I don't know what this contraption should be called, so I'm calling it a frammus. It's purpose is to keep the camper from sliding back in the bed. The back-story on this goes way back to when I first bought my Lance 1121. It's a 2001 model, and I bought it in 2003, so I've had it quite a while. I've hauled it on three trucks: a 1995 F350, a 2010 F450, and my current truck which is a 2016 F450.
One of the first things I changed on the camper was where the front tie downs connected. The factory tie down point was an eye bolt about 12" back from the front corner. I noticed after a few trips that even though I was using some spring loaded tie downs, I was seeing some deflection of the camper wing around the eyebolt which I didn't like. I decided to move the front tie down point to the front jack mounts after making a few mods to strengthen the front corners. There was one drawback to moving the tie down points to the front corners though: it put the tie down in a nearly vertical position rather than being canted to the rear. This meant that the tie down was no longer pulling the camper towards the front of the bed.
The F350 was a used truck, and came with some fifth-wheel hitch rails in the bed. I initially took them out, and was using the rubber mat that came with the truck that had been cut around the hitch rails. After noticing that the camper would move to the rear a few inches while we were on a trip, I got the idea of using the hitch rails to help keep the camper in place. So I put them back in using the holes that had been drilled in the bed.
I then fastened some treated deck boards to the bottom of the camper, making some careful measurements so that two of them would land right in front of the hitch rails. I also put a 2x4 along each side of the tub to reduce the clearance between the wheel wells, and a wooden bumper across the front of the bed and the front of the camper. When the camper was loaded on the truck, the front bumper boards were in contact with each other so the camper couldn't move forward, the hitch rails prevented it from moving to the rear, and there was very little clearance between the wheel wells so it couldn't move side to side.
This is what the camper bottom looked like shortly after putting the boards on.
This worked very well, and I missed having the rails in the bed when I bought the 2010 F450. It didn't have the fifth wheel prep package either, and I could never come up with a way to put some rails in the bed without drilling a bunch of holes.
I replaced the 2010 with the 2016 F450 about a year ago, and was happy that it came with the fifth wheel hitch prep (somebody else ordered the truck and then backed out of the deal). I knew I could use those hitch mount holes to fabricate a "hitch rail simulator" that would keep the camper from sliding back in the bed. I finally got around to making it a few weeks ago.
I bought two 4' x 3" x 3/16" flat bar from Lowes, and layed out where a couple of tabs would be welded on the underside. I made all my layout markings, picked them up, then decide to lay them back down to take a picture. I didn't pay attention to the RH and LH markings and got them swapped.
This is the finished product, top side.
Bottom side, you can see the four tabs that will insert into the hitch rail holes.
The front board on the bottom of the tub had developed a big split, so I replaced it while I was working under there.
The rubber mat I'm using now has some raised ridges running lengthwise that are about as thick as the flat bar, so I shaved a portion of two of them down with a power planer so the deck boards would sit flat on the rubber mat.
This is what the "frammus" looks like sitting in the bed before loading the camper. It's pretty light, so it can be easily installed and removed as needed. With the camper sitting on top of it, the tabs are held firmly in the hitch holes and cannot move.
Unfortunately, I can't get a picture of it with the camper sitting on top of it, but it fits great. The camper is up against the board in the front of the bed, and the boards on the bottom of the camper are sitting right in front of the two "frammus" boards just like I wanted.
That camper ain't sliding backwards no mo'!
:):)
One of the first things I changed on the camper was where the front tie downs connected. The factory tie down point was an eye bolt about 12" back from the front corner. I noticed after a few trips that even though I was using some spring loaded tie downs, I was seeing some deflection of the camper wing around the eyebolt which I didn't like. I decided to move the front tie down point to the front jack mounts after making a few mods to strengthen the front corners. There was one drawback to moving the tie down points to the front corners though: it put the tie down in a nearly vertical position rather than being canted to the rear. This meant that the tie down was no longer pulling the camper towards the front of the bed.
The F350 was a used truck, and came with some fifth-wheel hitch rails in the bed. I initially took them out, and was using the rubber mat that came with the truck that had been cut around the hitch rails. After noticing that the camper would move to the rear a few inches while we were on a trip, I got the idea of using the hitch rails to help keep the camper in place. So I put them back in using the holes that had been drilled in the bed.
I then fastened some treated deck boards to the bottom of the camper, making some careful measurements so that two of them would land right in front of the hitch rails. I also put a 2x4 along each side of the tub to reduce the clearance between the wheel wells, and a wooden bumper across the front of the bed and the front of the camper. When the camper was loaded on the truck, the front bumper boards were in contact with each other so the camper couldn't move forward, the hitch rails prevented it from moving to the rear, and there was very little clearance between the wheel wells so it couldn't move side to side.
This is what the camper bottom looked like shortly after putting the boards on.
This worked very well, and I missed having the rails in the bed when I bought the 2010 F450. It didn't have the fifth wheel prep package either, and I could never come up with a way to put some rails in the bed without drilling a bunch of holes.
I replaced the 2010 with the 2016 F450 about a year ago, and was happy that it came with the fifth wheel hitch prep (somebody else ordered the truck and then backed out of the deal). I knew I could use those hitch mount holes to fabricate a "hitch rail simulator" that would keep the camper from sliding back in the bed. I finally got around to making it a few weeks ago.
I bought two 4' x 3" x 3/16" flat bar from Lowes, and layed out where a couple of tabs would be welded on the underside. I made all my layout markings, picked them up, then decide to lay them back down to take a picture. I didn't pay attention to the RH and LH markings and got them swapped.
This is the finished product, top side.
Bottom side, you can see the four tabs that will insert into the hitch rail holes.
The front board on the bottom of the tub had developed a big split, so I replaced it while I was working under there.
The rubber mat I'm using now has some raised ridges running lengthwise that are about as thick as the flat bar, so I shaved a portion of two of them down with a power planer so the deck boards would sit flat on the rubber mat.
This is what the "frammus" looks like sitting in the bed before loading the camper. It's pretty light, so it can be easily installed and removed as needed. With the camper sitting on top of it, the tabs are held firmly in the hitch holes and cannot move.
Unfortunately, I can't get a picture of it with the camper sitting on top of it, but it fits great. The camper is up against the board in the front of the bed, and the boards on the bottom of the camper are sitting right in front of the two "frammus" boards just like I wanted.
That camper ain't sliding backwards no mo'!
:):)
