So...big day today. Got my happijacks installed (what a pia!!! call me lazy but I hate drilling metal and finding those bolt holes sucked...) and the truck is now wired up to a new plug in the bed. Now that I have that out of the way, I want to raise the camper height a bit, to 2" clearance between the cab and camper. Right now with just a rubber matt it sits with about 1/2" clearance. I have the idea that plywood added to the base is probably the way to go, but I HATE the idea of screwing it into the bottom of my camper. Do I really have to? What about two sheets of 3/4" in the bed of the truck, anchored with sheet metal screws in the corners to keep it in place. Then a rubber 4x8 matt. Then I set the camper on that. I know it seems stupid, or 'the wrong way around the barn', but I really dont want to drill into the base and screw wood to the camper itself. I'd rather screw into the bed of my truck.My truck has lots of bumps and bruises, and the ever present custom 'desert pinstriping' already so I dont mind a few small holes in the bed. Heck, I just drilled the******out if it putting in the happijac stuff. I plan on driving a bit of graded dirt road (I like to hunt/fish a lot) so I thought 2" would be better. Truck is an 01 F350 Ford.Any thoughts? Thanks.I wanna go camping!!!

Pink rigid foam from home depot works perfectly. Many here have done it including myself. It also adds a little insulation to the floor. I siliconed mine to the bottom of my lance. I used 2 inch. Very lite and will solve your problem. I know you think it would squish but it doesn't at all.

Depending on how much room you need, I'd use the plywood. On one camper I used a sheet of 3/4" and on another I used two sheets of 1/2" with some 2 X 4s in the middle for more room. The foam isn't a bad idea, but I can always use the lumber for someting else later. I never secured any of it to the truck bed - how can it go anywhere with all of that weight on top of it? And the camper is secured to the bed, right? - therefore the plywood can't move.Bill

I use a sheet of 3/4" plywood and a factory bed mat. I also have a spray in bedliner so I don't have any movement. Like Trackrig said, with your HappiJacks it shouldn't go anywhere.

I used to have a framework made of 2" by 3" aluminium welded together and covered all over with Linex. There was cross pieces every sixteen inches along the length of it. Weighed only about 12 pounds. The Linex helped with the slipping and I put some wedges in to hold the camper exactly on top.

I have a painted bed...no rubberizing. I figure to use the rubber mat against that, then the plywood. Maybe I'll just fab up some wood camper guides to snug it in place while loading...

Raising camper height...wood/foam/rubber etc...

Quadhauler
Explorer
Dec 18, 2013
So just a sheet of 2" HD foam is all that's needed? Camper won't crush the foam? For my application I have a CNC Routing table that could cut out foam to go over my 5th wheel mounts? If my 5th wheel rails are 1 1/2 inches tall will the 1/2" of foam between the Camper and 5th wheel rails be enough?
TomG2
Explorer
Dec 06, 2013
69 Avion wrote:
TomG2 wrote:
I am curious why people don't use the 2-3 inches gained for a "mini" basement? Couldn't three inch thick boards be placed longitudinally in the bed of the truck and the gap between them be used for thin items, perhaps a table or fishing poles?

Some campers, like mine, have an offset that goes down in the rear. Because of the offset, you wouldn't be able to get to the 2-3" space under the camper. At least you couldn't get to it in a straight line.

Got it, thanks. I have only owned 8' campers and hauled them in a 8' beds. That will change soon as I find a great used camper with a nine foot floor.
69_Avion
Explorer
Dec 06, 2013
TomG2 wrote:
I am curious why people don't use the 2-3 inches gained for a "mini" basement? Couldn't three inch thick boards be placed longitudinally in the bed of the truck and the gap between them be used for thin items, perhaps a table or fishing poles?

Some campers, like mine, have an offset that goes down in the rear. Because of the offset, you wouldn't be able to get to the 2-3" space under the camper. At least you couldn't get to it in a straight line.
TomG2
Explorer
Dec 06, 2013
I am curious why people don't use the 2-3 inches gained for a "mini" basement? Couldn't three inch thick boards be placed longitudinally in the bed of the truck and the gap between them be used for thin items, perhaps a table or fishing poles?
Ericthered
Explorer
Dec 06, 2013
I'm new to truck campers. I have read in several different forums that people have used a high density foam board to raise their truck bed height to accommodate a camper that is less deep. Which is what I would like to do too. I have a 2007 4WC Falcon pop up camper that I am going to put on my 2010 F150 Super Crew. According to the manufacturer, the truck bed will need to be raised 2" in order for the Falcon pop up camper to fit properly.

I would like to use the Owens Corning Foamular 150 (extruded polystyrene insulation) that comes in 4' x 8' x 2" sheets. However, I can not find in locally. It's moisture resistant, 15 psi, and has a an R value of 10. It can be scored, cut and broken easily. Home Depot states on the web site that they carry it, but not in the local stores and you can't special order it. (Argh!) Does anyone know how I can purchase a sheet?

One of the local lumber stores carries R MAX R-Matte Plus-3 4'x 8"x 2" sheets for a similar price. It a psi of 20, R value of 13, with similar water absorption rates, but has a higher flame spread score.

Home Depot does carry the R-Tech Foam Insulation 2" x 4' x 8' which features a poly-facer on each side for durability and flexibility and is Energy Star compliant. They are less money but I think their psi is very low, maybe a 5. I am apprehensive about the R-Tech compressing too much. Has anyone use the R-Tech for raising the height of their truck bed? If so, how did it work?

Will I need to cut the insulation to size and glue it to the bottom of my camper? Thanks for your advice and wisdom!
Camper_Jeff___K
Nomad III
Feb 08, 2013

Works great, warmer in cold weather.
capost
Explorer
Feb 08, 2013
I also have used the pink foam from HD on two different truck campers successfully for several years. I have always used the two inch. My present camper really only needs 1/2 - 3/4 inch for adequate clearance. I have always put the foam directly on the bed and it fits itself and conforms to the ribbed bed surface. Has anyone used 1/2 or 3/4 foam? If so, how has the thinner sheets held up?
mountainkowboy
Explorer
Feb 07, 2013
I built this and its attached to the bottom of the S&S in the second picture. There are 5 "straps" that attach it to the TC, 2 on each side, and 1 on the front. I didnt need the height as much as the support for using it "off truck".
wnjj
Explorer II
Feb 07, 2013
youngm357 wrote:
My only regret is buying the pink stuff from H Depot when I could have had blue from Lowe's. It really does not need to be complicated.

I suppose it depends on whether your camper is a boy or girl. :)
gwwing2
Explorer
Feb 07, 2013
I have a question about those of you that are using the foam sheet under your camper. Is the bottom of your camper flat with no external support runners? The reason I am asking, is my camper has three steel "C" channel runners running the length of the camper and one on each end across the front and back. When I load the camper, I have a rubber truck bed mat and then I add a 3/4ths thick wood slate (redwood fence board) for each camper runner to rest on. I did add some thin rubber webbing on top of the wood to prevent sliding. I do quite a bit of off road camping and notice that sometimes the camper will want to slip especially towards one of the grooves in the truck bed. I guess the big question for me is if the foam would work for me with the runners on the bottom of my camper. It would seem to concentrate the weight and maybe lead to foam compression. The set up like Elkhornsun has would be great if it could work with my setup.
thanks Tim.