So we've had our AF 811 for almost a year now. Haven't had any problems traveling with it in our 2011 F350 SRW SB. But I'm getting the itch to buy a F350 DRW. Can't explain why. Problem is, I've got the AF811 which is made for short box (6'8") bed instead of the 8' bed. I know everyone's going to say "the COG will be behind the rear axle and it'll point your headlights into the trees", but will it really? I'll have to make some measurements, but it looks like the distance from the rear bumper of both a SB and LB truck to the rear axle is the same. The extra length of the bed appears to be between the rear of the cab and the rear axle. Has anyone hauled around a SB camper in a LB truck? I figured I'd have about 1'4" gap between camper and the front of the truck bed? Look too strange? It's either that, or trade in the SB AF811 for a LB version.

I have a standard bed camper (approx 6.5 foot) on a long base truck with a combination fuel tank/tool box in front of it. The camper is 21 inches away from the font of the truck bed. My COG (center of gravity) for the camper is about 3 inch behind the centerline of the rear axle. I had this same setup on my old truck without any weird effects.My fuel tank/tool box weights between 200 pounds and 700 pounds depending on fuel level. That 200 to 700 pounds in combination with the camper has an effective COG that is still ahead of the rear axle. This combination has been all over western Canada, Alaska, and western and midwest USA.LeRoy

Yup I did it for about six months until I found a new camper.. worked fine for us.. there was 13" of space up front.. fire wood. Honda 2000 and beach chairs and body boards all fit well.. enjoy.We needed the new camper for more sleeping room for our kids..Or else we would still be rocking the gap.

Yes, a lot of people do it. It's a good place to put a fuel tank down in the bed and then build a box over it to put, chairs, generator, wood, fishing equipment, etc.Bill

Hey thanks for the replies. Good to hear that it can work and doesn't look too goofy. I like the fuel tank option to utilize the space.

:hI do realize this may be treasonous to suggest this to a Ford owner, but, what the heck. Live dangerously I say. :BRam does make a short box dually. Comes with their Mega cab version Ram 3500. Worth a thought. And, before I get jumped too bad, I've owned ALL three brands dually pickups. I'm not brand loyal, I rather get what works best for me at the time. So, in this case, since the OP already owns a short box camper, well I suggested a short box dually that will work.BTW, if you've never done a close look at the cab room in a Ram Mega cab, well it is impressively big. Fold the rear seats down and one could fit a queen sized air mattress in there.

Anyone put a short bed camper in a long bed truck?

Sheepdog_Captai
Explorer
Jun 02, 2015
My Adventurer is for short boxes but I had a long bed truck so that is what it went in to. I can't move it any closer to the cab because a section of the underside sticks out a bit and hits the wheel humps. Turned out OK though - the COG is ahead of the rear wheels and I really like the storage between the camper and cab. I left the tailgate on as a little porch. For me it works.
Yeti_plus
Explorer
Jun 02, 2015
I upgraded to the Chevy dually in my sig from a 2500 GMC short box.
I have a 14 inch spacer at the front of the box and the camper almost touches the taillights.
Torklift must have this in mind when they design the tiedowns as there are two holes in the inserts, and I need to use the hole that gives me the extra extension for the front Fastguns. There isn't much clearance to the fenders, but I can still get my hand between the Fastgun and the fender.
We use the space for extra storage. If we take the zero gravity recliners, they stand up in the "garage". It is a handy spot for wet stuff that we don't want inside the camper. We use it for different things every time we take the camper out. I can also access the space from the camper to the side of the box that would be dead space if we had a long box camper. Can put cut up dimensional wood in there for firewood.
Brian
Bedlam
Moderator
Jun 01, 2015
T3PAIR wrote:
Bedlam,
That is a sweet setup you've got! Going from a F250 to a 5500 must feel pretty good with the extra GVWR cushion.

The F250 handled the TC and trailer well, but had modifications to do so. The 5500 is completely stock and I cannot feel the difference with the enclosed trailer in tow other than reduced acceleration. Many people talk about the stability of DRW setups - I will continue to argue that the stability comes out of the suspension setup rather than the wide hips. I feel that since the 5500 is 3000 lbs heavier than my F250, the 8000 lb trailer cannot push it around as much.
Bedlam
Moderator
Jun 01, 2015
deltabravo wrote:
The tie down points on the camper may interfere with the dually fenders. That would be my biggest concerns

Torklift made a tie down offset for some Dodge DRW models allowing the rear camper tie down to be shifted farther back to clear the fender. I think you could make something similar for the front camper tie down to shift it farther forward.
T3PAIR
Explorer
Jun 01, 2015
Bedlam,
That is a sweet setup you've got! Going from a F250 to a 5500 must feel pretty good with the extra GVWR cushion.
T3PAIR
Explorer
Jun 01, 2015
bobndot wrote:
SB camper on LB truck with pics and COG info

Great link. Those pictures help me visualize it better. Thanks!
deltabravo
Nomad
Jun 01, 2015
The tie down points on the camper may interfere with the dually fenders. That would be my biggest concerns
bobndot
Explorer II
Jun 01, 2015
SB camper on LB truck with pics and COG info
dave17352
Explorer
Jun 01, 2015
I did the same thing with my truck in my signature. It worked just fine. I had a 50 gallon diesel tank in front of the camper. No problems at all. Yes I believe you are correct about the rear axle being the same distance from the end of the box. The COG is no problem. Now put a 11 foot camper on a short box = Problem.
Bedlam
Moderator
Jun 01, 2015
Works great! I originally went with the AF811 on my current short bed F250. Last October, I replaced it with a Ram 5500 that has 9' flat bed. I can actually get 7.5' of the short bed model AF811 on the back without interference to the generator exhaust, bumper mount or tank dumps. Eventually, we're going to a triple slide side door TC, but this Arctic Fox does just fine until we can afford our next upgrade.