Is this utility bed suitable for a TC?

[jefe_4x4]

Had our plumber over today and he drove up in a 2K Ford F350, SRW, jobber cab, utility bed truck. When he was done he was commenting on our Lance when I spied the very slick looking utility bed. Almost stealthy 8<) He bought it from his Plumber boss who bought it new as a C&C and had this utility body installed:











I'd never seen one of these, but it looks close enough to help solve the storage problem for TC users. Whadayathink?
jefe

[bka0721]

Grit dog wrote:
It won't work with most of the newer basement model campers as they are wider than 48" just above the wheel wells.
And if you used a typical torklift tiedowns setup you'd be blocking 4 of the access doors with the tie downs.
Plus it's definately heavier than a std truck bed, then add all the extra stuff you'd pack away in the tool boxes and you'd have some serious weight before you even added the camper.
Would work well with a lightweight or pop up camper that fit width wise if you got creative with the tie downs.

Geez, now someone said something before I made a big mistake.

If I had this information beforehand I wouldn’t have even tried! I wouldn’t have ordered my Lance 1191 basement model Truck Camper and Knapheide Service body right out of the catalogs and made my own tie downs to eliminate interference with the access to the side boxes of the service body.

Early information from others is always good to have, so as not to waste money and time. Or maybe weigh the information you receive and decide for yourself what works best for you.

b

[Grit_dog]

It won't work with most of the newer basement model campers as they are wider than 48" just above the wheel wells.
And if you used a typical torklift tiedowns setup you'd be blocking 4 of the access doors with the tie downs.
Plus it's definately heavier than a std truck bed, then add all the extra stuff you'd pack away in the tool boxes and you'd have some serious weight before you even added the camper.
Would work well with a lightweight or pop up camper that fit width wise if you got creative with the tie downs.

[jefe_4x4]

I believe the ute bed was a low output local product to the L.A. area. The thing that struck me was, if you have a single cab, where do you carry your tools and 'stuff'? Yes, all those drawers and cabinets with nice weather seals and no rattles. Some of the weight would be absorbed by only having a single cab where you cannot carry many weighty things. So, I think it might almost be a weight wash. Almost.
It was a sweet truck too. I'm not a Ford man, but could be swayed with the 7.3/ZF-6/Sterling HD/F-350 SRW. All those parts are bullet proof. My only reservation is the leaf sprung front end which limits the turning circle to a football field.
jefe

[AnEv942]

Ive seen a couple of those with campers. First one I saw at Meteor Crater, oddly he was from this area of CA. First utility bed I had ever seen with the "skin" and was pretty taken with it. Nice though added weight of the utility box might issue for use with camper, at least for me. Then again I couldnt get past cost. But it would be nice.

[ajcal225]

There was one of these beds for sale when I had bed damage two months ago.

If my camper was the same width front to back, it would have worked - but I'm wider behind the wheel wells (5' floor width instead of 4') so it was a no-go.

I seriously considered buying the bed anyways and looking for a new camper. 🙂

[K_Mac]

The Mad Norsky wrote:
I do believe that if folks disregard the pickup itself, and just focus on the utility truck bed, then we would be more in line with the question being asked here.

And my vote says yes, this would work fine for a truck camper. Mind you, given it is correct dimension wise for width and height.

And unhooking the tie downs for access to one of those side doors is really a non-issue. I've got the Torklift Fastguns, and gosh, just a few seconds of work and they're free. So not a big deal at all.

X 2 I like it.

[The_Mad_Norsky]

I do believe that if folks disregard the pickup itself, and just focus on the utility truck bed, then we would be more in line with the question being asked here.

And my vote says yes, this would work fine for a truck camper. Mind you, given it is correct dimension wise for width and height.

And unhooking the tie downs for access to one of those side doors is really a non-issue. I've got the Torklift Fastguns, and gosh, just a few seconds of work and they're free. So not a big deal at all.

[newman_fulltime]

Yes it will work I know a guy has, one on a duelly he had special brackets made to offset the tiedowns

[HMS_Beagle]

The only trouble is you can't get those beds anymore. Something about the molds burning up and they didn't replace them.

[Yeti_plus]

I like that!
When I was putting the Torklift tiedowns on the Chevy I was under the side ,and looked back. There is a LOT of wasted space between the outer body side and the side of the box, especially with the dually flare hips. Something like this would make a lot of sense for a truck camper.
Would end up similar to BKA's rig.
Problem as I see it would then be "We have all this extra room so we can take >>>>> and <<<<<<. ( Insert the things you have wisely left home in the past) My 3500 would be overloaded in no time!
Brian

[jefe_4x4]

The plumber said it was at least 48" inside across between the utilities. I did not measure the wall height. I was struck by the factory look of the curves and general shape. Some of the smaller doors were of fiberglass with the larger doors the same gauge or thicker metal as a regular bed. The tailgate, tail lights and wheel openings look stock. Ditch the lumber rack and slide an 8.5 foot camper right in there. It is an F-350 without upper secondaries but an extra leaf in the pack. Odd.
jefe

[trailgranny50]

One other thought, how would your tiedowns work with the doors on the bed? Sure hate to have to unhook tiedowns every time you wanted in a door that was blocked Unless those spaces just held limited use items. Might not be an issue but then again. ......

[Bedlam]

Gripnriprod wrote:
The first question would be how wide is it between the bed rails? And how tall are the bed rails? If the camper will fit, how much weight can the truck carry considering the weight of the utility bed?

X2

My TC has the sub wings that would likely make it too wide. I researched flat beds for my F250 but came to the conclusion I did not have enough cargo capacity to carry more even if I had the room.

[JumboJet]

Looks like standard bed rail height. Probably work real well. Add some StableLoads, etc.