Soon to be owner questions

[marty]

bulges

hi this is marty. first off did you install your own camper. not that it matters much who installed it. what is under the bed on the bottom side of the eye bolt. we will start there. marty

 

[oly884]

hi this is marty. first off did you install your own camper. not that it matters much who installed it. what is under the bed on the bottom side of the eye bolt. we will start there. marty
I did not, the guy who delivered the camper to me did. As for what's under the eye bolt. The bottom of the bed, not super thick metal, and at the time I wondered about the strenght. Now, I know that it isn't super strong due to the bulge. Do you think making a bracket up myself would be the best bet?

 

[marty]

bulges are bad

yes you should put metal plates under there. if it was me i would remove the two front eye bolts completly put a chunk of wood on the bulge and hammer it back into place. then make a paper pattern of the area around the eye bolt hole this should cover about 2 to 3 inches in all directions of the flat part of the bed. 3/16 plate ftat stock or close will solve your problem. try to put the eye bolts back in the same position if you can. if you break an eye bolt putting it back on make sure your new one is forged not just bent. the bulges are from the wind drag of your camper. marty to install the plate simply drill a 3/8 " hole in it and let the eye bolt hold it under there

 

[jimjxsn]

yes you should put metal plates under there. if it was me i would remove the two front eye bolts completly put a chunk of wood on the bulge and hammer it back into place. then make a paper pattern of the area around the eye bolt hole this should cover about 2 to 3 inches in all directions of the flat part of the bed. 3/16 plate ftat stock or close will solve your problem. try to put the eye bolts back in the same position if you can. if you break an eye bolt putting it back on make sure your new one is forged not just bent. the bulges are from the wind drag of your camper. marty to install the plate simply drill a 3/8 " hole in it and let the eye bolt hold it under there

Marty,
Do you reinforce the front eye bolts on the Tundra as well?
Thanks,
Jim

 

[marty]

front eye bolt

the tundra bed is weaker in the front corners than the tacoma, yes i would put a plate under the front eye bolts. use the same dirrections i described for the tacoma. the rear bolts do not realy have any pressure aginst them. and everyone should know how to tighten up thier turnbuckles. do not overtighten. hand tight plus 1/4 to 1/2 turn using a stubby screwdriver for a handle. when you check for retightness don't just tighten the turnbuckles. wiggle them if they don't move they are tight. have a nice day. marty

 

[marty]

Jim,

Ben here.

Yes we charge more for the tundra installation because we mount some steel plates under the front of the bed to reinforce it. Years ago we had a T-100 bed pull apart on us and this is how we were able to fix it once we had the bed fixed. We just started from then on to put the steel plates on all the T-100 and in turn the Tundra's now.

Sincerely,
Ben
www.allterraincampers.com

Ben,
I'm interested in learning more. I have a Tundra and am interested in putting a camper on it. I noticed on your website that you guys charge extra for installation on a Tundra. Does something need to be done to reinforce the Tundra bed? I have a 2000 extra cab.
Thanks,
Jim

 

[marty]

Tundra steel pattern

Ben here

Here is a picture of the pattern that we use for the steel plate on a Tundra. This gives you some idea of how we fit it under the truck.

Ben
www.allterraincampers.com

 

[jimjxsn]

Ben and Marty,
Thanks for all the help, you guys are great
Jim

 

[oly884]

Ben here

Here is a picture of the pattern that we use for the steel plate on a Tundra. This gives you some idea of how we fit it under the truck.

Ben
www.allterraincampers.com


Happen to have dimensions on that?

 

[marty]

Sent you a private message on that.


Happen to have dimensions on that?

 

[marty]

Tundra Plate

Ben here

Figured out how to get the measurments on the picture. Hope it helps.

Ben
www.allterraincampers.com

 

[kcowyo]

Great info Ben & Marty as usual!

I didn't use any reinforcement plates on my T100, but I'll be sure to check the bed out for bulges, etc. when I pull the camper off this month.

I had to jerry rig a spacer of two 2x4's to sit between the camper and front of the bed earlier this Fall. I think I may have mounted the two eyebolts in the rear too far forward. It seems when I tighten down the turnbuckles I am pulling the camper towards the cab, and the top rail of the front of the bed was getting tweaked. The 2x4 spacer has kept the camper from sliding too far forward but that's an "on the road fix" and I need to solve this permanently once I have the camper off for the winter.

Good info you guys are sharing and I appreciate your accessibility!

 

[marty]

T-100 Mounting

Ben here
The eyebolts should pull in opposite directions. Sounds like you did an install yourself on this one?

The T-100 that we had problems with was in Alaska and on the road on almost a full time basis over some rough roads. The plates did fix it though.

To help the camper from hitting the front rail of the truck you can put two rubber bumpers on the bottom of the front wall. You can usually find something what will work from a rubber supply store or a marine store. Some of the old bumpers that we used to use were from a marine store. Don't remember what they called them but the were about 3 inches thick and about 4 inches long.

Ben
www.allterraincampers.com