now. Woah, dudes! I'm on a budget. The trucks a '93, super low miles, but still....

 

[simimike]

After doing a web search I found a Aluma flatbed that may work. It is 81X96 with a headache rack and lights. Will it be a perfect fit with the camper you choose? No, but it will be close. And off the shelf is the more cost effective option. Ultimately every camper is a trade-off, cost vs weight vs options etc. If you look at the pictures above you'll see that nether one is a perfect fit, but close enough. If it where I, I'd call the camper manufacturers and get the standard foot print dimensions and look for an off the self flatbed that's close enough. Hope this helps.

Mike

 

[Paul B.]

Thanks, Mike. Off the rack for the bed, and looks like the camper may be a custom build anyway. I don't plan on taking the camper off, I want it bolted to the bed. I'm a contractor, I have other flat bed trucks if I need a utility truck. This is to be a designated camping vehicle.