I recently purchases a 2013 Chevy dually pickup & it came with a 5th wheel hitch installed. I pulled all of the pins & removed the upper portion of the hitch & now the only remaining part in the truck bed are the 2 rails that are bolted thru the bed into the frame. I can now haul full sheets of plywood. My question is; do I need to remove the rest of the assembly, before I can put a slide in camper in it? I can put several 2x4's width ways & they will sit just a bit higher than the hitch rails and this will make an even surface for the TC to rest on. If anyone has any experience with a set-up like this, please share your knowledge with me.Thank You, Bruce

You can sit the camper a little higher. Or pull the rails, unless you need them.

Fill the space with plywood or foam board insulation. THis will fully support the bottom of the camper.Using 2x lumber works, but campers are best supported across the entire floor. Why? Because it's anyone's guess where the frame work is in the belly of the camper. Trying to figure that out, and then line up the 2x lumber so it contacts the framing of the camper will be difficult.

I did that same thing. Ran 2x4 slats with a 4x8 sheet of plywood on top of it. Although my bed was well used before I did this, I think it deformed the ribbing somewhat, and the camper slid around on the plywood. I pulled the brackets and install a rubber mat, no more movement.

Thick horse stall mats might also fill the gap well.

Do you have a 5ver?If not, remove the rails......Seems simpler than cobbling up stuff to put the camper on.

Truck bed & slide in question? | Good Sam Community

kayco53
Explorer
Dec 02, 2015
My pu has a fifth wheel hitch in it as well.There are 3 strips of wood on the bottom of camper and they straddle the hitch.I also have the rubber bed mat anyways.Seems to work well have been doing it on the last 3 trucks.
Reddog1
Explorer II
Dec 02, 2015
KD4UPL wrote:
Wood is slick. The camper sill slide around like crazy. ...
My TC has never slid around. If you have this problem, it could be your tiedowns are not properly installed.

Wayne
Yeti_plus
Explorer
Dec 01, 2015
I have a 2014 Silverado and I had to put a sheet of 3/4" plywood as well as the rubber mat to have my camper clear the bedrails.
You will likely need to add at least this much to put the camper in the box, so the 2X4's that others have suggested won't be all that much too high.
Brian
KD4UPL
Explorer
Dec 01, 2015
Wood is slick. The camper sill slide around like crazy. You need a layer or rubber in there somewhere to keep it in place.
Build up the area with whatever you want but it should be fairly continuous to support the entire floor. Then, put a rubber mat on top.
I would just use horse stall mats to begin with.
Reddog1
Explorer II
Dec 01, 2015
I left the rails, and with the TC loaded, no one knows. As you posted, I used 2x4, side to side. I have used foam, made a wood frame with plywood on top, and back to the K.I.S.S. method, simply using 2x4s or 2x6s side to side. It has worked for me since 2004 and over 100,000 miles.

I find the extra height allows more use of the truck bed from the sides, and makes it easier to wash the top of the truck cab.

I have used the rubber horse mats, but they are only about 3/4" thick, which is not enough. I will also say they are pretty heavy, and more difficult to store when not in use.

Wayne
70GTO
Explorer
Dec 01, 2015
Grit dog wrote:
Do you have a 5ver?
If not, remove the rails......
Seems simpler than cobbling up stuff to put the camper on.

That is the plan for down the road, but I was mainly wondering if it was alright to do just incase I would happen to buy a TC & need to take possession of it before I could get the rails out "We are going to look at a couple of used units this weekend".

Thanks for the advice, Bruce
Grit_dog
Navigator
Dec 01, 2015
Do you have a 5ver?
If not, remove the rails......
Seems simpler than cobbling up stuff to put the camper on.
deltabravo
Nomad
Dec 01, 2015
Thick horse stall mats might also fill the gap well.
pcoplin
Explorer II
Dec 01, 2015
I did that same thing. Ran 2x4 slats with a 4x8 sheet of plywood on top of it. Although my bed was well used before I did this, I think it deformed the ribbing somewhat, and the camper slid around on the plywood. I pulled the brackets and install a rubber mat, no more movement.
deltabravo
Nomad
Dec 01, 2015
Fill the space with plywood or foam board insulation. THis will fully support the bottom of the camper.

Using 2x lumber works, but campers are best supported across the entire floor. Why? Because it's anyone's guess where the frame work is in the belly of the camper. Trying to figure that out, and then line up the 2x lumber so it contacts the framing of the camper will be difficult.