Changing my setup to clear cab - Thoughts?

[adamis]

My 2001 Bigfoot doesn't clear my 1999 cab roof without being raised in the bed. I need ~2.5 to 3" of lift to make it work. For a couple of years I've gone with a thick rubber mat, then 2" of foam sheeting (1" thick, two stacked together) and then another rubber mat. In previous threads, I've mentioned issues with the camper moving around more than I'd like. Reading of some other people's comments, I am thinking part of the movement might be because I have too much give with the combination of foam and rubber. It isn't that the foam can't hold the wait but that it does with enough compression such that it can bounce around.

I'm now thinking of changing to the following... Truck bed -> rubber mat -> 1/2" plywood -> 1" foam -> 1/2" plywood -> rubber mat. I would glue the sandwiched plywood and foam together to get a single piece.

Alternatively, I could go with 4 sheets of 1/2" plywood glued together and avoid the foam altogether, My concern with this option is the weight is more than I could manage on my own should I need to remove it. Admittedly, the camper stays on the truck all the time so it is more of an unlikely issue. There is weight to be considered also but I'm not certain if having 4 sheets of 1/2" is really going to be that big of deal when I would already have 2 sheets of 1/2" ply.

Any thoughts?

[stevenal]

Kayteg1 wrote:
I see your top mat is shorter than plywood.
This is critical point in camper balancing.

Camper bumpers likely keep the camper back a bit from the front of the bed. I would shift the mat aft.

[Kayteg1]

As I experienced -long camper that extend 4 or so feet behind the bed like to walk on long drives.
So even the 2-3" might not sound much as a distance, comparing to 36-40" from COG to end of the bed that makes big % difference.
That again, comes to COG education, what not everybody got chance to understand before it closed.

[jimh406]

Kayteg1 wrote:
I see your top mat is shorter than plywood.
This is critical point in camper balancing.
I also add small shim at the very end of the bed to level it with the ribs couple inches forward.

Interesting take. I'd like to see some measurements in how much it changed with the shim. My guess unmeasurable since the majority of the weight will be way forward.

[adamis]

Kayteg1 wrote:
I see your top mat is shorter than plywood.
This is critical point in camper balancing.
I also add small shim at the very end of the bed to level it with the ribs couple inches forward.

Good observation, I didn't even think about it. I had to set the camper down to compress everything while the glue dried. I'll be raising it up again before I take it out and I'll address the rubber mat. I did add some mat to the side skirts already but didn't notice that I was short in length by a few inches.

[Kayteg1]

I see your top mat is shorter than plywood.
This is critical point in camper balancing.
I also add small shim at the very end of the bed to level it with the ribs couple inches forward.

[Hemi_Joel]

I hope it works well for you. Another consideration would be get a different truck that had a shorter cab.

[adamis]

Well, mission complete... At least for now. My camper is stored at a storage facility 15 miles from the house and I can't take the camper off the truck at my house to do work because the street is too sloped. I therefore had to do the work at the storage yard which meant limited tools. Thanks to all of you who offered suggestions but in the end, I went with my original idea because it was the easiest logistically. Here is what I did...

1: Truck Bed Mat
2: 1/2" pressure treated plywood
3: 2" of Pink High Density Foam-board (2 1" sheets stacked together)
4: 1/2" pressure treated plywood
5: Truck Bed Mat



I glued everything together with liquid nails. I haven't gotten to drive around with the setup just yet but I will be taking a trip down to Pismo Beach in a couple of weeks and that will be a good first test.

For those wondering, prior to this I just had 3" of pink foam with no plywood and over time the foam compressed around the edges of the camper. Not much, but enough that I decided it was worth redoing it all with the plywood to give a firmer point for the camper sidewalls to rest on.

[Marcela]

On my '99 I spaced 2 x 2's 16" apart across the width with a sheet of plywood screwed on top then rubber mat on that. Worked for a couple lance's.

[SidecarFlip]

sgip2000 wrote:
Back in the old days, pallets were used.

Been there did that years ago, back when pallets were actually made from hardwood lumber, not the balsa wood they are made from today....lol

[Farmboy666]

2x6 will give you more surface area, overlap the corners, screw and glue everything and nothing is going to move

[northshore]

I used 3 ea 2x6 laying down with foam insulation between the 2x6 to keep every thing from moving around. 1 1/2 inch of 2x6 plus the rubber mat seems to give me enough height.
I always try to keep things as light as possible and the sheets of plywood would be lots of weight especially if they were soaked with rain water.
Im thinking maybe going with 3 ea 2x4 instead of the 2x6 to see how that works, it would be some lighter and might be just little easier to handle.
plywood would not be my first choice, especially with foam sandwiched between the sheets.

[Farmboy666]

Not sure why you need foam insulation, just a water trap. 2x6's PT under bearing points and be done.

[jaycocreek]

sgip2000 wrote:
Back in the old days, pallets were used.

To simple..(laughing)..Heck,I used scrap 2X4's to clear my fifth wheel rails and the camper never moved an inch.

Torklift will make an adapter for bed height for a fee..

[Kayteg1]

I have 3" shimming under my Lance and after giving front spring ties extra tension that thing stays solid.
What I have is factory bed mat, then I build 3/4" plywood with 2x 6" planks on the side, 2x4 front and rear - all screw together and then I have 1/4" rubber to put on top of the plywood.
You don't need cross members under camper floor.
When I had 1/4" spring tension on tiea, the camper liked to walk back.
I mean it moved 1/2" after 2000 miles, but now I put about 1/2 spring tension. Part of the problem might be that Lance front brackets are not giving much angle to tie-downs.