23 replies to this topic

[Oryguntroutbum]

I agree proper support is what is needed

I went to AK Camper factory in Chehalis, WA last summer with the door spreading problem in the lower unit. They solved the problem with shims between my tailgate area[/s] the back of truck bed just forward of tailgate and the camper floor bottom. From my observations and discussion with Rick at AK Camper there is more weight on the side edges (passenger side/driver side) of the floor bottom than in the middle of the floor bottom area. The weight can cause whatever is directly under the camper (wood blocks, mats, bed liner) to settle under the side wall edges of the camper. This gives a floor profile when looking at the back of the camper of a "slight frown" causing the side walls of the lower section to tip out. Putting shims under the floor where the side walls are causes the bottom floor board end profile to move back toward the direction of a "smile," and this pulls the side walls in because the angle of the floor tips more inward where the side walls attach. It took Rick about 10 minutes time with making shim adjustments to get the door spacing to be all even around the lower section of the camper. It was amazingly quick and simple. It still looks good around the door.

I believe my camper was particularly susceptible to the support settling under the side walls because I put 3/4" rubber cattle mat on the entire truck bed when it was new, and that is on top of a plastic bed liner.

Just curious about what shims are used. Are we just talking about small cedar shims or something more substantial?

I am dealing with a 64 NCO right now and have some minor repairs under one of the windows. Will have to partially replace some 2x2's. I seem to be having a problem with the top half spreading out a bit causing a gap at the door near where the top door and bottom door meet. Not sure how to address that because there really is no way to pull the sides together without blocking the door opening. Anyone have an idea for this?

Chris

[Rusty]

Chris,

Each installation is different...each pickup has a different bed depth from the bed to the top of the sidewall. One of the problems associated with original installations was the bottom of the campers were made out of plywood..not always exterior plywood. If installed directly on the bed, there was no ventilation and the bottom plywood rotted from being wet. You've probably seen this when some bottoms literally fell off the campers. Raising the camper off the bed is critical to avoid this.

Once you have chosen a method for raising the camper off the bed, either by installing risers on the bottom of the camper or by building a short (less than 2") platform in the bed...install the camper in the bed of the truck and you will be able to determine the distance from the bed sidewall to the bottom of the shelf/seat of the camper, at that point you'll have a dimension for the thickness of the "shims". They can be made out of any lumber and should be sized to fit/fill that space.

Once you have filled the space with the "shims", you will find the bottom does not separate and the door fits nicely. If...the door does not fit...and the sections separate....you do not have enough shim thickness at the bed wall. by increasing the size of the shim you will push the top of the bottom door section together.

The top section will follow the guides attached on the ends of the camper and should allow the top door to close accordingly.

I've attached my "shims" to the bottom of the camper overhang with screws no longer than the thickness of the shim plus 3/8"...that way the screws won't penetrate the seat and be poking up inside the camper.

One member here used a piece of stiff boat dock foam bumper material to fill the gap. With the proper resistance that will work. Foam however, has a memory and will eventually change shape, at that point it may be necessary to replace it....some time down the road.

If you have any questions....this is the place

[Oryguntroutbum]

Chris,

Each installation is different...each pickup has a different bed depth from the bed to the top of the sidewall. One of the problems associated with original installations was the bottom of the campers were made out of plywood..not always exterior plywood. If installed directly on the bed, there was no ventilation and the bottom plywood rotted from being wet. You've probably seen this when some bottoms literally fell off the campers. Raising the camper off the bed is critical to avoid this.

Once you have chosen a method for raising the camper off the bed, either by installing risers on the bottom of the camper or by building a short (less than 2") platform in the bed...install the camper in the bed of the truck and you will be able to determine the distance from the bed sidewall to the bottom of the shelf/seat of the camper, at that point you'll have a dimension for the thickness of the "shims". They can be made out of any lumber and should be sized to fit/fill that space.

Once you have filled the space with the "shims", you will find the bottom does not separate and the door fits nicely. If...the door does not fit...and the sections separate....you do not have enough shim thickness at the bed wall. by increasing the size of the shim you will push the top of the bottom door section together.

The top section will follow the guides attached on the ends of the camper and should allow the top door to close accordingly.

I've attached my "shims" to the bottom of the camper overhang with screws no longer than the thickness of the shim plus 3/8"...that way the screws won't penetrate the seat and be poking up inside the camper.

One member here used a piece of stiff boat dock foam bumper material to fill the gap. With the proper resistance that will work. Foam however, has a memory and will eventually change shape, at that point it may be necessary to replace it....some time down the road.

If you have any questions....this is the place

Thanks Rusty,
I'm sure I will have many more questions as I work my way through this camper. It's been fun so far.

Chris

[Rusty]

shims 1

shims 2

shims 3

The breaks in the shims align with the specific tiedown insert I've got on the truck...not to crush the flush mounting tiedowns I chose to install the breaks

The drawer shown in "shim 2" was originally designed to hold fishing rods...the thin section forward of the wheel well will accept 6 pieces of plastic tubing...enough to carry 6-10 foot or less single piece rods of whatever type or two piece less than 5 feet.
It became more important to redesign the drawer to carry extra chairs and utility items....like a smoker...

after having discussions with the other half....it was clear that if camping was to be in our mutual future....the chairs and utility items would be the choice...I have a smoker in there as well ...although a small bagged awning would fit also