2015 Lance 1172 Too Shallow for 2015 Chevy 3500HD Bed

[dwightmccann]

When attempting to load my new 2015 Lance 1172 into my new 2015 Chevy 3500HD Dually the camper started to sit on the rails rather than sitting on the bed floor. I would have thought the dealer would have known this was a problem. They made me buy a sheet of plywood that they laid in the truck bed. This seems like a poor solution.

I am not mechanical or handy but seems like there should be a better solution than storing this sheet of plywood somewhere (I don't have an indoor place) and shoving it into the bed when I want to load the camper. Anybody else ever have this problem? Is it common? Are there better solutions than hauling a loose sheet of plywood around.

Appreciate any solutions/guidance/suggestions ... except ones about how the solution if obvious, of course! 🙂

[wintersun]

I have been using a 1" thick piece of the foam board from Home Depot on top of the bed and on top of that I have a truck bed mat. With a 3700 lb. camper the foam has not lost height over that time. It weighs next to nothing so it is easy to remove when not needed and unlike plywood it will not absorb water and and delaminate or rot. It cuts with a box cutter to whatever length you need.

I would not expect a Lance dealer to know about changes to the 2015 trucks. My GM 2011 truck has lots of clearance between the rails and the camper even without the pink foam board.

With truck campers you become the systems integrator unlike with a motorhome. Might as well get used to it.

[dwightmccann]

I guess I should also note that I have the LineX spray in bed liner ... not that that gives any height, but just to be complete.

[tonymull]

What you really need to look at is the clearance between your cab roof and the cabover part of the camper. This I seem to remember should be at least 4" and some to all the way to 7 or 8. This often determines how much you need to raise the camper in the bed, not necessarily the sides. I built some things that look like pallets, kind of, to raise the camper. There is space in there to store long skinny things. Changing trucks in the next few months and I'm thinking of making it an inch or two taller and putting a door of some sort so I can store more things under there. Just keep in mind that the cabover flexes quite a bit and you don't want it whacking the top of your cab when you it a bump. A rubber mat between whatever you use and the truck bed and another between your platform and the camper will make sure everything stays put.

[K_Mac]

I got my mat from Auto Anything for $59.95, a 1/4 of what my dealer wanted. Looks exactly like the one Brad W linked. No trimming on my F 350 LB. K

[Gripnriprod]

.375" (3/8"). I leave the mat and plywood in the bed unless I'm hauling dirt or gravel. I used two 4' x 8' sheets of plywood each cut in the shape of half an "H" to fit around the wheel wells thus assuring contact with the camper bottom to be wider than the camper. I butted the two sheets along the 8' edge and then placed the mat on top using it as a template for cutting the plywood.

[JumboJet]

deltabravo wrote:

JumboJet wrote:
One thing to remember when loading and unloading. The proper method is to raise the front a couple of inches, then the rear, then the front, then the rear.....

Is this in reference to manual jacks?

I have power jacks and just hit the "all raise" button and watch it lift.

I always hit the "all raise" for a short time and then do the suggested front then back etc. always keeping the front a little higher than the rear. I have seen this suggested every since I owned a TC.

One thing I notice on the "all down" there will always be one rear jack that moves faster than the other 3.

[HarmsWay]

What is the thickness of the OEM mats?

Gripnriprod wrote:
You can get an OEM from your Chevy dealer.

[Bedlam]

Rubber horse stall mats can be found at feed and tack stores.

[Gripnriprod]

You can get an OEM from your Chevy dealer.

[BradW]

http://www.eastendcampers.com/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?preadd=action&key=0043PROT

Just make sure you get a HD thick one.

Brad

[dwightmccann]

Again, I thank you all. I am reading every reply. So far, some sort of rubber mat at least a little bigger than the camper bottom seems optimal. I don't think I have even 1/2" clearance on either side to the wheel wells so what ever fits will have to go well to well. Based on what I've read here I don't want to stick with the plywood, which is also a pain to store for me.

Any recommendations as to where to buy a rubber mat?

Are there threads with tips about loading my TC. It has so little clearance that I am a bit nervous about it. It took four people to load it as the dealer, none of whom were me! They suggested a piece of tape on the camper that matched tape on the truck bed. I guess I should search YouTube, too, eh? When I first got my Lance 820 and 2500HD I thought it was awkward but compared with this 1172 I had miles.

[travelnutz]

All of the Big 3 pickups have higher box sides than they did back a few to some years ago. Depending on the camper being loaded determines if you need a riser or not under it. If using a riser under the bottom, make sure it covers the FULL width of the camper bottom that actually sits/contacts the truck's bed floor. Rubber (the more expensive fix) really works very good to keep the camper from moving/sliding around and putting high strain on the tighter side and loose hold downs on the other side.

[deltabravo]

dwightmccann wrote:
How much clearance should I have between the camper and rails?

My 2009 3500HD Chevy and 2010 Arctic Fox, I hhve less than 1" between the truck bed rails and the camper. It's about 3/4" and have never been a problem. I use a thin rubber bed mat.

When I go near a Chevy Dealer again, I will take some measurements just to satisfy my curiosity.
I'm curious how the 2015 compares to my 2006 and 2009 Chevy trucks.

[deltabravo]

JumboJet wrote:
One thing to remember when loading and unloading. The proper method is to raise the front a couple of inches, then the rear, then the front, then the rear.....

Is this in reference to manual jacks?

I have power jacks and just hit the "all raise" button and watch it lift.

[Reddog1]

Something to think about. I think the typical distance between the wheel wells is 50-inches of more. The typical width of a TC at the bottom is 48 to 49 inches. This gives about 2-inches the TC can move between the wheel wells. If you have a 48" deck to sit the TC on, it will not always be supported due to the difference in the TC and wheel well widths. The TCs typically have framing to support the weight of the TC on the outside edges. This framing is at most a 1-1/2" width. If the TC is loaded or moves to one side, you will have very little to none of the framing on the deck.

My suggestion and my decks are always fabricated in such a way they are about 4 to 6 inches wider than the wheel wells, with a notch for the wheel wells. I am not concerned for the lack of support on the edges for the approximate 25 inches of wheel well. I will have the deck up to the front of the truck bed, and back to the tailgate area.

I may stand corrected, but the horse stall rubber mats are only 48" wide. Which in my opinion may or may not provide enough support. If you have centering guides installed, a 48" wide deck may be fine.