Very nice setup! The stable camper boxes just bolt in. You can unscrew them and take off the boxes. No need to get under the truck from what I under stand.
Looks good. Wolmanized lumber is popular for many projects, yet this lumber is intended for use on or near dirt in a permanent installation. Staining the lumber will give it all the protection it needs.
looks great!!! the wonderful thing about having a flatbed is if you decide that you need the sides flush with the bed instead of the side rail, you can simply build another set of side rails that are flush with no problem.
I know you have a new rig now, but I love this set up! I've been trying to find a way to have more storage when we get our set up and this is the perfect idea!
Nicely done. We did something very similar with our F350 flatbed (we also carry a NL10.2). We did end up changing from 3 treated 5/4 deck boards to 4 treated 1x4s due to the weight. I also cut the sides in half (vertically between the inner stake pockets) so we can each handle them to remove/replace a section/side at a time. I found some gate hardware that keeps the sides locked together when they are in place. Your tailgate is a nice touch!!
Hey Todd yeah that looks good and that's a good idea to keep them boards to the outside that way you got that space for tie down onto rubrail. Or top boards would get broken.
Looks like you have a first class rolling wood shed to keep you fire wood dry Todd! Would be a great place to store a propane fire pit and/or BBQ too. As far as a suggestion if you made some brackets or legs you could deploy the camp side one flat and have a half covered table or bar set up for tailgating.
well done!! looks like you got plenty of storage and the unit looks complete. I agree that storage boxes would reduce the versatility of the truck. Keep on truckin!!
Wow it looks fantastic! Did you think of putting hinges on the stakes or somewhere so you could fold down the side when the camper is on? I feel like that would be the best of both worlds for when you have the camper on and you want the storage!
I have a 3500 ram with the dully bed and i hate it i wonted a 4500 or 5500 flatbed, but the insurance was double the price, but my plan was to one day put a flatbed on the truck but the dully is a pain to get anything out of it and only one way to load it but the flat bed you can load it from either side or the back and it easy to onload and you can put side box's on it. yours looks sharp.
Great job and great looking rig now! You made this a usable bed now! Even on half ton trucks I find the bed height as too much...i.e. you can't access cargo from the sides. It drives up vehicle weight and cost and now we have these fancy tailgates lol! I love my old 2004 ranger which despite 4 wheel drive is low enough to allow full access. Aftermarket companies are offering more solutions to buck the trend if super high new pickups with big show fires and lifts and useless beds from a work perspective.
Looks great! Some cap nuts on those screws might keep stuff from getting scratched up, like your forearms. I'd like to have a place for rugs and chairs just like you said, the basement access isn't the easiest place to get in and out of. I'm in my 10.6 right now, camping. I should put this phone down, but your vids are an exception!
I have watch several of your videos, I'm sure you have mentioned in one of your videos why you got rid of your Lance 975 and bought the Big foot with no slides. To each is owns. just curious why someone would do that.
That is a loaded question and we plan on making a video about that. The short answer is we love fiberglass campers and wanted to go back to that. Thanks for watching!
Hey Todd, can you provide a comparison of the ride quality of the 3500 vs 4500, both loaded and empty? I'm looking at trucks right now and trying to decide between these two. Thanks. Randy
How do you get to the space back there with the camper on? I am going to assume you left just enough space to slide the rails up and out . It would be slick to have a locking hinge pin on the back side of the rail so you just pull a hitch type pin and the rails would fold down out flat to get to anything stored back behind.
Hi Brian, yes I made them so I can just lift them up and out with the camper on. I had thought about making something with a hinge that folded down but decided to do what I did to give it a more classic look. Either way would be great. Thanks for watching!
How wide is your bed? Will most slide-in campers clear my 8ft wide flatbed on my 99 F350? It's a dump bed flatbed so it sits a tad higher as well. It has 24" tall sides but they're removable. Just wanna know if I need to modify the jacks at all... may have to cut the headache rack down a little too mine sticks up taller than yours.
Todd, I have an opportunity to make a great deal on a Ram 3500 chassis cab, but there’s a problem you may be able to help me solve. The cab is a regular, 2-door and not a 4-door crew cab. No matter how I look at it, the frame rails are going to be too long. So, I’m open to suggestions.
Great video and great looking flatbed! Quick question, did you just drill out those holes for the tiedowns (in the rail) yourself? Was wondering how they've held up so far? Is there any flex or wiggle? I'm guessing the flatbed is solidly connected to your truck frame. I always wondered how people secured their tiedowns to flatbeds, I guess another alternative would be to weld something to the flatbed. If you could give an idea of how your rails and tiedowns are holding up would be great, thanks!
The holes I drilled in the rub rail on the flat bed have worked out great to connect the tie downs too. The rail hasn't flexed or cracked at all. It's supper strong and welled at several locations. Of course it is a steel bed so it's very strong. It was hard to drill through and I think I went through 3 drill bits. Thanks for watching!
