30 replies to this topic

[ski3pin]

I'd call FWC re possible solutions like the Das Mule brackets, but if the bed is aluminum I think you need alternate tie down points ASAP.

I believe the first aluminum F150 was 2015. daverave's is a 2013.

[BBZ]

I have a Grandby Shell with extras (1200 lbs) that sat on a 2016 F150 for 2 full Baja trips and had zero problems. I do think having bigger backing plates is the key..   

 

I just got a new F150 and have decided to run the backing plates so that they sit on the cross member things on the front.. 

[daverave]

Laying in bed this morning I realized that FWC would not have seen the cracking when they removed the camper for the upgrades as we have a rubber mat underneath the camper that would have hidden the cracking.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback! We're going to communicate with FWC about possible solutions.

 

[daverave]

Maybe add a set of these for the front camper tie downs ?

 

 

https://dasmule.com/...unting-brackets

I see from their website, Stan, that they state that this is a front end only application. Do the Das Mules still use the same turnbuckles? Would installation of their product mitigate a need to do anything on the back end?

[daverave]

I hope that our story has prompted folks to check their tie down/truck bed connections from the underside for any damage! I had never looked in the nearly eight years we've had the camper on the truck. 

[fish more]

When my camper was on a F150, I had a similar issue. Removed the camper, went to my son's body shop, they welded the cracks and repainted the areas. At the time I was just using the body washers supplied by FWC. After the repair, I made large aluminum 1/4" thick plates to the underside of the bed. Problem solved !! When camper was installed onto my Super Duty 2015 (steel bed) I used the same plates with no problems and 100K of driving.

[daverave]

Does anyone here have a better understanding of the Mule front camper tie-down brackets or better yet have them on their rig? Are they attached to the front end of the truck box on the bottom or the sides?

The Mule website doesn't have much in the way of showing how they get installed or how they interface with the camper body just a poor photo of.... something per the attached photo.

Attached Thumbnails

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Edited by daverave, 08 November 2023 - 04:43 PM.

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Dave, per Marty at ATC, the type they use attach via the bed bolts.  I suspect the FWC brackets do the same.

[ski3pin]

I've never seen one of these brackets. But, to my eyes, that is a bracket that is bolted to the frame with three bolts (we see in the photo. I suspect a fourth) and the single hole goes up through the bottom of the truck bed. The large eye bolt would be installed here. The photo is from underneath looking at the bottom of the truck bed. These look - I'm no engineer - like solid brackets that eliminate bolting (turnbuckles) only to the truckbed.

[pvstoy]

Agree... that is what I see also.

 

 

I've never seen one of these brackets. But, to my eyes, that is a bracket that is bolted to the frame with three bolts (we see in the photo. I suspect a fourth) and the single hole goes up through the bottom of the truck bed. The large eye bolt would be installed here. The photo is from underneath looking at the bottom of the truck bed. These look - I'm no engineer - like solid brackets that eliminate bolting (turnbuckles) only to the truckbed.

Edited by pvstoy, 08 November 2023 - 07:41 PM.