bump stops on camper

[diver57]

just wondering mine were thigh to the front of the box when loaded
now seem all deformed from the ride and they are only a year old.
So when loaded do you keep them back from the front of box a 1/2 in or so.
thanks

[SidecarFlip]

carpeting is not a bad idea. Will save the sides from scuffing.

[deltabravo]

I use some 2x lumber, 2 pieces nailed together, then wrapped in a piece of indoor/outdoor carpet. I've been using that as a spacer since 2010.

[SidecarFlip]

diver57 wrote:
could i use wood blocks todo the same thing since its a fibreglass
camper,,, will it damage the fibreglass

Certainly. Build yourself wood spacers from pressure treated 2x4's. That way you can remove them when the camper is out of the box.

[diver57]

could i use wood blocks todo the same thing since its a fibreglass
camper,,, will it damage the fibreglass

[silversand]

Jefe:

....I saw your post on these guides some time ago. Good idea.

We wouldn't be able to use these, as our camper tub is T shaped; so I install foam blocks fore of wheel-wells instead.

[jefe_4x4]

Dave,
If you have any deformaty it is due to movement between the camper box and the bed of the truck. Up and down? Not likely, unless you're jumping the thing. More than likely side to side. Do you have Camper guides or equivelent? They keep your camper box from moving side to side. This coordinates with a sticky, thin bed mat.



jefe

[silversand]

....I don't use wood between the camper/bulkhead/rubber bumpers. I have large 4x4 inch x 4 foot wide blocks of closed-cell high density foam (from industrial air conditioner packaging)...the "foam" cell material is actually polyethylene (not polystyrene). The blocks go just about right across the front bulkhead and have slots around the 2 camper rubber bumpers. The foam supports the camper all the way across spreading the load on camper tub so that the rubber bumpers will only engage in extreme conditions (like driving down our driveway's nearly vertical slope, or similar extreme truck camper terrain LOL). The stand-off spacing between my rubber bumpers and the truck bulkhead is about 0.5 ~0.7 inches. Our driveway is so steep, that when backing Sabconsulting (Steve)'s rental Class C down our driveway (at the top of the driveway; Steve managed to drive it all the way to the top LOL!), the front wheels of the Class C came off the ground and were only grazing the gravel....I was able to regain load balance (by divine intervention and tap braking), and managed to front-wheel drag the camper to a stop, before continuing down the remaining 340 feet of driveway.

I also have these same foam blocks fore of both wheel-wells to keep camper from pivoting between the wheel wells (I have about ~1 inch between camper tub and wheel-wells at each side).

SidecarFlip wrote:
One thing to keep in mind when shortening the bump stops is, the rear clearance between the bed pillars and the back of the camper (if you have a back wrap.

...excellent point.

[wcjeep]

I set my truck camper with 1" or so clearance between front bumpstop and bed of truck. Bought my camper new. I was told the camper should not actually engage the bumpstop. Ask your camper manufacturer what they recommend. I'm using Fastgun tie-downs.

[SidecarFlip]

One thing to keep in mind when shortening the bump stops is, the rear clearance between the bed pillars and the back of the camper (if you have a back wrap.

[Kayteg1]

My camper originally had big rubber stops, about 2" long.
At the time when I bought the camper the stops have been already loose on 2 cheap screws so I replaced the 2" rubber with 1/2" of ape wood (very hard wood) and having flatbed at the time that worked perfectly bringing the camper to front wall with minimal gap.
Now new F350 has a bed with top bend inwards, so I have to put 2x in front of the bed, or camper will not hit the bed railing. Still with no visibility of stops when I load the camper, I think tapered wood is safer than rubber stop, that proved easy to bend on any mishap.

[SidecarFlip]

If they are deforming, it means your camper is moving up and down in the truck bed. You need to adjust your front tie downs a bit tighter and/or slow down on rough roads a bit...

[ScottG]

I used to put a 2X up there for them to bump in to.