Shortening Rubber Bumpers

[deezlgeezr]

I am contemplating cutting about 1 1/4" from the front of the two rubber bumpers on my '17 Hawk in an effort to move the position of the camper forward in the bed. Currently, the bumpers (3") create a space of approx 2 1/4" between the front of the FWC and the front edge of the truck bed. I'd like to reduce this to approx one inch or so.

Should I try to buy new shorter bumpers or can I just remove the one inch by sawing or cutting it off. I'm wondering if the 'bumper' has any metal 'skeleton' or framework molded into the rubber (for strength). Any idea what a new shorter set would cost? Has anyone tried cutting the bumpers before?

TIA for all info!

 

[fish more]

I used a band saw to shorten mine, had to replace bolts with shorter units.

 

[patrkbukly]

I just used my saws-all and took enough off to reduce the gap between the bed and the camper to 1" on my Granby in my F250.
It also lined up the door side to the bottom of the bed which looks better to me.

 

[Scott81621]

I just used a hack saw, with no issues!

 

[fish more]

Hey Patrkbukly, what river are you camped by in your photo?

 

[So Cal Adventurer]

Hacksaw, zero issues and i took my truck and camper all through moab on most of the hard stuff

 

[camper rich]

That big gap is the perfect place to store my aluminum sand ladders wrapped in some paded carpet. It keeps them out of sight and I have no reason to have them hanging on the outside of the camper. They are 5' long by 16" wide and really do the job.

 

[Durango1]

I just took my bumpers off completely on my Flatbed Grandby. After all, if you are bolted down completely there is no need of them. Let me stick my aluminum crossbox in perfectly.

 

[CougarCouple]

When putting our Cougar on today I measured the bumper 2 1/2 inches. After the camper installed the front was 1 inch from the front bed rail. The rear is 1/2 inch over hang. I'm not so sure about removal altogether. Seems like the bumper would stop the camper trying to move forward in aggressive stops, maybe the tie downs would be ok but I gotta figure the manufacturer installed them for more than a spacer.

Russ

 

[camper rich]

My first FWC did not have the front bumpers and, because the factory installed it with the turnbuckles pulling forward into the bed, it collapsed the rail on the front of the truck bed. This was in 1999 and I wrote FWC about it. I think they changed the way they did their turnbuckles after that and eventually added the rubber bumper. I eventually used a 2 x 6 to space that camper back from the front bed rail.

 

[Sharx]

I replaced mine awhile back on my '15 Fleet that was hanging off the back of my bed so I could bring it in a bit. I used short cut pieces of red washing machine hose and put a smaller diameter one of the same length inside the outer one. Drilled a couple holes for the bolts and screwed the pieces into the original holes. Works great, very dense and probably less than an inch of spacing which is just enough to keep camper away from the front of the bed. Pretty cheap and I did not have a band saw handy to cut the original ones.

 

[CougarCouple]

Camper Rich
All four of my turnbuckle’s are pulling the camper into the bed.

 

[camper rich]

Camper Rich
All four of my turnbuckle’s are pulling the camper into the bed.

It's probably ok if you have the rubber spacers. I wouldn't recommend it without something to keep the camper off the front of the bed.

 

[Sharx]

I believe the rubber mats from the factory under the camper keep the unit from sliding forward due to their friction. Under a bumpy, hard stop, the mats with the help of securely fastened turnbuckles keep it under control. But I know the difference in the latter as I let mine get loose once and could feel much more weight shift before I fixed them and secured them better with new shackles and better turnbuckles that were zip tied to keep them from unscrewing loose again. The importance of this problem cannot be understated as I met a woman at the recent FWC NorCal Rally who saw her old camper rolling "down the highway" in her rear-view mirror due to not keeping her turnbuckles tight.

 

[CougarCouple]

Morning CR
I was not planning on removing them. Thought it was interesting that others were having to shorten theirs to get closer to the front of the bed. Certainly would not want to move any closer.
I can see how the bed mat works, but man those suckers are heavy.
Russ

 

[BrianG]

What mats are FWC offering?

 

[camper rich]

I have always had a rubber bed matte, but on my '98 Ranger II Shell model with the turnbuckles pulling into the bed and no spacer or bumpers I did have damage to the front of the bed. When it was mounted at the factory, there was not a lot of space between the camper and the bed, and the turnbuckles being tight probably just pulled the camper forward enough to cause the damage.