How does a truck camper fit into a truck bed?

livemusic wrote:
Sorry for the ignorance. How does a truck camper 'work?' Say a TC's length is 6.5' and a truck bed is 5.5'. Obviously, the tailgate cannot be up. Do you remove the tailgate or just lay it down? If you do remove it, why? Will a 6.5' TC fit into a 5.5' bed?

Secondly, how do you 'tie down' a TC? Whatever it takes, does that come with the TC or do you have to buy something?

Is there any electrical wiring that needs to be hooked up to the truck? They don't have brake lights on them, just reflectors, right?

Thanks!

This is a pic of my 8 ft Palomino on a 6ft9in Ford F250
Yes you need tie downs
The tailgate is off
You need the 7 pin plug in for running lights and to charge the batt
and the return ground

while Im sure you will get a miriad of replies, here are mine

1.) tailgate down or off depends on the TC, some need it off, some dont
2.) tie down kits are available, pipes that hook to the frame under the box and cables or turnbuckels come up the side of the body to hook into the over hanging bit of the camper.
3.) nearly all truck campers have lights of some sort, side markers etc etc, they simply plug into the trucks trailer socket.

Tailgates add minimal support for most brands of campers. I believe Alaskan is the only brand that designs to leave the tailgate down. So, we remove our tailgates. They come off fairly easily and protects from rocks/road debris by being off and remove a bit of weight. Some campers cover the truck tail lights. Those have a hookup similar to a fifth wheel and some have proprietary connectors in the bed. To hold campers down, campers have tiedown mounts that attach to frame, bumper, or bed and tiedowns.

If you mention the model you are considering and your truck, we can give more specific information. You could also take a look at some youtube videos or brand videos.