A camper you may never see in your lifetime

[bigfootford]

Back in 07 we were traveling and seeing all the sights in the Dakotas and saw this camper.
There was a big family and the grandparents. It was the grandparents rig. It was still in perfect condition inside and out.. Incredible. Note that it was built in 1972!

Here is a link to my album. I did not take pictures of the inside.

Take a look at the spring near the rear axle. When making a turn that axle actually will shift to keep the tires from scuffing.. Pretty clever.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/TXBs2r48wibFYaiF9

Jim

[mellow]

Supercharged111 wrote:
Is there a build thread on this somewhere?

Wow, he has finished putting diamondplate on the rest of the camper. It is usually seen down in FL. Never seen the owner of it post online but plenty of pictures of it.

[JoeChiOhki]

JIMNLIN wrote:

A camper you may never see in your lifetime

Yeah... they weren't real popular even back then.
We had truck campers back in the '60s and '70s. Those type set ups weren't common but we did see them at times.
Tags for truck campers like the picture and same type tags for a 1/2 ton and TT were used back then. Most we saw were used by new folks.

As someone pointed out these type setups could lift the trucks rear axle enough and leave the rear tires with little traction. Making a turn getting up a slight incline into the gazz station left lots of newb campers befuddled as the tires spun and not enough traction to get on up the driveway entrance hump.

Aye, if the initial install isn't done correctly, the rear torsion springs would be taking too much load off the rear axle. I know the Born Frees had adjustments that could be made to vary how much load the rear springs took on.

On the Holiday Rambler Motovan version, they used an air suspension system instead.



Motovan Brochure

[JIMNLIN]

A camper you may never see in your lifetime

Yeah... they weren't real popular even back then.
We had truck campers back in the '60s and '70s. Those type set ups weren't common but we did see them at times.
Tags for truck campers like the picture and same type tags for a 1/2 ton and TT were used back then. Most we saw were used by new folks.

As someone pointed out these type setups could lift the trucks rear axle enough and leave the rear tires with little traction. Making a turn getting up a slight incline into the gazz station left lots of newb campers befuddled as the tires spun and not enough traction to get on up the driveway entrance hump.

[JoeChiOhki]

Those photos were from the big Ogallala rally, weren't they?

[Supercharged111]

noteven wrote:

Is there a build thread on this somewhere?

[Kayteg1]

mkirsch wrote:
It's not like a truck where the axle and frame are designed to support the weight. Camper's liable to go "crunch" somewhere, most likely at the tiedowns.

That's probably why you don't see campers with tag axles like this these days.

I bet there are several designs, but on my Prevost bus, the tag had airbags inflated to 60 psi, what was giving it preset carrying rating.
In case I would cross the ditch and more weight would go on tag, the system had pressure-relieve valve set at 80 psi, preventing the tag to carry more load.
Pretty simple and efficient on bus, but I agree that primitive tag on those TC were trouble waiting to happen.

[mkirsch]

Gotta be careful with those tags. Big trucks with a "dead" tandem like that are infamous for getting stuck the moment the wheels spin, or crossing a little dip. All the weight is on the front axle and the tag, while the drive axle hangs high and dry.

In this case getting stuck is not so much of a concern, as damaging the camper when too much weight goes on the tag axle. It's not like a truck where the axle and frame are designed to support the weight. Camper's liable to go "crunch" somewhere, most likely at the tiedowns.

That's probably why you don't see campers with tag axles like this these days.

[NRALIFR]

Unfortunately, even if they made a Camper Special like those today, you’d have a hard time finding a big, newer TC that can take advantage of it. Most of the big TC’s longer than about 9 ft have a tub that gets wider behind the wheel well area of a “normal” long bed. If you tried to put a longer, new camper on a truck like that, those tub “bump-outs” would run into the wheel wells before the camper reached the front of the bed.

The shorter TC’s with a tub that’s the same width from front to back could fit on an old Camper Special, but those don’t usually have a problem with the COG on a “normal” truck.

:):)

[Kayteg1]

You will see the rear axle placed back on F550, who are build for payload hauling.
All models below are build for easy turning while grocery getting.

[specta]

ajriding wrote:


I love this spare tire location !!! I have never seen this. It is such a great idea. You lose a little bed room, but wow!!! Why it did not catch on, maybe bc nobody knew about it, or maybe the bed/axle spacing is wrong on all trucks...

If you move the rear axle forward, back to its original location like all the pickups you lose the space needed to put it in the side of the bed.




Here's a better profile of those F-350 Super Camper Specials.You can see just how far back Ford moved the real axle.

[bigfootford]

Kayteg1 wrote:
That bed space is unusable for most. Make other side fitting 30-40 gallons of fresh water tank and you have perfect truck for mid-sized TC.
Too bad TC owners are minority and can't make enough demand for manufactures to consider the options.

Great point!

Jim

[Kayteg1]

That bed space is unusable for most. Make other side fitting 30-40 gallons of fresh water tank and you have perfect truck for mid-sized TC.
Too bad TC owners are minority and can't make enough demand for manufactures to consider the options.

[ajriding]

I love this spare tire location !!! I have never seen this. It is such a great idea. You lose a little bed room, but wow!!! Why it did not catch on, maybe bc nobody knew about it, or maybe the bed/axle spacing is wrong on all trucks...

[rhagfo]

specta wrote:

rhagfo wrote:
I recall Ford made an F350 Camper Special with the rear axle way aft on an 8’ bed.

Built from 1973–79, the Super Camper Special.
This one also has a Ford camper.



Because the moved the axle further back they had to relocate the spare tire.

Thanks!