I posted this on another site then realized there was not much activity at that site. I am posting here as well to get the input of members on this site.Your thought please...I have a 2018 F350 crew cab, 8' bed, Line-X, DRW, diesel all of which is not that important except the F350 part. I purchased a 2019 Northern Lite 10-2 a few months ago. It's a wonderful truck and a wonder camper. Truck only drops 2" and hauls the 10-2 likes its not even there.All is great except for...Newer model Ford trucks have a higher cab, thus the need to add about an 1" of material (plywood) and the rubber mat to the bed of the truck so you can have adequate clearance between the cab over and cab of truck. I have done this 2 pieces of 1/2" plywood and the rubber mat and it works fine. However, I just do not like the idea of leaving 2 pieces of plywood in the bed of of the truck with the rubber mat over it. Plywood gets to warping and I guess over time will begin to rot, plus its heavy. So I end up taking plywood and mat in and out of truck every time I load/ unload the camper. This stuff gets heavy and I am wondering if there maybe a better way.The dealer I bought the 10-2 from said he had customers using the construction grade Styrofoam insulation used on exterior basement wall before they back fill the foundation. This Styrofoam comes in 1", 1 1/2" and 2" thicknesses and is very, very lite weight compared to plywood. It is also fairly crush proof. It sounds like a great alternative to the plywood, but Torq Lift does not recommend it and will not honor warranty if used. Northern Lite's stance is at this time we recommend 2-1/2" piece of plywood. At this time I'm doing what is recommended but sure would like to find a suitable lite weight replacement for the plywood that would not warp and rot so I could leave it in the bed of the truck. Any ideas?

While I leave my camper on the truck, I use a 2" 4x8' sheet of the construction styrofoam insulation under my NL. (Lowes, Home depot)Truck is 2017 Ford F250.(EDIT: By the way, there is a very active Facebook NL owners group)- Mark0.

With your truck and camper combo I wouldn't worry about weight. I would probably double up 3/4" horse mat and call it a day.

Hi GaryCongratulations on the new rig! The horse stall mat sounds like the best option. It won’t rot and the weight won’t be an issue with your duallyBob

Agreed, with weight not being a concern, you can do pretty much whatever you want. I haven't personally tried it, but I don't see an issue with, say, 40psi foam. That's orders of magnitude more resistance than your camper has pressure, but agin I have t done it and I could see some nuances to it maybe. Sounds like you load and unload the camper a lot. Do those have a fiberglass bottom, or could you attach your plywood to the bottom of the camper?Regarding warping, yes cheap CDX plywood will warp. 3/4" BB or MDO will not warp and even if you kept it wet for a few years straight, it wouldn't rot.

Thanks for the reply's! I had thought about stall mats but dang, those things are heavy! But I guess in actuality doing away with the 1" of plywood and the 3/8" rubber mat there probably would not be that big of weight increase, if any. Most stall mats I see come in 6'x4' size so in order to double up I will have to buy 3 of them and cut one up to get the extra 2' of length needed. While looking at stall mats I came across something called a "ring mat" I'll have to check them out as well. They maybe even a lighter version of a stall mat.https://www.southernstates.com/catalog/p-13300-red-barn-ring-mat-395-in-x-59-in-x-78-in.aspx

F350 and Northern Lite 10-2 | Good Sam Community

Grit_dog
Navigator
Dec 02, 2018
2 Piece wrote:
bigfootgrey wrote:
You could go with pressure treated or marine plywood and a bed mat. Costs more but less likely to warp or rot

Bob

I had thought of that, but since I will need at least 1" of plywood that means I need 2 sheets of it, and marine grade plywood is even heavier than regular plywood.

Get a sheet of 1-1/8" form ply if that's a concern.
Grit_dog
Navigator
Dec 02, 2018
bigfootgrey wrote:
You could go with pressure treated or marine plywood and a bed mat. Costs more but less likely to warp or rot

Bob

Typical pressure treated plywood warps worse than BB/MDO/HDO due to less plys and for some reason green treated lumber seems to warp more in general than kd lumber.
But it will still work. If you want plywood that won't warp, use the above types of from ply I mentioned. It'll probably outlast you.

