Flatbed....rails? boards? keeping the camper centered...

Lance offers Centering Guides that mount in your bed to keep your camper (aligned).

Oops, waited too long between beginning my response, and actually posting it, lol.

Reality Check - I like that set up, and the basic idea of what I was thinking. I hadn't thought about just studding it and dropping it in though. I was stuck thinking about how I could secure the rails without having open threaded holes collecting crud/corroding or bolt heads sticking up when the camper wasn't on the bed. But just having open holes and dropping the rails in when needed? That makes perfect sense now.

Steel diamond plate. I haven't even attempted to put it on the truck yet, as I still remember the heck of a time I had trying to get it lined up on the trailer. Centering it left to right wasn't so much of an issue as it was getting it on straight. Such as the front of the camper pointing towards 1 or 2 o'clock, instead of straight on at 12 o'clock.

I think part of it was just not having a clear view of the very back of the trailer, but I think a bigger part is not having a clear reference of the sides of the trailer compared to the sides of the camper like you'd have with the wheel wells of a pick up bed, and if it got off, it would only be a degree or two that would be easily straightened out once it came into contact with the front of the bed. I never had much of an issue getting my campers into pickup beds, but then they were also stripped down models going into 1/2 ton trucks. Or in other words, light enough that I could dang near pick up the end myself and slide it over, lol. Not something that I want to attempt with a 12 foot Amerigo.

Kewl, I like the angle iron as it keeps stuff from getting under the camper. had a canopy leg caught under it as I was loading it, canopy on the side storage.

The angle iron blocks stuff from getting under the camper when loading, nice..

Here's a link to another thread, where I fabbed some edge protection and discuss the loading a bit further.

Link to thread about Edge Protection for flatbed loading

We have angle attached to the bed. Use to just be a couple of pieces that had studs welded on, and they dropped into holes drilled in the bed. These are screwed in, as I just don't take them on and off anymore.

The camper slides in between them..it's a snug fit. They're 3" tall, which makes the loading a snap. I can raise/lower the unit if I need to while backing in, to keep it within the angle. Wife usually watches the back to insure that the rear of the bed is low enough, especially on sloped areas. Takes a couple of minutes to load, lower and tie down.

Flatbeds are not all the same. Some are steel , some aluminum , some smooth , some diamond plate .

Mine happens to be diamond plate aluminum . My TC has 3/4" x 1-1/2" wood slates under the floor that run front to back @ 12" oc . I have found that the combination of the diamond plate and wood slates makes it stick like glue , once on it never moves .

Because I have doors that enclose the sides it is very important to have the camper centered . I use to run back and forth measuring as I was lowering it to accomplish this , a real pain . So I decided to finally try something else . Once had it centered perfectly I placed a 6' 2x4 on each side , drill 3 holes in each and through the diamond plate and put 3" carriage bolts in , no nuts . Works like a stop on a woodworking bench . This seems to work the best so far . I am never far off when backing in anyway as I only have an inch or so clearance on each side .

I'm not sure of the particulars of your setup , maybe this will help and maybe it won't . Good luck

I have tool boxes mounted on the long sides of my flatbed. This helps to line the camper up because it's kind of like having bed sides. However, the camper doesn't touch the tool boxes, that is, they don't help keep it from moving. The 3/4" rubber horse stall mat it sits on and the tie downs keep it from moving. It moves very little at all.

What I did was use 4 pieces of 1 1/2" 6" long angle iron, measured where center of flatbed was and came out 1/2 the width the camper , drilled and tapped the angle irons down, placed about 1/3 the length of camper floor. Camper will always be in the center and will nor shift around side to side. When camper is unloaded, remove angle irons and bed is clean of anything to catch on. I used stainless bolts 3/8"X1".

Hmmm... not sure I completely understand it, but I load mine on the truck flat bed. A little tricky at first, I put markers on the sides and try to back into alignment, centered...

With the Tie downs, I have fast jacks, it's always off a little bit each time, but basically centered. I put tape down on the bed at all four corners in a "L" shape for the mat to center and then center the camper on it. Usually within a 1/4 inch or so.. and it stays put. Make sure you have the proper setting for the tie downs, not too loose, not too tight.

Hope that helps..