Rigid Foam Board

I use 2" pink foam for additional height for new truck....2 trips to Florida many more local trips no problems, no broken edges, no crushing, works great

wing464 wrote:
I am reviewing the comments and I wonder if we are talking about the same material...I used the 3/4 in pink foam board that is used as insulation.. Put it in 3 summers ago and it is holding up fine with my Lance 981 Max... I did attach it to 1/4 inch plywood because I needed a comfort zone over the 5th wheel bed rails...The is very little compression etc with the material I used... Just Sayin

I used the same as you did, but 2-inch. I too have to go over 5th wheel bed rails. I did not use plywood between the foam and TC.

I am reviewing the comments and I wonder if we are talking about the same material...I used the 3/4 in pink foam board that is used as insulation.. Put it in 3 summers ago and it is holding up fine with my Lance 981 Max... I did attach it to 1/4 inch plywood because I needed a comfort zone over the 5th wheel bed rails...The is very little compression etc with the material I used... Just Sayin

covered wagon wrote:
Horse matting is a pain in the you know what! It's heavy enough to cause back surgery. Forget it.

I've used foam board without success too. Now I use three strips of plywood about a foot wide, much lighter, with a very thin rubber stapled to the plywood.

It is, but once in place it shouldn't need to be messed with and they can be cut down into smaller sizes. I bought two 4x6 sheets, put then in sideways and trimmed off the excess and they weren't that bad for me to move into place. The fit so nice and tight that I had to press it in right at the edges using my body weight. Those suckers aren't going to move. My concern was that it was too stiff to have much "give" but my camper weighs 5000+ pounds. Your three feet total of plywood strips probably adequately spread the load, but I feel better about having that behemoth of a camper sitting on a 100% flat surface at the manufacturer would most likely prefer. And I really didn't want air circulating or messy road grime in the winter getting under there.

I'll see how it works out going forward but I am very happy to have removed 4'x8'x3" of solid plywood (well, a little bit rotted and arched plywood)

I think the key for the foam board is using the high strength version of it and covering it with some rubber.

Horse matting is a pain in the you know what! It's heavy enough to cause back surgery. Forget it.

I've used foam board without success too. Now I use three strips of plywood about a foot wide, much lighter, with a very thin rubber stapled to the plywood.

I went with 2 inch rigid foam with 1 inch plywood on top drilled and bolted to the pickup --- reason: rhino liner and for added insulation, bonus: raised cab over height. Happy trails.

I use rubber horse mats - seem to work well for me. I had some lying around that I kept tripping over. I pressure washed the horse urine off them first - didn't really want that smell seeping into the camper.

Steve.

I just finished removing the 4 sheets if 3/4" plywood plus thin rubber mat out of the flatbed and replaced it with a 2" XPS foamular layer plus 3/4" horse stall mat from stockyard ranch supply. I shaved another 1/2" or so, lost weight and gained insulative benefit. Since my box is square and something like 62" wide, I ran them sideways using two sheets cut. The horse stall mats are designed to prevent horses digging and is unbelievably strong and heavy; heavier tha same thickness of plywood. When taking out the old plywood I found the bolts very rusty, a lot of moisture trapped by the plywood and the bed was rusted. The plywood was a little moldy. On the othe hand, keep in mind this plywood has ridden under the camper nearly 100% of the time for 110k miles and from Maryland to Argentina and back. So it worked well but needed updating. I took out the 4x6 x 8' camper guides as well.

After removing all that stuff I wire brushed the stew diamond plate, painted it with rattle cans, put in the XPS the matts, put a mat on the front wall/headache rack, cut some new guides and laid them in the bed. They actually open up wider at the rear to make it easier to get lined up and into place and get narrower at the front. Finally loaded the camper back up just before the snow hit last night. Today I found I could gently tap another shim piece in between the guides (not even bolted down) and the boxes, effectively wedging the guides against the camper. I think it'll be both easier to load AND less able to shift around. Very pleased with it! We are camping in it tonight at 16 degrees outside, toasty warm inside!

I think with the super strong horse matts over the good XPS running sideways exceeding the TC width I think it should hold up well. The plywood added to trapped moisture as the XPS probably will as well but at least the XPS won't soak it up and hold it against the steel. I am really glad to be done with the plywood but it did serve its purpose for 7 years and and about 750 nights of use. :)

I use a rectangular rubber mat from Tractor Supply. $65 i think for a 4x8 piece. I had to cut a foot off of it.

I done a long trip out west with foam board and it was basically half the size when I got back. I think Tractor supply has the thick rubber mats also.