Loading with a flatbed and service body

That's mine in "or this" link. I'll PM my cell number and you can call me if you have questions. Mine is one of a few that built that has frame mounted brackets in lieu of other tie-down systems. I do like mine and don't object to the Fastguns across the front cabinets. The rear brackets were re-engineered over the phone utilizing the original frame mounts which moved the degree of contact forward helping cinch the camper down to the bed. Did you get my build sheet?

Those TC's mounted on utility bodies are awesome. Makes me want to get a TC!
Thanks for sharing. I did not know they were available off the shelf.

work2much wrote:

Looking closely at the pictures on the Douglas site I see what you mean, I was hoping to avoid frame mounted tie downs but that wouldn't be a deal breaker. It was also brought to my attention when I picked up my Host that sprung mount suspension wass required for waranty. Do you have a picture of the modification you made? I wonder if the frame mounts for a 2017 3500 would also fit a 2018/19 5500.

Also how wide is the large compartment against the cab? I was wondering about a sliding tray that could hold a couple mountain bikes in a state of partial disassembly.

I have some photos but am an idiot unable to decipher the mysteries of uploading photos; I will email them to Mike of Mike and Kellie fame; he's smart, so he could figure out how to upload them.

As for the frame mounts, Douglass made their own and welded them to the 5500 frame; they work fine.

I will measure the interior size of the large front cabinet in the morning and send it to you; unlike Mike, I'm not sure if I have my build sheet, but if I do, I will send it to you.

We had this deck custom built by “Alum-Line”
Sent them the drawings with measurements and they built it.
All out of aluminum so it is very light. I did the lighting myself as I am fussy about that.
Look them up …you won’t be disappointed.


No problem sliding the camper on or off, just line up the side of the camper with the body and she goes right in. I don’t like the way they cover the bins with the tie downs. I drilled into the front jacks and built a bar that goes across between the cab and body. This way you don’t have to undo clips to open your bins.

My upper 18x18x48 boxes are mounted inboard of the rub strips and stake pockets which are 96" to the outside edges.



My Fastguns would not latch without an offset. At first I tried offsetting the camper mounts but found they bending inboard with each trip we took due to slight leverage.



I moved the offset to the lower bed anchor and flipped the Fastguns to get the clearance I needed when engaging or disengaging them.



The camper has a piece of black tape centered on the front wall and my black mats have a white tape center line for loading. Once lined up to the truck, It is easier to watch for equal parallel gap between the basement walls and tool boxes than having to look over the boxes with a step stool.

Pm your email and I will forward my build sheet. A lot of items are unit price X quantity. Others like my Super Truss hitch are bigger ticket items.

Also for those with Douglas bodies, approximately what was the cost. I know this will vary with exact features but wondering a ballpark.

mike/kellie wrote:
We have a 9' body on a 60" wheelbase. The camper comes off everytime we get home. Our driveway is slightly crowned and loading can take take a few minutes more. Douglass is good and receptive to "armchair engineering". It's a process lasting months and it helps to keep the 3500 to deliver your Host and 5500 together. You can PM. Me also or FB your Host group and my wife can respond.

Thanks! Are you using std. frame mounted tie downs? Good advice on keeping the 3500 until the process is complete. The process is to bring both the truck and camper and they keep both while fabricating? I am hoping they do all their measuring and shop drawings and I can continue to use the camper with the old truck. How many months did yours take?

yblaw wrote:


There is a potential issue with tie downs. My Host Mammoth is the same width as the Douglass body; Host requires the use of springloaded turnbuckles, which I use. The Host mounting brackets are recessed a few inches from the outside of the truck body; the tie down brackets extend past the side of the truck body; in order to attach the turnbuckles to the tie downs and not hit the truck body, I had to make some extensions to attach to the Host tie down brackets to allow the Fastguns to attach to the frame mounted tie downs. If I had it to do over again, I would ask the folks at Douglass to engineer that set-up differently. Douglass is a great company to work with, so they likely would design something. Douglass' standard tie down method was to bolt some brackets to the top of the truck body, line them up with the camper tie down brackets, and secure the camper with 1/2" bolts. The only problem with that (other than Host's "suspension mounting" requirement), is that if you are on uneven terrain and use your jacks to level your rig, you have to unbolt the Douglass brackets to allow the camper to level separately from the truck. It's difficult to re-align the camper/truck body brackets.

If you need any more information, send me a PM.

Looking closely at the pictures on the Douglas site I see what you mean, I was hoping to avoid frame mounted tie downs but that wouldn't be a deal breaker. It was also brought to my attention when I picked up my Host that sprung mount suspension wass required for waranty. Do you have a picture of the modification you made? I wonder if the frame mounts for a 2017 3500 would also fit a 2018/19 5500.

Also how wide is the large compartment against the cab? I was wondering about a sliding tray that could hold a couple mountain bikes in a state of partial disassembly.

We have a 9' body on a 60" wheelbase. The camper comes off everytime we get home. Our driveway is slightly crowned and loading can take take a few minutes more. Douglass is good and receptive to "armchair engineering". It's a process lasting months and it helps to keep the 3500 to deliver your Host and 5500 together. You can PM. Me also or FB your Host group and my wife can respond.