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I am new to truck camper rv’s.
I have a 2017 Ford F-250 and a 2011 Lance 855 (no slide) and need to make this combination work safely. Long story how I ended up with this combination.
I have not had the opportunity to mount the camper to the truck yet. I have a 3/4” stall Mat in the bed, added timbrens and lower adjustable stable loads to the suspension. What if anything else will I need to do to make this truck and camper combination work?
I also understand that Ford raised their bed rail and cab heights on the newer trucks and changed the design of the rear bumper. Any suggestions would be appreciated.T.R., I have a 2016 F350 and a 2004 Lance 845. I also had cab clearance issues so we lay 3 2×6 boards flat in the bed before loading the camper. It squeaks a bit, but gives good clearance.
Since my camper is under 3000# wet, I went with the CR Brophy Machine Works HSSF Brophy Black Finish Heavy Duty Tie Downs ($140 on Amazon). These have worked well so far.
I haven’t needed any suspension mods yet, but may add airbags once I start towing my bay boat.
I hope this helps. Good luck with your rig.
2016 Ford F350 SRW
2004 Lance 845Oh yeah, one more tip. Fill your tank and take your truck across a set of CAT scales at a local truck stop with and without the camper (around $13 per weigh-in). Then compare those weights to the capacity sticker on your driver’s door jam.
There is a CAT Scales phone app so you can put in the location code posted on the scale. The app will charge a credit card and email you a certification of the weight.
As a comparison, my short bed single rear wheel F350 6.7L diesel weighs 8600# with me and a full tank. Add the camper with one battery, two 20# propane tanks and 33 gallons of fresh water and the rig weighs in at 11,460#. So the camper weighs around 3000# by the time I add some supplies and baggage.
Finally, check the load range of your tires to ensure you don’t overload them.
2016 Ford F350 SRW
2004 Lance 845Though it’ll quite easily do the job, the 3/4” rubber mat sounds like it might add a hundred pounds or so of unnecessary weight…
What I’ve used since 2005 that works very well is 1”x 4’x8’ dense foam foil faced sheathing board for about $20 bucks at Home Depot….Holds up extremely well long term (does not compress over time) and provides a bit of underside insulation as well…Atop this I use a 1/4” rubber bed mat…Wet with 60 gal FW, two 30# LPG and travel gear camper is about 4,950#…
Without added this inch of spacer the Eagle Cap 995 camper will hit the top of the rear bumper on my 2016 Ram dually…
T.R. I ran into the same issue of cab clearance with my 08 F-350 and a 2000 Alpenlite Cimarron 850. The cab clearance was only about an inch. I added 4 – 8 foot 2 x 6’s screwed in to the bottom of the camper floor. In addition to adding the necessary additional 1 3/4″ of clearance to the cab, it also provides a sturdy beam base for the floor to rest on when removed from camper and resting on saw horses. I hop in and out of the camper with confidence now.
Hi Mike,
I have attached the photo you were looking for. It may need a bit of explanation; I added 4 – 2×6’s full length from front to back. These are simply screwed into the plywood floor and are used to support the camper when it is on the saw horses. I have also screwed strips of rubber onto the 2×6’s to add some non-slip for when its in the bed of the truck. My F350 has a typical vinyl liner and the camper would sometimes move around a bit when I was was on less than level surfaces. The rubber has prevented this as well. Nothing too fancy, but it all works. I will be adding additional rubber strips to the rear of the 2×6’s as well.
;https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMOZYDaRiqZYBCJ1RlsmC-sgT7GmVny9KBx2tWd
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