Avid_Fox
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Re: Hey F550 5500 flatbed camper or custom bed owners:
Reality Check wrote: Things I wish I'd done different? Hmmm... wish I'd jumped on it right away. Truck sat in the shop for a year plus 'cause we didn't have time. Fastguns for tie downs. Last three flatbeds, same system. No reason to change, lot's of reasons to not change. Flatbed build thread That's a great build. You have skills and tools that I do not.769Views0likes0CommentsRe: Hey F550 5500 flatbed camper or custom bed owners:
mike/kellie wrote: You can use a horizontal pin connection or fastguns. The pins would require very accurate alignment. I stuck with fastguns but made custom tie-down brackets, powder coated them and utilized the existing bolt patterns. Look through their gallery and identify how many use Fastguns. Let me know and I can send you pics Pin connections would concern me about ripping the anchors out of the camper side. Are they rubber cushioned on the truck side? Or just a bolt through lockup?769Views0likes0CommentsRe: Hey F550 5500 flatbed camper or custom bed owners:
Bedlam wrote: Stable Camper has stake pockets offset mounts if you need your turnbuckles farther outboard. They also do a custom top box for CM Beds. I went with a standard flatbed and off the shelf enclosed boxes in stock sizes for my setup. Yes, I've seen them. Tempting for price, but taller profile than a custom bed and not as much storage. Still considering them though.769Views0likes0CommentsRe: Hey F550 5500 flatbed camper or custom bed owners:
covered wagon wrote: I wish my fuel fill neck wasn't mounted in the side rail. You have to fill ever so slowly or it spews out all over your shoes. My pocket utility knife has a taper I slide in the squeeze handle to run so slow that everyone thinks its a hundred gallon tank. It's a pain. Better to have the fill neck angled more upward thru a side saddle tool box or some other way. Great feedback on that little annoying item. Thanks.769Views0likes0CommentsRe: Hey F550 5500 flatbed camper or custom bed owners:
I'm pretty sensitive to rearward CG on my rig now, and it bugs me to have it feel like the truck is being pulled on from the back, like a heavy backpack while hiking. I'd like to shift it further forward if I can do so without overloading the front axle. Hence the 550 truck path...769Views0likes0CommentsRe: Let's talk air bags...
I had airbags on my old 2005 F250 4x4 and Lance 845 combo. This was the suggestion of the dealer I bought the camper from. I found them to work fine for leveling up, however it was also like riding on top of a squirrelly beach ball, and adding a huge rear sway bar and rancho adj shocks didn't help. It simply unloaded all the metal springs and carried the weight on the airbags. Great for a trailer tow but horrible for a camper. No more airbags for me.373Views0likes0CommentsHey F550 5500 flatbed camper or custom bed owners:
I'm considering my next truck to replace my 2016 F350 6.7 dually. It currently hauls around a 2016 Arctic Fox 1150DB. I thinking another new 1150 or maybe the Host Cascade. Do any of the folks here that built up a flat bed or custom bed rig have any advice or heads up on what they did that was awesome or what they wished they had done differently when putting it all together? I'm thinking a new F550 4x4 6.7 ext chassis cab 84" CA, with custom Douglas bed. As this would allow for shifting the CG to just over or even a few inches in front of the rear axle, if it turns out to ride better there. Thoughts from owners?4.4KViews0likes13CommentsRe: Truck bed camper shim
My Ford SD 350 bedrails are higher at the back than the front, so it does look tail heavy with TC on. Bed is also crowned some, about .5" or so just in front of rear axle. Rubber shims at the tail made it feel less rocking horse like. It's annoying, but not troublesome.952Views0likes0Comments
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Prefer to camp in a travel trailer? You're not alone.Jan 13, 202544,029 Posts
