Show me your bottoms

[Vic Harder]

Of your campers folks!

I'm wondering what a "normal" bottom of the camper looks like. Mine appears to have four 6" wide by 5/8" "fence boards" running front to rear, over the plywood base. Are these there for structural reasons, or just to raise the camper by 5/8"?

 

[cwdtmmrs]

Pretty sure those are just spacers.

cwd

 

[thisoldcamper]

Here's mine... on a 1978 Alaskan... camper

I added the 1 X 4 PT to get the right height over my truck bed rails

 

[kmcintyre]

Just to raise it. Mine actually had an extra sheet of plywood under it for the orig. owners truck; heavy. Then I had to put spacers (ATC did it when I was having other work done) but they ran the other direction. Then I took those off with my new truck and had to build a platform....

 

[BFH4N]

My Fleet has plywood strips about 3/4" thick and 2" wide, running side-to-side and spaced about 12" apart.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Another function of the furring strips is to keep the true bottom off the truck bed and drier. If there is wood rot, the strips are easier to replace than the entire bottom.

 

[buckland]

Mine needed to be raised for my new truck so I added foam insulation too ...it did have the strips...

 

[Mark G]

Ditto to Sagebrush, I think the strips are to protect the floor from rot and sliding around and in and out.

 

[Vic Harder]

Ditto to Sagebrush, I think the strips are to protect the floor from rot and sliding around and in and out.

That makes sense. In the pic that "thisoldcamper" posted, i see similar furring strips (running north/south under the east/west ones he added) to what mine has. Is that normal?

 

[Wallowa]

All the newer FWC exterior sides and bottom surfaces were I believe coated with a rather tough sealing material "used on boat docks" to keep out moisture...at least our '16 Hawk is coated with this stuff....

Ditto on allowing water in the bed to drain out...while insulation under the camper may be a good idea I would still leave drain channels.

Phil

 

[Ronin]

Vic,

I couldn't take a decent photo of the bottom of my '05 Hawk. Mine has four 4" wide 5/8 plywood strips running along the length and across each end. I had the exact same thing on my '03 Hawk. I always assumed it acted as a skid plate as well as keeping the floor from direct contact with water.

 

[Vic Harder]

good to know Ronin. As for direct contact with water, are the ridges in the truck bed not enough?

 

[Ronin]

The ridges would be adequate for me as I always park my truck( at home) on a slight slope to keep any water from pooling in the bed as well as on the roof. I'm pretty sure the strips were original as they are painted the same gray color as the bottom plywood. BTW - on my new Tundra I have to put 2x6's under the camper to clear the bed sides, so direct water contact isn't really an issue for me.

 

[RKL]

I have a 2016 Raven and it has a coating sealant. That stuff is tough.

 

[abqbw]

The ridges would be adequate for me as I always park my truck( at home) on a slight slope to keep any water from pooling in the bed as well as on the roof. I'm pretty sure the strips were original as they are painted the same gray color as the bottom plywood. BTW - on my new Tundra I have to put 2x6's under the camper to clear the bed sides, so direct water contact isn't really an issue for me.

I have a 2011 Tundra and a 2017 Hawk which replaced my 2016 Hawk Shell. I ordered both Hawks to be built so they will fit in any truck, which means with no extra shim attached to clear the high bed walls on a Tundra. It's a "universal build". Apparently you have same. I used to have a 2x4 wood frame, lain flat, to shim the camper up to clear the bed rails. Recently I picked up a 2 ft by 6 ft by 3/4 " thick horse stall mat from a feed store (they are pretty standard and avail at any feed store). This mat is very tough but I like that it is rubber and gives a little cushion and insulation and the stringers attached to the bottom of the camper bite really well. The primary reason I got the mat was to drop the camper about 3/4" compared to the 2x4s.

To make the 6 ft mat better support the 6-1/2 foot camper I cut the mat near the center and spread the two pieces by about 6" so the front and back of camper are supported. Just make sure that the gap near the center is not where one of the camper bottom stringers would fall. The very back edge of the camper is not really supported by the bed of the truck as it hangs off the end. I just pull the back half of the mat to the end of the bed.

I have the cheap rubber simple Toyota brand Tundra rubber bed mat under the horse stall mats and combined the camper is about an inch above the bed rails which is about as low as I think you would want to go. I like the camper as low as possible...

 

[abqbw]

 

[abqbw]

 

[Wallowa]

IMG_2318.JPG

Same but different....

I did the same thing with 3" insulating foam board, but I stood it on end after cutting it for an interference fit [between Tundra bed side rail and overhang of Hawk]; then added 2" heavy duty velcro against camper and on foam to hold it in place...all three sides, on front to bottom of FWC window..

Reduces water/debris, air flow and insulates...removable if necessary.

 

[abqbw]

Same but different....

I did the same thing with 3" insulating foam board, but I stood it on end after cutting it for an interference fit [between Tundra bed side rail and overhang of Hawk]; then added 2" heavy duty velcro against camper and on foam to hold it in place...all three sides, on front to bottom of FWC window..

Reduces water/debris, air flow and insulates...removable if necessary.

That sounds like a good idea. Can you post a pic?

 

[Vic Harder]

Same but different....

I did the same thing with 3" insulating foam board, but I stood it on end after cutting it for an interference fit [between Tundra bed side rail and overhang of Hawk]; then added 2" heavy duty velcro against camper and on foam to hold it in place...all three sides, on front to bottom of FWC window..

Reduces water/debris, air flow and insulates...removable if necessary.

Sounds like a great idea!