Storage under camper?

[pasowino]

Hi everyone, I was curious if any of you who have had to create a subfloor to raise your camper above the bed rails have figured out a way to store something in that space. For example, I have a 72" x 30" folding table that I love to take camping. If I frame up a subfloor and leave a gap ~72x30 for the table and then cover it with 3/4" plywood, will the plywood be strong enough to support the weight of the camper and bridge the 30" gap? I will rip down some 2x4's to make the subfloor just tall enough for the table to fit under the camper.

See my attached image for the proposed design and I'd love to know if you think the camper/plywood can handle that big of a gap without support under it?

Screen Shot 2012-09-19 at 9.46.29 PM by delriophoto.com, on Flickr

 

[ski3pin]

pasowino, to add a photo into your thread post, copy and paste in the BBCode. This is what I found on Flickr about finding the BBCode:

Where is the HTML code and photo file link?

The HTML code to embed a photo in a web page that you used to find on the All Sizes page is now only in the Share menu above the photo, to the right of the Actions menu. We now also include BBCode! (standard message board code)

There are a few cases where the code may not be available: 1) If the photo is restricted. 2) If that person has turned off "Share this" or access to original files.

The direct link to a photo file is no longer shown on the page. Per the Flickr Community Guidelines "pages on other websites that display content hosted on flickr.com must provide a link from each photo or video back to its page on Flickr." Linking directly to the photo file doesn't do this.

 

[SLO_F-250]

Hey Paso!

A drawer under the camper is do able. You probably wont want to span the plywood longer than 24" or you will notice flex in the floor.

For my hawk, I added x 2x3 ladder structure underneath. The cross members are about 22" apart. There is some slight flex but not too noticeable.

I attached is to the wooden part of the camper with some sheet metal.

On my previous camper I added a full drawer below which is more like what you would like to do. I supported the plywood with hat channels as cross braces and angle iron on the sides. This was a good attachment point for my vertical 2x10 supports. I was fitting a mid-sized camper on an F-250.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.
P.S. Im 3rd Generation Paso. Just moved from there to Santa Barbara for a job. You might have seen my rig/ camper parked on the corner of 3rd and vine in my driveway.

 

[pasowino]

pasowino, to add a photo into your thread post, copy and paste in the BBCode. This is what I found on Flickr about finding the BBCode:


Thanks ski3pin. I had originally pasted in HTML, but I now realize that it needed BBCode. Thanks for the help!

 

[pasowino]

Hi SLO_F250! Yah, I may have seen you around town. Pop up campers always catch my eye. Thanks for the thoughtful reply and posting pictures. I like what you did with the drawers on your old setup. I was trying to figure out a way to take my folding table with me without putting it in the camper. I suppose I could weld up a metal frame that will support the load or at least use a piece of angle iron at the back edge to reduce the bow in the 3/4 plywood. I am also trying to keep the subfloor as short as possible. The closer I can get the camper to the bed rails, without touching, the better. Let me noodle on some design changes and I'll reach out to you if I have any questions. Thanks again and happy four wheeling.

 

[flipskid]

I like the idea a lot! this may solve some of my issues with storage. i already screwed plywood under my camper to raise the height enough to clear my cab, (old camper on new truck) if i built a frame i could slide other stuff under it and maybe use some of the side rail room for stuff. hmmmm. I know the extra sheets of ply really helped out. J