Foam Board or Rubber Mat For Under Camper?

adamis wrote:
Jim I do appreciate the thoroughness of your response and I accept that you have mileage and experience. FYI, you mentioned a picture of screw compression in the plywood but I don't see the picture in your post just the one picture of your tank.

Covered Wagon I understand precisely what is being described with a fiberglass camper and where the weight is distributed. What I have observed in my own application and the several thousand miles I've driven so far is that I have not had the issues that Jim encountered. It could be that I've not driven far enough or that I'm using a different type of foam (Jim didn't cite what he used) with a higher PSI rating. There could be a multitude of reasons for the difference in outcomes.

Others have had the same success as myself and that strikes to the point of my post which wasn't to cast doubt about Jim's experience but rather that his experience is not the only observation.



Going back to my own application, the reason I resorted to pink foam at all was because I needed to add 4" of height and doing that with plywood would have added over 350 lbs. I might have built some sort of platform with 4x4s to support the edges but resources and tools were unavailable at the time.

That being said, I will take Jim's experience to heart and keep an eye on my setup to see if I eventually encounter the same issues he has observed.

If I needed to elevate that far I would probably do the pink foam and then 3/4 plywood..
Just my opinion.

As for the picture I was just showing how the tanks are suspended... They sit on low density foam, then the thin fiberglas plate. So the bulging weight of the tanks need support.. The foam you are using will be fine for that. Can not use anything else like 2x4's across the bed or such.. Need support like you did. Do not want to stress those STRAPS!!!!!!!!!!!

Someday I need to take some pictures of what has happened to my plywood.. It is cut into sections to traverse around the wheel wells. I actually have a big piece in front of the wheel wells and then another that is shaped to go around the wheel wells and just over the rear of the bed.... After 12+ years it still has no rot but my camper and truck have a CAVE.

We did an Alaska trip 2 years ago... Clear up the Dalton Hwy to Prudhoe Bay... The truck, camper and everything took a beating but after reviewing everything the BF and everything hung together... A wow trip for sure and a challenge for our old 94 f250... Heck after that trip we did a full cross country trip to Fla... All systems go!

Jim