How does a truck camper fit into a truck bed?

[livemusic]

Sorry for the ignorance. How does a truck camper 'work?' Say a TC's length is 6.5' and a truck bed is 5.5'. Obviously, the tailgate cannot be up. Do you remove the tailgate or just lay it down? If you do remove it, why? Will a 6.5' TC fit into a 5.5' bed?

Secondly, how do you 'tie down' a TC? Whatever it takes, does that come with the TC or do you have to buy something?

Is there any electrical wiring that needs to be hooked up to the truck? They don't have brake lights on them, just reflectors, right?

Thanks!

[Dirtpig]

Have a look at this video I made, it will probably answer most of your questions and you can see how it's done! How to load a truck camper onto a pickup truck

[GeoBoy]

In a 6.5' camper you have to make sacrifices. The Four Wheel camper recommends a Raven with an optional porta potti, to fit your truck.

[Ed-N-Dani]

Thanks RT!

Kindest regards
Ed

[Ranger_Tim]

Pop-ups often are designed to exclude a toilet and/or shower to enhance weight savings or off-road ability. Most manufacturers do provide models to accommodate either preference. You will find that Four Wheel, Hallmark and Northstar (some of the premier brands) do offer pop-ups that utilize cassette toilets, built-ins and even showers. It all depends upon your needs and likes. I am particularly enamored with the aforementioned brands, but most others do have similar options.

I wish my brand (Wolf Creek) had a cassette option, as I feel this is the most flexible and versatile toilet available. Dump virtually anywhere and capacity is not a problem. I always fill up with gray water long before the black tank gets full. Being able to trundle a cassette over to a pit toilet to dump would be a big bonus for us.

I enjoy a good shower, indoors or out. The pop-ups are somewhat compromised regarding shower ergonomics for large, tall individuals like me (6'4" and 250 lbs.). I would prefer to use an outdoor hookup in that case. My camper has a fully self contained shower and it is totally soaked after I am done thrashing around in it. I would not want to try that inside a camper with only curtains!

Indoor showers also fill the gray tank faster than anything else, so having an outdoor option would be the way to circumvent that. Many just opt for the drywall bucket shower/sponge bath or use a sun shower bag. These are viable options too -- depends on your comfort level with roughing it. You will pay for the full service indoor bath with dollars, added weight and extra tank capacity requirements. And don't forget the water heater either.

Is it any wonder that popups often have no bath then? Not really. It is nice to have options and to have choices. Different strokes for different folks. Me? I'm spoiled. Give me a camper with an indoor AND an outdoor shower and I have the best of both worlds.

If you are interested in a pop-up that is minimal weight then it will be difficult to find one with a full bath. Consider one that provides a cassette toilet, they are so much nicer than a port-potti. But the shower part is going to be a heavier option. Again, the truck will dictate what is available for your purposes.

[Ed-N-Dani]

Ranger Tim wrote:
As a side note, Four Wheel Campers attach through the interior of the camper to a proprietary hold down bolted to the bed. They are usually installed with purchase for a moderate fee.

These look really neat but apparently no one at 4 wheel uses the bathroom.

Is this common in the popup s or just some of the manufactures skip this step?

Kindest regards
Ed

[1mtnman]

">Tiedown
Here is my setup with Torklift Tiedowns and Happijacks.

[Ranger_Tim]

As a side note, Four Wheel Campers attach through the interior of the camper to a proprietary hold down bolted to the bed. They are usually installed with purchase for a moderate fee.

[Grit_dog]

trail-explorer wrote:
Those little brackets are not going to be heavy duty enough to hold a truck camper in place.

Go here for all your tiedown needs: www.torklift.com

This I do agree with. Besides those brackets posted are the in- bed tiedowns in the corners. Your camper will not attach to those and the bumper mount tie downs are suspect on newer trucks as most bumpers are not stout enough to take a great deal of up lift.

To the op, I'd suggest looking at a couple TCs set up on trucks so you have a visual as it seems tube never seen a truck camper on a truck up close.

[Grit_dog]

livemusic wrote:
I have Nissan Titan crew cab with 2,000 total payload capacity, it has a bed 5'7". Seems a pop up around 1,000 lb could work?

It's not the ideal camper hauler, but with a little help for the rear suspension and some good LT tires you can easily haul a camper up to about 7' long and a ton or less total loaded weight.

[Grit_dog]

trail-explorer wrote:
Remove tailgate so it will not get damaged by flying debris, or from the truck camper. Tailgates are not very good "weight bearing" devioces like trucks from the 70s. Thinner sheetmetal, means lighter which, which translates to "flimsy".

I'd disagree on both counts.
I've hauled my HEAVY AF 860 camper both ways on my 07 Dodge. First trip was 2400 mi up the Alcan hwy from Seattle to Anchorage. Left tailgate on cause I needed it when I got (moved) to AK. Combined with thousands of miles, many gravel roads and no rock chips and I'm pretty sure the tailgate was taking some real weight as the camper dented the inside of it a little.
By the same token I've put a lot of weight on most every model of Fprd and Ram and a couple GMs in the last 15-20 years. Construction loads like half a pallet of grout and the only tailgate that's been damaged was a re pop tailgate and it folded like a beer can when I jumped down onto it with about 50 lbs of tool bags and a sack of cement on my shoulder.

[GeoBoy]

livemusic wrote:
I have Nissan Titan crew cab with 2,000 total payload capacity, it has a bed 5'7". Seems a pop up around 1,000 lb could work?

Look for a Four Wheeler truck camper, they are one of the lightest and very well built.

[livemusic]

I have Nissan Titan crew cab with 2,000 total payload capacity, it has a bed 5'7". Seems a pop up around 1,000 lb could work?

[Steve_in_29]

livemusic wrote:
Sir, at the rear, you have it attached to the bumper? Where is it attached at the front?

Do all TC's use 4 tie downs like that, and attached to the outside of the truck somewhere?

My truck has four of these, one in each corner of the bed...



Can I tie to these somehow?

So, I guess a 6.5' TC would fit in a 5.5' truck bed.

Do you remove the tailgate simply to save weight? Do you have to remove it?

Thanks to all for replies.

What truck do you have?

A 5.5' Nissan is NOT a good candidate to put a TC on.

[time2roll]

Do one-ton trucks come with a 5.5' bed?