Todd which model p&j bed is that ? I have to order one later this week and I am worried about the length. Local dealer is not knowledgeable about truck campers on flat beds. The camper I have on order is a bigfoot 10-4
We had a PJ skirted flatbed that was 9’4” long on our CC Ram 4500. You will need to make a custom bumper like I did for the Bigfoot 10.4 to rest against. It can’t go all the way forward because it will hit so it has to sit back 10 or 11 inches off the headache rack. The sides of the camper hang down just enough to hit which is why it needs to sit back. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching.
@@RunawayRoses todd I find your videos very thoughtful and calming and peaceful. Like Kenny of all trades and the couple from Michigan. Very relaxing to watch normal folks visit cool places or do exceptional things versus teasers and bait and switch crap
You've got some mad skills going on, Todd! I think it looks better with the rails instead of storage boxes, and probably provides more storage space.
Hey…… looks cool specially with wood collar. This is reminds me of old trucks from the forties of the last century. Thanks 🙏keep it up 👍
Those look great Todd! Love that coloring of stain you put on them. Well done.
Thanks TWD! We're glad that we picked this color, it goes well with our set-up! Hope you guys are out having fund camping!
I really love this truck with the camper, I can live with ở . Awesome job 🎉
I like the stained black. And it looks very functional. Truck looks good ..
I like the black stain... it breaks up the white and makes our rig pop! I don't know if I could ever give up my truck. Great Job!
Very nice setup! The stable camper boxes just bolt in. You can unscrew them and take off the boxes. No need to get under the truck from what I under stand.
Looks good. Wolmanized lumber is popular for many projects, yet this lumber is intended for use on or near dirt in a permanent installation. Staining the lumber will give it all the protection it needs.
Awesome set-up.....envious for sure 👏 great work 👍
Thanks so much and thanks for watching!
That looks good! Great job and very practical.
Great lookin rails. Well done.
Nice job Todd. Nice Jeep as well.
Your build looks great, very professional.
looks great!!! the wonderful thing about having a flatbed is if you decide that you need the sides flush with the bed instead of the side rail, you can simply build another set of side rails that are flush with no problem.
Looks awesome Todd. Great job buddy
Cool build. I like the stain. I'll be doing that to my flatbed. Camper looks great also
I know you have a new rig now, but I love this set up! I've been trying to find a way to have more storage when we get our set up and this is the perfect idea!
That is one beautiful truck. Great job on the bed walls!
Nicely done! Looks great.
I think it looks sharp! And doing the rails makes it more flexible!
That is a great looking rig
Thanks for sharing your build. I will definitely be inspired by your build for my own to go on my Hillsboro flatbed.
Nicely done. We did something very similar with our F350 flatbed (we also carry a NL10.2). We did end up changing from 3 treated 5/4 deck boards to 4 treated 1x4s due to the weight. I also cut the sides in half (vertically between the inner stake pockets) so we can each handle them to remove/replace a section/side at a time. I found some gate hardware that keeps the sides locked together when they are in place. Your tailgate is a nice touch!!
You have done an amazing job… thumbs up!!
Looking good. I love yours videos. Have a blessed day. Jerry.
Hey Todd yeah that looks good and that's a good idea to keep them boards to the outside that way you got that space for tie down onto rubrail. Or top boards would get broken.
Looks like you have a first class rolling wood shed to keep you fire wood dry Todd! Would be a great place to store a propane fire pit and/or BBQ too.
As far as a suggestion if you made some brackets or legs you could deploy the camp side one flat and have a half covered table or bar set up for tailgating.
This was built very well , great job man 👌🏼
Looks pretty sharp but sooner or later you will have alum box’s made it’s just the way things go and when you see one decked out you will be there !
well done!! looks like you got plenty of storage and the unit looks complete. I agree that storage boxes would reduce the versatility of the truck. Keep on truckin!!
Thanks Glen, It will definitely make the truck more usable around the house as well. I hope you’re doing well. Thanks for watching!
Wow it looks fantastic! Did you think of putting hinges on the stakes or somewhere so you could fold down the side when the camper is on? I feel like that would be the best of both worlds for when you have the camper on and you want the storage!
I have a 3500 ram with the dully bed and i hate it i wonted a 4500 or 5500 flatbed, but the insurance was double the price, but my plan was to one day put a flatbed on the truck but the dully is a pain to get anything out of it and only one way to load it but the flat bed you can load it from either side or the back and it easy to onload and you can put side box's on it. yours looks sharp.
Great job and great looking rig now! You made this a usable bed now! Even on half ton trucks I find the bed height as too much...i.e. you can't access cargo from the sides. It drives up vehicle weight and cost and now we have these fancy tailgates lol! I love my old 2004 ranger which despite 4 wheel drive is low enough to allow full access. Aftermarket companies are offering more solutions to buck the trend if super high new pickups with big show fires and lifts and useless beds from a work perspective.
Looks sharp like the stake bed look
Perfect looks great
I like it, stay classy.
looks good 👍 I like it
You may want to dab those holes with some paint so your bed don’t rust. Nice truck and good job on those rails.
Well Done!! Great ideas...
