Camper tie down points

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Bill, dewdo is correct. Those inflatable air cushions that fit between the cab and the camper will wear thae paint off your Ram.

 

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Thanks guys,

I agree the inflatable boot is a waste of money. The one that I had back when we had our first Lance was a pain. The thing would get hard as a rock and push on the cab of the truck and the camper if I went up to Colorado and when I came back down it become so loose it would just about fall out. I finally chunked it.

wcharlie had the answer I was looking for since Lance says their's is different. Yes, we'll probably use it to let the little wiener dog go get a drink of water.

Bill

 

[Archive]

Landshark, I picked up my mat at K-mart for $25. looks and grips like real rubber, mat weighs 60lbs. A must for any slide-on regardless of the mounting system used.


Ron

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98 3500 QC 4X4 Int Blue, 6BTA5. 9, Auto 3. 54 LSD, PIAA Pro90's, RS9000's, Tonneau, Running Boards, 5K Air Bags, Hadley Air Horns, EGT/Boost/transmission Temp Gauges, Cobra / K40, Valley class V, Bugflector II, Bedliner, Tow Hooks, Cup Smoothie, Meg's turn-down tip, SS Fender Flares... .....

99 Lance 1110 Slide-On Truck Camper

 

[Archive]

FF1063, what was the Mat's original purpose for you bought at K-Mart?? I live in Florida, and I don't recall any 60lb rubber mats at any stores. Does your K-Mart sell camper supplies?? Also, Dewdo I just sent you an e-mail, got some questions for you.

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2001. 5 3500 QC CUMMINS 4X4. Bright Silver all but leather & pwr seat. Firestone Air Springs w/ Cab controls, Tork Lift Super Hitch & Frame mounted tie downs.

 

[Archive]

In reading through my Bigfoot slide-in camper owner's manual I came across a very interesting paragraph on proper mounting of the camper to the truck (now remember that a Bigfoot camper is very stiff and heavy but I would think that this could apply to all large camper's as well). The owner's manual states that there are only two acceptable methods for mounting:

1. (Preferred) Mount the front tie-down to the frame and the rear tie-down to the rear hitch (frame).

2. (Alternate) Mount the front tie-down to the pickup box and the rear tie-down to the pickup box (I have never heard of a rear box mount).

The manual then caution's that the two methods MUST NEVER be mixed: DO NOT EVER MOUNT THE FRONT TO THE BOX AND THE REAR TO THE BUMPER OTHERWISE SERIOUS DAMAGE CAN RESULT TO THE TRUCK OR THE CAMPER. (Maybe the Canadians are on to something)

After thinking about this, it seems to make sence. The bed of the camper is designed to move independently from the frame. If you are tying the camper to both, stresses are applied at the camper shell and to the box rails every time the box flexes (i. e. uneven road surfaces, etc. ). I think that there have been numerous reports of both cracks found in campers and broken welds found on the boxes. The spring-mounted turnbuckles are designed to absorb camper hop rather than box movement. One might conclude, that the wood-framed campers are more flexible and are less likely to cause this damage. All I can say is that my Tork-Lifts arrived yesterday, and nothing is ever going to dislodge these things!


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David Dressler
2001 Driftwood 3500 Quad Cab 4x4, 155 inch WB, 5. 9L HO Cummins Diesel (ETH), 6-Speed HD Manual (DEE), SLT+, 3. 54 Anti-Spin Axle, Camper Special Group, Trailer Tow Group, Leather, Sliding Rear Window, Jacob's E-Brake, Rhino Liner, VDO Vision (pyro, boost, engine oil temp. ), Weather Guard Diamond Plate Saddle Box, AND functional Halo light!
Bigfoot 3000 10. 11 Slide-in Camper.

[This message has been edited by dresslered (edited 08-31-2000). ]

 

[Archive]

Does the BigFoot also recommend struts? These mount to the front underside of the camper and just forward of the truck windshield. The Lance 1130 has a queen size bed over the cab of the truck. The camper extends well over the windshield (we drive in the shade all the time). Without the stuts, the camper can 'sail' as big trucks pass you going the other direction (I've seen the struts move as much as 2 inches). We followed another large truck camper on I25 in Colorado and saw it 'bucking' on the uneven highway, ours didn't do this with the struts.

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Y2K 3500, 4WD, Auto, 3. 54, Custom Brush Guard, Mopar nerf bars & rock guard, Camper package, Towing package, all options except leather, Air-Lift Air Bags, Hadley 'BULLY' air horns, Lance 1130 Camper

 

[Archive]

There are no struts needed with the bigfoot. And yes, I drive entirely in the shade (these things must have been designed for a crew cab). I remember reading about the struts when I was looking at the big Lance's. Apparently, between the aluminum framing and the polyurathane injected fiberglass walls, the resulting shell becomes very stiff. I was worried that the camper might slam my clearance lights, so I even tried jumping up and down on the queen size bed without any movement except from the suspension.

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David Dressler
2001 Driftwood 3500 Quad Cab 4x4, 155 inch WB, 5. 9L HO Cummins Diesel (ETH), 6-Speed HD Manual (DEE), SLT+, 3. 54 Anti-Spin Axle, Camper Special Group, Trailer Tow Group, Leather, Sliding Rear Window, Jacob's E-Brake, Rhino Liner, VDO Vision (pyro, boost, engine oil temp. ), Weather Guard Diamond Plate Saddle Box, AND functional Halo light!
Bigfoot 3000 10. 11 Slide-in Camper.


[This message has been edited by dresslered (edited 09-01-2000). ]