Tie downs and loading

[TRAILRIDER125]

I'm sure this topic is covered elsewhere. But I cannot find it. Could some one please explain to me exactly what I need for tie downs to carry a slide in truck camper on my old dually? Do I purchase and have them installed prior to buying the camper? Do people sell used truck campers along with the required equipment? And can the tie downs be installed by anyone.....for example, me? Or do I go to a shop to have that done. I'll soon be ready to purchase a camper but I don't want to drive a long distance and find out I can't bring it home! Thanks in advance.

[burningman]

Yep. There are some old 8 footers that don’t cover up the truck tail lights but the vast majority of campers do, so you gotta hook the lights up. You could rig up a set of tow lights and just duct tape them on for the ride home if all else fails.
I own a similar truck, an ‘86 GMC dually/454. Same truck really.
It will haul any camper just fine, mine needs no extra springs, bars, nothing.

If you don’t already have one for trailering, you’ll need a heavy duty turn signal flasher or the signals will “hyper flash” when you plug the extra camper bulbs in.
Sometimes on old trucks I just pulled out the stock tail light bulbs to solve that when I needed to.

I have a “belly bar” on mine. They work great, mount easy, but are hard to find these days.

Any camper will fit your truck box, it’s the old school wide tailgate one. Only the newer trucks have issues clearing some pre-1988 campers.

I wouldn’t be afraid at all to consider whatever size camper you find a deal on and like. That truck won’t have any problem hauling it.

The most expensive thing to fix on an old camper - and most likely to not work - is the refrigerator.
Don’t listen to any excuses about “it just needs a recharge” or “it’s an easy fix”. It’s expensive. I’d want a seller to have the fridge fired up so by the time I got there it’s had time to get cold - or not!!
If you do buy an old camper and the fridge doesn’t work, take the covers off the burner apparatus on the back and blow the tubes and burner out with a compressed air blow gun. Most burner trouble is crud that builds up in there.
If the burner lights but it doesn’t get cold, take a block of wood and beat on the metal tubes on the back of the fridge, at least as much as you can reach. Sometimes you need to go inside and unscrew the screws around the face of the fridge holding it in, unscrew the gas line, and slide the fridge forward a foot or so to reach the tubes on the back (through the fridge service access hatch on the side of the camper).
Beat the **** out of those tubes with a wood block, just less than the point you think you’ll damage them. That clears them up, quite often an old fridge that’s been sitting will start working.
If you smell ammonia around an old fridge, it’s done.

[TRAILRIDER125]

Oh, to use the turn signals and brake lights!

[tlowe43q]

You will NEED the 7-pin connection for the tail lights that are on the camper (truck rear end is concealed).

[mkirsch]

For a '75, you probably won't find any "no drill" solutions from happijack or torklift. Back then they used "belly bars" which are bars that went under the belly of the truck, fastened to the frame, and extended out on each side to catch the turnbuckles. You'd need two. One for the front, and one for the back.

As for the tailgate, leave it on the truck until you go to get the camper. It helps support the rear corners of the box and prevents them from getting fatigued and floppy. You also get better fuel economy with it on, believe it or not.

Oh yes, and one note about the plug... Not all campers use a standard 7-pin wiring scheme even though they have a standard plug. At least in 2000, Palomino, for example, had a proprietary wiring scheme on that 7-pin plug. I had to make a special umbilical cable for mine that connected to the standard trailer plug.

[Buzzcut1]

I use horse stall mats they work well. You can use one 8 footer but you really have to center the camper to have it rest completely on it, or use two 6 footers with the 4 foot sides touching each other and cut the 6' sides to fit to the edge of the bed and around the wheel wells. The mats are locked in that way and can't slide around and the camper is fully supported.