Looks great! Some cap nuts on those screws might keep stuff from getting scratched up, like your forearms. I'd like to have a place for rugs and chairs just like you said, the basement access isn't the easiest place to get in and out of. I'm in my 10.6 right now, camping. I should put this phone down, but your vids are an exception!
Hi Bob, That is is a good idea on caps for the screws. I’m going to look into that. Have Fun camping and thanks for watching! Todd
Looks great, Are you also going to stain the bumper black to match
Yes, we'll probably end up staining the bumper. Thanks for watching!
I have watch several of your videos, I'm sure you have mentioned in one of your videos why you got rid of your Lance 975 and bought the Big foot with no slides. To each is owns. just curious why someone would do that.
That is a loaded question and we plan on making a video about that. The short answer is we love fiberglass campers and wanted to go back to that. Thanks for watching!
I have rails like that on my small trailer, i went with nylon insert nuts on the carriage bolts to keep them in place.
Hey Todd, can you provide a comparison of the ride quality of the 3500 vs 4500, both loaded and empty? I'm looking at trucks right now and trying to decide between these two.
Thanks. Randy
Good job. It's a clean look. Do the side rails come off with the camper on?
Thanks, yes I can take the side rails off with the camper on. Thanks for watching!
How do you get to the space back there with the camper on? I am going to assume you left just enough space to slide the rails up and out . It would be slick to have a locking hinge pin on the back side of the rail so you just pull a hitch type pin and the rails would fold down out flat to get to anything stored back behind.
Hi Brian, yes I made them so I can just lift them up and out with the camper on. I had thought about making something with a hinge that folded down but decided to do what I did to give it a more classic look. Either way would be great. Thanks for watching!
Really looks good nice job just turn them lag bolts on your hand Jess so it matches LOL
It looks great. Nice job. Just a question? How come you got ride if the Lance & kept the Bigfoot ? Reason for doing this…. Thanks.
Nice job and it looks great! Does the top of the bed sit much higher than your stock truck bed or about the same?
Thanks and yes the top of the flatbed is about 6 inches taller than our pickup was. Thanks for watching!
How wide is your bed? Will most slide-in campers clear my 8ft wide flatbed on my 99 F350? It's a dump bed flatbed so it sits a tad higher as well. It has 24" tall sides but they're removable. Just wanna know if I need to modify the jacks at all... may have to cut the headache rack down a little too mine sticks up taller than yours.
Todd, I have an opportunity to make a great deal on a Ram 3500 chassis cab, but there’s a problem you may be able to help me solve. The cab is a regular, 2-door and not a 4-door crew cab. No matter how I look at it, the frame rails are going to be too long. So, I’m open to suggestions.
Great video and great looking flatbed! Quick question, did you just drill out those holes for the tiedowns (in the rail) yourself? Was wondering how they've held up so far? Is there any flex or wiggle? I'm guessing the flatbed is solidly connected to your truck frame. I always wondered how people secured their tiedowns to flatbeds, I guess another alternative would be to weld something to the flatbed. If you could give an idea of how your rails and tiedowns are holding up would be great, thanks!
The holes I drilled in the rub rail on the flat bed have worked out great to connect the tie downs too. The rail hasn't flexed or cracked at all. It's supper strong and welled at several locations. Of course it is a steel bed so it's very strong. It was hard to drill through and I think I went through 3 drill bits. Thanks for watching!
@@RunawayRoses Thanks for the update 👍 Looking forward to your next video!
Todd which model p&j bed is that ? I have to order one later this week and I am worried about the length. Local dealer is not knowledgeable about truck campers on flat beds. The camper I have on order is a bigfoot 10-4
We had a PJ skirted flatbed that was 9’4” long on our CC Ram 4500. You will need to make a custom bumper like I did for the Bigfoot 10.4 to rest against. It can’t go all the way forward because it will hit so it has to sit back 10 or 11 inches off the headache rack. The sides of the camper hang down just enough to hit which is why it needs to sit back. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching.
@@RunawayRoses it is a great help. Thank you
When did sideboards become rails?
Todd did already do a video on new rig mpgs and handling empty and wirh camper compared to the other truck?
Not yet but I should probably do that, good idea. Thanks
@@RunawayRoses todd I find your videos very thoughtful and calming and peaceful. Like Kenny of all trades and the couple from Michigan. Very relaxing to watch normal folks visit cool places or do exceptional things versus teasers and bait and switch crap
👍
Nice upgrade on the truck and camper. Do you have to have commercial insurance on the 4500?
Hi Nathan, thanks for watching. We discuss this in a video we're releasing tomorrow so stay tuned!
Did you get around to weighing this new rig?
Not yet with the camper on it, but that may be in the near future. Thanks for watching!
What did you use behind your 2x10 bump stop that you built? Are they 4x4’s or cut to size 6x6?
I used a cut to size 6x6. I don’t remember the exact size but it turned out to be about 6 x 4 1/2 or so. Thanks for watching!
I have to ask did you use treated 2x6 or was it regular 2x6 or did you use 2x4? Thanks
I used pressure treated deck boards. Worked great but it is kind of heavy. Thanks for watching!
next upgrade, sherptek bed!