Tailgate or no tailgat?

nuckfan,

You'll want to take the tail gate off. I'd be curious to know what your truck/camper weighs if you ever get a chance to visit a truck scale.

I am also using a 2010 F150 with a 7 foot camper that goes right to the end of the bumper. In addition to the tailgate, I remove the jacks to save weight.

Good Luck and have fun.

I "chose" to leave the tailgate on my Dodge with the AF camper, considering the maiden voyage was from WA to AK for a year and I didn't have a convienent way to haul the tailgate. Was a little concerned since even with the bed mat, the tailgate sat a little higher than the bed, so the camper was definately bearing on the tailgate.
After 5000mi or so hauling the camper with the tailgate on, including a lot of dirt/off/rough roads, only evidence of the camper on the tailgate is a couple dents on the inside where the camper "settled" in.
Road rash rock chips is not an issue at all. Doesn't happen. I've put 10s of thousands of miles hauling stuff with the tailgate down with no road debris damage. A lot of it in the winter with sanded roads and plenty of gravel roads.
I've set 4000lb pallets of grout on tailgates.
I'm not saying any of this is within the rated capacity of a tailgate but I'm confident that the little camper on your 1/2 ton won't hurt it.

Remove it.

Hi I took my tailgate off. My overhang is only 6". The floor construction on my camper showed me this would not be a problem. It would also crush my tailgate. Maybe you can beef up the back end if needed. Bill

I kept the tailgate on with my Isuzu and the 2 campers I carried on it. It gave me a place to store my grey water tank.
Tailgate is off with the new setup.
Go with what works for you.

ask yourself:if I back into something,whats cheaper to repair,my camper or the tailgate.i left mine on my old ford. it stuck out about 2 inches and was just enough to let me know I bumped something.i don't park by braille so I never actually hit anything,but you never know.it also makes a handy spot for stuff out of the rain when parked in the campsite.

nuckfan wrote:

WNYBob wrote:
I have a 2004 Travel-lite 800 on a long bed. The COG is less than 18" in front of the axle! Your short bed and a over hang on 18" will make it unstable. At best run with a full fresh and empty black. You also are heavy for a 150 so don't add much weight to balance.
Good luck.

The camper center of gravity is in front of my axle and my truck handles it very well thank you. Over here in BC we have mountains with windy roads and steep grades. I just took her for her maiden voyage on about a 300 mile journey through hilly windy terrain and no sway or sag. Maybe the Timbrens are doing their job. Oh and it could even slow down and stop! All I want to know is if the "camper" can handle an 18" over hang Thanks for the tip cheers;)

If the camper is an "SB" or "SBX" model, then it is built to withstand the overhang as noted on their website and you have your answer. You'll note the SB model has a greater dry weight likely attributable to the additional bracing required to support the overhang.

WNYBob wrote:
I have a 2004 Travel-lite 800 on a long bed. The COG is less than 18" in front of the axle! Your short bed and a over hang on 18" will make it unstable. At best run with a full fresh and empty black. You also are heavy for a 150 so don't add much weight to balance.

Good luck.

The camper center of gravity is in front of my axle and my truck handles it very well thank you. Over here in BC we have mountains with windy roads and steep grades. I just took her for her maiden voyage on about a 300 mile journey through hilly windy terrain and no sway or sag. Maybe the Timbrens are doing their job. Oh and it could even slow down and stop! All I want to know is if the "camper" can handle an 18" over hang Thanks for the tip cheers;)

I have a 2004 Travel-lite 800 on a long bed. The COG is less than 18" in front of the axle! Your short bed and a over hang on 18" will make it unstable. At best run with a full fresh and empty black. You also are heavy for a 150 so don't add much weight to balance.

Good luck.

Camper_Jeff_&_Kelli wrote:
Put it in the garage. Save the weight. Tail gates aren't really designed to support a lot of weight compared to the bed itself. The TC should be designed to support itself beyond the end of the bed as it's most common to not have the gate in. If you have a TC that fits inside the bed area and you can close the tailgate, I'd leave it on and close it in transit then use it as a deck when parked/camped.

X2

The Camper will move while driving down the road. The tailgate is not designed for this.