Question on TC service body (no flex anchor points)?

[Wikel]

So I'm looking at potential F450/F550 chassis cab models and that of course is driving into looking at truck service bodies. In reviewing the Douglass truck body site, it looks like these have hard anchor points to the camper vs. the typical thought that you need some "give" between your truck and the anchor points (i.e. tie down springs). If the general thought process is you shouldn't overtighten your tie downs so there's some flex when it's needed, how do these hard anchor points not result in damage to the camper anchor points?

Good example these anchor points below:

[mike_kellie]

That's my truck and camper on the Douglass site (the link you shared). PM me and I'll be happy to discuss. If you're near Sonoma County and want to review my set-up, let me know. Welcome to the forum!

[ek25]

mike/kellie wrote:
I'm goung with traditional frame mounted tie down brackets with my Douglass 9' body. I take mine off quite a bit and like knowing that it doesn't have to be perfectly aligned when mounted and the Fastguns have their inherent spring tension available when needed. I think I'm still 6 weeks out with my build.

I'm going through the process of ordering and designing a new Douglass service body for a TC and you're the only example I could find so far that is also going the traditional tie down route.

I'm wondering if this might be similar to your new Douglass truck body?
http://douglasstruckbodies.com/truck/?id=44557

Any advice you'd like to pass along? Removing the front turnbuckle isn't too onerous to access those front cabinets? Any particular reason you attached the front turnbuckles to the jack instead the TC's anchor point?

I also liked Bryan Appleby's setup:
https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29117589/gotomsg/29445666.cfm#29445666
Did you consider that approach during your design phase?

[Kayteg1]

Your pictures don't show any bolt that you could torque down and pull camper mounts?
Also there is not much of standards in TC. They all are build by different manufactures with no respect to anything. Would you have any standards for mounting on utility body - it would be spelled in manual.
So once again, I would trust utility body maker that when they design mounts, they put some thought into it.
If in doubt - drive with the camper on to local RV repair shop and ask them for the opinion.

[Wikel]

mike/kellie wrote:
I'm goung with traditional frame mounted tie down brackets with my Douglass 9' body. I take mine off quite a bit and like knowing that it doesn't have to be perfectly aligned when mounted and the Fastguns have their inherent spring tension available when needed. I think I'm still 6 weeks out with my build.

So still having the typical tie downs is an option?

The hard mount install is a much cleaner look but as you've pointed out, if you remove it often... re-aligning can be a challenge.

[Wikel]

Kayteg1 wrote:
I guess there are different service bodies as well.
The one I had was welded to the frame in the rear, when front had 2 of U-bolts holding it strongly to the main frame.
I still think camper can flex way more than truck frame ever will, so what was the question?

The original question was related if the standard thought process was:

"tie downs should not be torqued down to not damage the camper mount points"

then how do:

"hard mounting on service bodies not cause eventual damage to the camper mount points"?

[mike_kellie]

I'm goung with traditional frame mounted tie down brackets with my Douglass 9' body. I take mine off quite a bit and like knowing that it doesn't have to be perfectly aligned when mounted and the Fastguns have their inherent spring tension available when needed. I think I'm still 6 weeks out with my build.

[Kayteg1]

I guess there are different service bodies as well.
The one I had was welded to the frame in the rear, when front had 2 of U-bolts holding it strongly to the main frame.
I still think camper can flex way more than truck frame ever will, so what was the question?

[Bedlam]

If the service body floats on the truck frame, you can hard mount your camper to the service body.

[jefe_4x4]

This problem has been throughly dissected over on Expedition Portal by Doug Hackney and others. Go to the Forum /General Expedition Camper Discussion and Modification/pivoting frames and mounting campers sticky at the top for more info than you could ever digest or need.
Since I still drive our XTC off road in some pretty traction free and off camber situations, this problem has always been on my mind. Our Lance has the factory equipped spring loaded tie downs in front and bumper bending non-spring loaded tie downs in the rear. I have the tension dialed in, but the tightness/looseness changes with the terrain and I make a decision about tension as it comes to allow the rear of the Lance to 'float' on one end or another if the frame and bed twist too much. I'm just trying to keep the Lance from twisting along with them.
Here is what I've learned about this. All pickup truck beds are hard bolted to the frame of the truck, usually with 4, 3/8" bolts using the shear of the sides to keep it from flexing too much. My pass side front bolt pulled right through the hanger so I used a bigger, thicker fender washer to keep that from happening again. But this pointed up the problem of stress/twisting and what kind of havoc it can produce. It depends on how much your truck frame actually 'twists' when on undulating terrain as to how much the truck bed will be subjected to twisting. The longer the frame of the truck the more it is subjected to twisting. Ford had historically the most flexy frames in the biz. I think they've seen the error of their ways and stiffened them up. Our short bed Q cab Dodge twists very little, so I only loosen the rear tie downs if it looks like the frame is going to twist, like hitting a steep sided ditch at an angle. I always try make my approach to keep the axles parallel and not twisted up even if it takes some aligning. Again, the last few years, folks have not had much of a flex problem with short bed, short frame trucks.
The 2,3,4, and 5 series trucks made the last 4 or 5 years have a LOT stiffer frames than previously. Do a search on the subject and myriad articles will appear.
If the Douglas work body is stiff enough it in itself will defray the frame twisting a bit. It's hard to know whether Douglas has done their homework on this subject or it is an, "out of sight out of mind situation." But it's good to have some education on the subject, and if you do go the Douglas route, be sure to quiz them on the subject. Douglas has a fine reputation for after market truck bodies and theirs will have a lot better shear factor than a stock truck bed. Our electrician has a Douglas truck body built specifically for a truck camper on his 2001 Ford F-350 SRW truck. It is a work of art, IMHO. Be sure the tailgate opening will accommodate a camper.
If you don't plan on any hard core off-road running in your new 4 or 5 series truck, I don't foresee a real problem here.
Another idea is to have an aluminum 'pivoting frame camper flat bed' with storage boxes made for your proposed new truck.
jefe

[Kayteg1]

What I see are flat bars that will flex when needed.
Campers are build without any engineering and yes they do flex a lot.
Playing with jacks on my camper I can have gap between slide and bathroom wall at 2 inches or ... 0.
What I like to see on my ties is something that holds the camper against front wall. Funny, shopping around for camper - found a listing of nice camper sitting on F450. For some reasons his tie-downs were placed with distance behind the cabin, so fast guns come vertically looking from the side.
Zoomed on the picture and he had nylon strap pulling one of the holds to the front of the bed.
If I would expect anybody to actually analyze those things, it would be bed manufacturers. The custom beds are design for winches, cranes and lot of other attachments and they have to hold.
Campers don't have any safety or reliability requirements at all.