What's under your camper?

[craig333]

Yup. I decided to check mine while I was camping this weekend. First needed a half turn, Same for the second and third. Almost didn't bother with number four, good thing I did. It was nearly ready to fall off.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Is there some reason some of us have to tighten the turn buckles and others don't.
I haven't had a problem with mine. Don't know why. I check them when we are out camping and have yet to have a loose one.

Mine are at a steeper angle due to that my Bobcat is on a wider Tundra that the Ranger it was made for.

My thought is that the more vertical the TBs are the greater chance they will loosen up. Does this make any sense?
Don't have an answer for this. Just have tight TBs.
Frank

 

[DEagle]

FWC delivered our 2013 Eagle a year ago and they installed it with three 3/8" rubber mats that sit on the bed liner between the mounting bars. The mats are very heavy and durable. I think they contribute to a quieter, snug fit and allow the turnbuckles to retain their tension.
I like um

 

[MarkBC]

FWC delivered our 2013 Eagle a year ago and they installed it with three 3/8" rubber mats that sit on the bed liner between the mounting bars. The mats are very heavy and durable. I think they contribute to a quieter, snug fit and allow the turnbuckles to retain their tension.
I like um

This makes sense. They weren't doing that, not for me anyway, when I took delivery (and FWC installed it) in 2005.
I wonder when FWC decided it was a good enough idea to do it standardly?

 

[Bwht4x4]

It's probably just me, but I don't like the idea of too much soft padding under the camper. A lot of padding allows the camper to move up-down-left-right from compression of the padding. This in my mind allows the turn buckles to relax and then get taught again and again, which could cause it to loosen over time or break from a sharp movement.

I keep my camper tight to the plywood I use on my truck bed and then tighten the turnbuckles so they're tight. I just did a 1500 mile trip and drove all the way down into the McCloud River campground (which is a rough road) and nothing came loose or moved.

 

[marty]

So here is my 2 cents worth.
A rubber mat is fine if you do not leave the camper on the truck all of the time. A spray in liner is great.
I have seen water trapped between the rubber mat and the bottom of the camper. This will not hurt the campers for a weekend. This will rot your main floor if left this way for long periods of time. We have replaced main floors due to rubber mats trapping water.
Marty

 

[JJ1]

What's between the bottom of the camper and the floor inside? Would a rubber mat provide just a little more insulation to the floor than the pickup's bare metal? Or is there an air gap in between?

 

[MarkBC]

So here is my 2 cents worth.
A rubber mat is fine if you do not leave the camper on the truck all of the time. A spray in liner is great.
I have seen water trapped between the rubber mat and the bottom of the camper. This will not hurt the campers for a weekend. This will rot your main floor if left this way for long periods of time. We have replaced main floors due to rubber mats trapping water.
Marty

So Marty, you're saying that a corrugated/ridged surface -- the ridges in the bed of a pickup -- under the camper is preferred so that water can drain away. And a rubber mat is generally a smooth/flat surface against the bottom of the camper so is not a good idea.
Is that right?

 

[marty]

Yes. That is what I am saying. The other side of the coin is not everyone will get water under the camper or some mats are softer and make a better seal that can trap the water. To be safe I no longer use a rubber mat.

 

[ntsqd]

I don't think that we have to worry about rot, the floor is soaked from a leaking diesel fuel can.

Though hum, maybe I should replace it with horse stall matting. That which I'm familiar with has large protrusions that are not likely to be squashed by the camper. That would allow air under the floor.

 

[rotti]

When I sold my twenty-five year old Grandby the floor/base looked fine.
It was mounted pretty much full time and on a rubber mat.

Also, from what I can tell on my new Hawk, the base isn't a flat sheet of plywood against the mat but has wood struts allowing ventilation?

 

[mangymarmot]

How far are the struts spaced? Do the struts run N-S or E-W ?

 

[hpcbmw]

I've got about 2" of plywood under my camper, to allow clearance on the roof of my 2000 F250, but also to clear fifth wheel runners in the bed of my truck. I've read about potential rot or water damage from wood on wood. If my camper is on for a short while (month or two) I just put wood on wood. If the camper is on for long term, I use four 1x2 wood stringers screwed in lengthwise. This raises the camper about 1" and allows for water drainage and air flow. My camper doesn't seem to move with either mounting option. I have torque lift frame camper mounts.

This works well for me.

 

[rotti]

How far are the struts spaced? Do the struts run N-S or E-W ?

There are four equally spaced 3" wide by 5/8" thick plywood stringers that appear to run the length of the camper in a N-S orientation.

I say "appear to" as I can only see the back 3 or 4" of the underside of the camper.

I have a LineX spray in liner with a DeeZee rubber bed mat on top of that. No squeaks, movement or loose tie downs so far.

 

[billharr]

How far are the struts spaced? Do the struts run N-S or E-W ?

I have mine off now so I took you a picture. 2013 Hawk.

The alum bar and bolt is the hold down for the inside rear corner of my side dinette if you step on the roll over back to get to the top bed.

 

[mangymarmot]

I've noticed a small amount of moisture underneath my camper when I pull the camper off. The truck/camper combo sees a lot of varied environments here in the mountains, i.e., rain,snow... The camper is on the truck fulltime except for maintainence. The truck bed has been LineX'd and I'm also using a bed mat. I may try putting in stringers to improve airflow to see if that fixes the issue.

Thanks for all the pics!

 

[ntsqd]

Likewise, I'm thinking of adding some stringers. A 1/2" taller won't hurt me. What to coat the stringers with prior to install in the question.

 

[iowahiker]

Our camper was "walking" sideways 1/4" to 3/8" despite checking the turnbuckles every 1000 miles, most likely because of the turnbuckle angles (we measured and marked where the camper was when first installed). We did not want to risk trapping water in the bed with a mat since the camper stays on full time. We installed a 1x6" shim between each wheel well and the camper box side to restrict side-to-side movement and our turnbuckles now stay tight. The shims are not attached to anything and are just slid into place after the camper is on the truck leaving about 3/16" of wiggle room. If the camper "walks" again then we will slip in a slightly wider shim (an unplaned 1x6") to remove the 3/16". Each truck bed has a different space at the wheel wheels but 1x6" is a good first fit for the newer F-150 and Granby.