Foam Board or Rubber Mat For Under Camper?
I have ordered a new Northern Lite camper for delivery next spring. I see on Northern Lite's website they recommend putting a 3/8" soft rubber mat in your truck bed under the camper. The dealer t...
Forum Discussion
As a fellow fiberglass camper owner with a Bigfoot 2500 I sit on the fence with this one. I needed to raise my camper nearly 4" to clear the cab of the truck (98 F350). I went with the 2'x2'x1" pink foam insulating squares at my local builder supply. I glued 4 sets of 3 boards stacked on top of each other to give me 3" of rise and then added a 1/2" truck bed mat between the foam and the bed and then another 1/2" truck bed mat between the camper and the foam. The result is 4" of lift for fairly minimal weight and it has been solid for several thousands miles so far. What I like most about the 2'x2' squares I used is that when I take the camper off of the bed, the mats and squares all fit nicely into the camper without too much hassle.
The only compression observed is from the foam setting into the ridges in the bed of the truck (prior to having the rubber mat under it). The rubber mats were not critical but they did help to prevent the camper from sliding around when going on some dirt roads or steep inclines. As someone previously mentioned, if you get the right foam with the right PSI it will support the weight without issues.
Since Northern Light has given their direction I guess you should stick to it though I wonder if that is their "default" answer to avoid situations where someone gets the wrong foam with low PSI ratings.
The only compression observed is from the foam setting into the ridges in the bed of the truck (prior to having the rubber mat under it). The rubber mats were not critical but they did help to prevent the camper from sliding around when going on some dirt roads or steep inclines. As someone previously mentioned, if you get the right foam with the right PSI it will support the weight without issues.
Since Northern Light has given their direction I guess you should stick to it though I wonder if that is their "default" answer to avoid situations where someone gets the wrong foam with low PSI ratings.
