scappoosebrad
Advanced Member
To Sagebrush et al who assisted with your comments...plus a general info on our initial experience...
Quick summary: our first 40 miles to/from the Tigard dealer to our house, we heard 2 or 3 pops each way or oil canning noises while driving at hiway speeds... when we returned to Tigard and informed Jeff, we immediately got on the phone with Roy at the factory with our concerns... after a 5 minute discussion, Roy asked if we were open to returning it to the factory for them to do a thorough "check out"... so during the next 3 weeks, (first week waiting for a return trip to factory), they spent a week examining the roof, et al, test drove it 3 times, and found no popping or roof / structural problems... returned it the next week with a factory tech, Matt, (special trip) where he spent 2 hours in Tigard helping us reload, test drive, and talk through some camper questions... we were very impressed with this level of customer service...
From my analysis during the truck's 3 week r/trip to the factory, I concluded that the original truck bedding that we installed--a close cell 1/2" foam pieces similar to used in indoor work out rooms etc.--was the culprit...we were never able to tighten down the turnbuckles totally with the foamed decking...chose this option initially as it was (1) light wt./10 #s and (2) inexpensive ($30 for the pieces to fit a 4x6 bed )...so we replaced this with 2 - 3x4-1/4 inch thick rubber mats that I "sewed together" using my 100lb sturgeon fishing leader (will never come apart)...wt. of the 2 pieces of 1/4" @ 18#s... cost $40 @ Home Depot...advice to other "newbies" USE A HARD RUBBER MAT ON YOUR TRUCK BED...
So after the 2nd loading, we have driven about 100 miles using the camper for 3 nights... there has been "no popping" noises...the new hard rubber bedding appears to have solved the problem... hooray!!! and the the factory folks didn't bat an eye at there efforts even tho it was probably "our bad" using the foam bedding on our first try...great folks!
Quick summary: our first 40 miles to/from the Tigard dealer to our house, we heard 2 or 3 pops each way or oil canning noises while driving at hiway speeds... when we returned to Tigard and informed Jeff, we immediately got on the phone with Roy at the factory with our concerns... after a 5 minute discussion, Roy asked if we were open to returning it to the factory for them to do a thorough "check out"... so during the next 3 weeks, (first week waiting for a return trip to factory), they spent a week examining the roof, et al, test drove it 3 times, and found no popping or roof / structural problems... returned it the next week with a factory tech, Matt, (special trip) where he spent 2 hours in Tigard helping us reload, test drive, and talk through some camper questions... we were very impressed with this level of customer service...
From my analysis during the truck's 3 week r/trip to the factory, I concluded that the original truck bedding that we installed--a close cell 1/2" foam pieces similar to used in indoor work out rooms etc.--was the culprit...we were never able to tighten down the turnbuckles totally with the foamed decking...chose this option initially as it was (1) light wt./10 #s and (2) inexpensive ($30 for the pieces to fit a 4x6 bed )...so we replaced this with 2 - 3x4-1/4 inch thick rubber mats that I "sewed together" using my 100lb sturgeon fishing leader (will never come apart)...wt. of the 2 pieces of 1/4" @ 18#s... cost $40 @ Home Depot...advice to other "newbies" USE A HARD RUBBER MAT ON YOUR TRUCK BED...
So after the 2nd loading, we have driven about 100 miles using the camper for 3 nights... there has been "no popping" noises...the new hard rubber bedding appears to have solved the problem... hooray!!! and the the factory folks didn't bat an eye at there efforts even tho it was probably "our bad" using the foam bedding on our first try...great folks!
