How to Set Up Your Truck Bed for Your Truck Camper
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- What do you need to do to setup your truck bed in order for it to hold your Northern Lite truck camper? This video looks at what is needed in the back of your truck to safely haul your truck camper.
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I use tractor supply stall mats 1/2” thick, they are great. Very grippy, my camper does not move around even over rough terrain. I have used the same mat since 2012 under 2 different campers on 2 different trucks, it still looks about like the day I bought it. Those flimsy rubber mats don’t last like that.
We re 100% against using horse stall mats. Using them will actually void your warranty. With a smooth bottom fiberglass shell camper such as a Northern Lite, they do not grip the camper properly. As a result, users end up over tightening their tie-downs, removing the benefits of the shock absorber. As such when you hit a large bump, all of that energy gets transmitted into the camper resulting in damage. 3/8" soft rubber mats are durable and will last a long time. Not an issue.
a single sheet of plywood can move around. I'd suggest whatever you put in the bed to be cut using the bed mat as a template so that it fills the full footprint of the bed....so would require two sheets of plywood. I see you recommend not to use foam board, but the formular 250, 2-inch sheets, cut to fit the bed and placing additional foam blocks at each corner of the camper to wedge in between the camper and the bed walls has been working perfectly. no movement of the TC and so much lighter than a bed mat and plywood. in truth, even though I have a F350 with a camper package and a NL 9-6, I'm forced to use the foam or I would be over my GVWR and over my rear axle weight limit.
In BC are you required to move your rear license plate? Or is the front plate enough? Thanks for all these great videos.
Warren: So good to see you guys do this video!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!! Our 10.2le is at the dealer, just waiting for our new F350. Just joined your NL forum. This vid answered my questions regarding the plywood as I see you've used a 4x8x 1" sheet under the mat. With Fords having a tall cab, I'll probably go with 2x 3/4" + 3/8" mat. Just not 100% sure how much I'll need as I haven't got either and the camper is too far to drive for just a measurement.
Again, thanks for the timely video!
2 1/2 inch screwed together is plenty on a ford f350 . 30 lbs. lighter than 2 3/4 sheets.. every pound counts for payload.
@@gunsandrotors8704 Nope. The F350, w/ the block antennas on the roof starts at a 1/2" deficit. NL is 46" ( bottom to underside of cabover) From truck bed to top of antenna block is 46.5". What I settled on as needed for adequate clearance for rough roads or highway porpoising, to avoid roof slaps was a sandwich: 1/2" ply > 1.5" foam board > 1/2" ply > 3/8" Dee Zee style bed mat. 2 x 1/2" sheets would only give a 1/2" clearance. No where close to enough. And with 6603lbs payload, I got plenty. :)
@@wingnutbert9685 I have a 2021 8'11 on a 2020 F350 using... 2 1/2 inch sheets of plywood and a 3/8 truck mat ...truck has roof lites from factory and the 2 black blocks on the roof NO CLEARANCE ISSUES AT ALL the NL dealer set it up this way I have 3 to 4 inches clearance Many trips for almost a year now never made contact with the roof. Maybe your gasser dually (6603 payload) is different. My truck is crew cab srw.
@@gunsandrotors8704 '21 F350/7.3/CC/DRW/LB. Might be different, but it be odd being that much different. Maybe there's a big difference in cabover height between the 8.11 and the 10.2. I get about 3" with clear with my riser. So yeah, definitely something different there. I think 3-4" is a good minimum. See a couple guys driving with 1" or so and could see the cabover tapping their roof. Yikes! LOL!
I noticed when loading my 10-2 for the first time that there would actually be enough room to leave the tailgate on. I'm assuming it should still be taken off due to weight on the tailgate??
can you leave the 5th wheel rails on the truck and space the wood between the rails then the mat?
Where do you purchase that exact Bed liner?
How much gap do you need between the roof of the truck and the camper cab over?
So the rubber mat is for grip so the camper doesn’t slide, but you put plywood under the rubber mat which slides very easily on the truck bed?
Hi Justin, no the plywood doesn't slide. This is due to the texture of the wood plus the similar size to the box. Our campers have molded fiberglass bottoms, unlike competitors, and the bottom design is extremely smooth which requires the mat for grip. We have been building campers for over 30 years so have lots of experience on what works and what doesn't.
Is this plywood needed for all trucks? I have a 2018 ram dually. Seems all comments is about the ford.
It's a matter of how much space between your truck cab and Camper are. For myself with my F250 were just using the Mat we have. I had wood in the back 1/4 but were taking it out we don't need it.
Hello, did you put the plywood over the truck bed plastic linner?
I still haven't found a good way to leave my goose neck rails in the bed and load my camper.
Hello Warren, we have the 10-2 2019. We have the exact setup with the 1" plywood as well as the 3/8 inch mat. I noticed you put some carpet on the wheel well. Any particular carpeting? I like having that little extra protection. Just some normal indoor outdoor carpeting? Thanks
Were do you get the mat?