So will stall mats. Idk why NL would post that. Unless they're maybe really slippery on the bottom. But there's easy fixes for that too.
burningman
Explorer II
Dec 02, 2018
You could use a sheet of 3/4” marine plywood plus rubber mat.
That’s what I do. And I just leave it in the truck.
2_Piece
Explorer
Dec 02, 2018
bigfootgrey wrote:
You could go with pressure treated or marine plywood and a bed mat. Costs more but less likely to warp or rot

Bob

I had thought of that, but since I will need at least 1" of plywood that means I need 2 sheets of it, and marine grade plywood is even heavier than regular plywood.
bigfootgrey
Explorer
Dec 02, 2018
You could go with pressure treated or marine plywood and a bed mat. Costs more but less likely to warp or rot

Bob
2_Piece
Explorer
Dec 02, 2018
Siletzspey wrote:
FYI. In the NL Owners Manual is "We recommend the use of a soft rubber bed mat (3/8”) max thickness be installed directly under the bottom of every camper. This helps prevent the camper from sliding in the box. Thicker horse stall type mats do not work as well and will cause the camper to move." I have also seen at least one other camper manufacturer recommend against horse stall mats.

--SiletzSpey

Dang it! I was just getting ready to go to Tractor supply and get 2 stall mats! I had dreams of leaving the mats in the truck and how easy it would make loading and unloading once I got back from trips!
2_Piece
Explorer
Dec 02, 2018
covered wagon wrote:
Buzzcut1 wrote:
The stall mats do come in 4x8 sheets. I have it in my bed. check with your local feed store. If they don't have it they can order that size for you.

Them things are heavy for sure... must be strong to handle them.

It would be nice if horse matts came made to fit like HuskyLiner floor matts, but for the bed of each truck to give full support for a fiberglass camper as well and in 3 or 4 pieces that interlock for ease of handling.

Maybe an idea for TorkLift.

Im a bit confused.. I have read several post talking about mats fitting the intire bed of truck in oder to give full support for fiberglass campers. My Northern Lite fits between wheel wells, there is no part of my camper that fits either behind or in front of the wheel wells. The area in front and behind wheel wheels is empty. So in actuality my camper is fully supported by a 4' x 8' mat or plywood.
Siletzspey
Explorer
Dec 02, 2018
FYI. In the NL Owners Manual is "We recommend the use of a soft rubber bed mat (3/8”) max thickness be installed directly under the bottom of every camper. This helps prevent the camper from sliding in the box. Thicker horse stall type mats do not work as well and will cause the camper to move." I have also seen at least one other camper manufacturer recommend against horse stall mats.

--SiletzSpey
covered_wagon
Explorer
Dec 01, 2018
Buzzcut1 wrote:
The stall mats do come in 4x8 sheets. I have it in my bed. check with your local feed store. If they don't have it they can order that size for you.

Them things are heavy for sure... must be strong to handle them.

It would be nice if horse matts came made to fit like HuskyLiner floor matts, but for the bed of each truck to give full support for a fiberglass camper as well and in 3 or 4 pieces that interlock for ease of handling.

Maybe an idea for TorkLift.
Z-Peller
Explorer
Dec 01, 2018
I have used 4x8x3/4 plywood for years. Rubber bedmat under and another rubber bedmat over top. Plywood stays dry between mats when camper loaded. No wet & rotting issues. Have thought about staining plywood to seal but never got around to it. When I started getting too old & feeble to lift 4x8 sheet, I split the sheet up the middle into two 2x8 sheets. I take the plywood out when camper unloaded and use it on blocks for support to set camper on. I used to take the upper rubber mat out too, which was awkward & heavy to handle, but now find I can just roll it forward in box and shove plywood under it then roll out flat again. I leave rubber mats in box when camper off.

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