[TRAILRIDER125]

Oh thank you so much! This is exactly what I needed to know.
My truck is a 1975 GMC 3500 with a 454 engine. I've never had a camper on it but have pulled five horses in a trailer coast to coast so I know it is up to the job. I like to say it can pass anything on the road except a gas station! So swing out brackets for the front jacks is extremely important to have ahead of time. Also I will have the truck fitted with the proper frame attached tie downs (specific to my type of truck) ahead of time. And remove the tailgate... I might do that right now. Don't need it anyway.
I read in here somewhere that someone used a stall mat from Tractor Supply in the bed of the truck. Is that a good bet? I know they are thick and strong. I have no bed liner. I do have a fifth wheel hitch to take off.
I'm not worried about plugging in for power except maybe to check that things are in working order.
The truck is very old and needs body work and a paint job to look nice. But I don't care. I'm taking care of all the mechanical things and getting new tires, hoses and belts etc. Its just a good old truck and won't run one bit better after the paint......hopefully I can find an older slide in camper that is sound and doesn't have a leaking roof, that would look the part.
Until I know that I really want to travel this way I don't want to spend a lot of money on a fancy class c motor home or a $25,000 truck camper....I just want a place to sleep and cook and a good roof. A toilet and shower are nice but I don't need them and with out them the camper could be shorter and not hang way over the back. Also don't want one that hangs way over the front...it only needs to sleep one.

[KD4UPL]

Sorry, it was late and I was typing fast. MOST campers have the electrical plug on the front driver's side.

[ticki2]

My old Avion is right side plug . It would be an important question to ask . Some info on OP truck would yield more specific answers .

[burningman]

Yeah, left front is the normal plug spot.
You will need a 7-pin RV connector wired to the standard pattern (google it) but Lance their own pattern.
There are clamp-on tiedowns called Brophys that you can use that go over your bed rails.
Everyone used to use them, I did for many years. They just clamp on, you tighten them with one bolt each.
The frame mounted tie downs are better but I never had an issue with the clamp on brackets. Those might not be the ideal permanent solution but they’ll work to get the thing home.
And yeah, make sure either the camper already has “dually swing out brackets” on the front jacks or buy and bring a set. You need to be able to swing the front jacks out wider while loading onto a dually.
Bring a sheet of 4x8 2” thick rigid foam insulation, or some 2x4s or 2x6s to shim the camper up a little higher in your truck bed. You never know if the cabover part is going to clear your truck cab with a comfortable amount of clearance. Trucks and campers flex, you need a little space.

[wnjj]

KD4UPL wrote:
Also, you will likely need a 7 pin connector in the front right corner of your bed OR you will need an extension cable to get from the rear 7 pin by the hitch up to the front right corner of the bed.

I think you meant front left (driver's) corner or is my camper the different one?

[Buzzcut1]

one other thing if the seller is not carrying the camper on a dually you will need to get the proper swing out brackets for the front jacks so that they will clear the dually fenders.

[KD4UPL]

You need the tie downs installed in order to carry the camper. If you have some good mechanical skills and can use basic hand tools and a drill you can probably install either of the two major brands of camper tie downs (Happijack and Torklift).
These kits are somewhat truck specific so the likelihood of you buying a camper from someone with the same year model and make of truck and using their old hardware is pretty slim.
You will need both the attachment points that go on the truck as well as the hardware to secure the camper to the attachment points. There are basic turnbuckles or you can upgrade to quicker pivoting/locking mechanisms (Fastguns is one brand).
It may be rather difficult to find a shop to install the proper attachments unless they are a truck camper dealer. I recently sold a TC and told the buyer what to buy. He went to a non-truck camper RV dealer who told him they didn't know anything about truck campers but that he shouldn't need any of the hardware I told him to get. He believed them rather than me and showed up with nothing!
By the way, when you go to get your camper leave your tailgate at home. Also, you will likely need a 7 pin connector in the front right corner of your bed OR you will need an extension cable to get from the rear 7 pin by the hitch up to the front right corner of the bed. Most all campers use the standard 7 pin plug except Lance. Lance has their own special 6 pin plug that comes with a wiring harness.
If you have a plastic drop in style bed liner get rid of it. You will want a rubber bed mat to keep the camper from sliding around. Depending on the model of truck and camper you may need to build a platform to raise the camper up to clear the truck cab. This is mainly a problem with older campers on newer trucks, particularly Fords. Also, tailgate openings have gotten narrower over the years. Again, an older camper on a newer truck can cause fitment problems.