slide in camper questions

[TowPro]

I found an older slide in camper I may try to buy. Even though I have a 32' 5th wheel, its tough to hall it 4 hours just to ride my dirtbike and spend the night by myself.



This is a small camper, its not longer then the truck bed, but I think it has a bunk over the cab. It is not fiberglass.



What supports the weight of the camper when its installed, the floor of the bed of the truck or the side rails?



Because I have a bed liner and rails for my 5th wheel hitch, I may have to build some kind of frame to raise the camper a couple inches. but first I need to understand where the weight rides, to bring it home can I throw a couple 2X4's in the bed to keep the camper higher then the 5th wheel rails?



can I even have a bed liner with a slide in camper? (it's an under the rail type liner)



If the current owners don't have any of the truck mounts, what am I looking at spending to build/buy the thing to hold the camper into the bed? not looking at going off road with it (its a 2wd truck)



Can I use a strap made to hold a boat on a trailer just to get it home? (about 5 miles).



When the camper is up sitting on those poles (out of the truck) is it safe to go inside of it?



I know what to look for as far as problems when buying used RV's, but is there problems that only slide in campers have that I should look for? (like side mounts rotting out, etc)



I been camping all my life, but never owned a slide in camper!

 

[wyosteve]

Will try and answer as many of your questions as I can. When the camper is in the truck it is the truck bed that supports it. The camper should sit around 2 in. off the bed rails. Yes, you could use a boat tie down or ratchet strap or probably not use anything to haul it home if it's just 5 mi. I've driven that far with mine unsecured. The thing will weigh around 1500 lbs. plus, so as long as there are no really steep hills or strong wind you should be ok. When the camper is off the truck, it's always best to have some type of support under the camper itself. You can probably crawl inside of it just supported by the jacks, but it will put a lot of stress on the connection points. I use the Happijac system of tiedowns. I know many don't like them, but I've never had a problem. I got mine off E-bay for $9. 95 plus shipping-- less than $20 for the whole deal. Hope this helps.

 

[BV]

Here is more

Like wyosteve said but my experience with the plastic drop in bed liners are not good. They cause the slide in to slide around and if you don't have it secured I bet you could slide it out the back on a hill and a little to much go pedal.



I also have used the happi-jac system without problems.

 

[TowPro]

Re: Here is more

Do these things have a title like a tow behind camper? Is there some kind of proof of ownership I should ask these people for before I buy it?

 

[LandShark]

Use a rubber mat over the bed liner. This will help keep it from sliding. Better yet, remove the liner and use a rubber mat.



When the camper if off the truck you will need to support it better than just the 4 jacks. I use the 4 jacks plus two saw horses under the floor, a support at each rear corner and a 4x4 pole support under the cab over section (my camper weights over 3000 pounds). I once lived in my camper for 6 months like this and felt it was well supported. I also used 4 ground anchors just in case of very high winds.



As far as what to look for. Most all older campers with metal siding and a wood frame will have some rot. This is what eventually does in most campers. They just sag more and more at the tie down points. It's best if they are kept under cover. Most are constructed of 1x2 wood stapled and glued together! Check to see how square everything is. This will give some idea as to how much movement there is.



Don't use just 'a couple of 2x4's' under the camper. The floors are ofter very lightly constructed and need almost full support. I would use at least 6 2x4's or 2x6's.



What brand and how old is this camper?

 

[Tardog]

TowPro



So far as I am aware you do not need any license for your camper. Only things that cause wear and tear to the road (ie. axles & wheels) need license. I would ask the owners for a bill of sale as this would be your proof of ownership. Depending on your house or vehicle insurance part (% of) of this camper may be covered if it is damaged or stolen. Check for water stains on the inside roof, You don't want a leaky camper as this could be or lean towards structural rot. Nothing worse than bike'n in the rain and crawl'n into a wet bed. Good luck. Campers and Dirt bikes are great combinations.

 

[LandShark]

License requirements vary from state to state. In FL and TX just move the truck tag to the back of the camper. As I recall, in WA you need a separate camper tag.

 

[TowPro]

Its sitting at a house thats for sale, I stopped in tonight and the house is empty, Looks like an older couple used to live there. The camper is a 1978 (forget the name) the inside was clean, no water marks on the roof (all though I did not go inside). It had only heat and water. It was open so I stuck my head in and looked around, the rear door was coming delamanated, the counter top firmica was delamanating.



The problem I see is it has been sitting on its 4 jacks for several (many) years, and they are pulling away from the side of the body, in fact the RR one looked like the whole rear wall was pulling away! Don't think I need to rebuild a slide in camper right now, hell I was only looking for the convenince of not having to tow the 2000 32' Terry just to ride dirt bikes for the weekend! It would be easer to weld the rack for the back of the terry (frame mount) to carry my Husqvarna.



But then on the way home I spotted another one! (I love living in the country) Might stop buy and check it out this weekend.



At any rate the first one I looked at had all the hold down mounts laying inside, and the only place it looked like that camper was going was a dumpster and they don't need the brackets for that.

 

[Tardog]

Good for you noticing these things. Some people don't look after things much, some do. Be patient looking. Your definately looking at the right points. If you get close to purchasing something, get a ladder and check out the roof, It useually can tell you if it's been maintained (or prayed for that it wouldn't leak). leaky units can pose lots of problems. Good luck

 

[Deezul1]

Moving it home unsecured is ok as long as you take it slow and easy. One of the most common places for rot is where the jacks attach so make sure they are solid. Try tightening the jack attaching bolts and see if they tighten up or are stripped which is a sign of rot. Sight down the side and see if there are any bulges or droops this also will tell you all is not well. I have rebuilt 2 or 3 campers that had rot and its not too bad to do. Just buy it cheap. If its really a nice unit and can be had cheap its worth messing with.

 

[Dane]

Tow Pro,



1) Rebuilding old campers ain't worth the effort imo...



2) A rubber bed mat sitting directly on the bed metal works best. Really "locks" it in place. The thicker the mat the better off road. The rubber pad from Dodge is a good one.



3) If you go off road with a cabover, spring loaded jacks are the way to go to because they absorb some of the stress. Earth Roamer found this out the hard way in Baja. Any time you "hard wire" the cabover to the truck and go off road either the camper mounts will fail or the bed mounts will fail eventually. Of course driving real slow through the bad bumps helps...

 

[dewdo]

If you want to use the rubber mat beneath the camper (which everyone should) the best place to buy them is at a farm supply store or horsy type of place. I find the farm supply places the less costly of the suppliers.



The mats are used for placing on the floors of horse stalls and on the floors of horse trailers. They come in various sizes and thickness. The ones I bought were 4' x 6' (had to buy two) and were 3/4" thick. I think my cost was about $32. 00 each.



I too have a fifth wheel hitch rails in the bed, but used a 1/2' sheet of plywood (I have the spray in bedliner) that is secured so it doesn't shif and I placed the mats on top of that. Good luck!





Dewdo in the other Washington.