37 replies to this topic

[rotti]

When I sold my twenty-five year old Grandby the floor/base looked fine.

It was mounted pretty much full time and on a rubber mat.

 

Also, from what I can tell on my new Hawk, the base isn't a flat sheet of plywood against the mat but has wood struts allowing ventilation?

[mangymarmot]

How far are the struts spaced? Do the struts run N-S or E-W ?

[hpcbmw]

I've got about 2" of plywood under my camper, to allow clearance on the roof of my 2000 F250, but also to clear fifth wheel runners in the bed of my truck. I've read about potential rot or water damage from wood on wood. If my camper is on for a short while (month or two) I just put wood on wood. If the camper is on for long term, I use four 1x2 wood stringers screwed in lengthwise. This raises the camper about 1" and allows for water drainage and air flow. My camper doesn't seem to move with either mounting option. I have torque lift frame camper mounts.

This works well for me.

[rotti]

How far are the struts spaced? Do the struts run N-S or E-W ?

 

There are four equally spaced 3" wide by 5/8" thick plywood stringers that appear to run the length of the camper in a N-S orientation.

 

I say "appear to" as I can only see the back 3 or 4" of the underside of the camper.

 

I have a LineX spray in liner with a DeeZee rubber bed mat on top of that. No squeaks, movement or loose tie downs  so far.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by rotti, 14 August 2014 - 04:07 PM.

[billharr]

How far are the struts spaced? Do the struts run N-S or E-W ?

I have mine off now so I took you a picture. 2013 Hawk.

 

The alum bar and bolt is the hold down for the inside rear corner of my side dinette if you step on the roll over back to get to the top bed.

 

Edited by billharr, 14 August 2014 - 04:17 PM.

[mangymarmot]

I've noticed a small amount of moisture underneath my camper when I pull the camper off.  The truck/camper combo sees a lot of varied environments here in the mountains, i.e., rain,snow...  The camper is on the truck fulltime except for maintainence.  The truck bed has been LineX'd and I'm also using a bed mat.  I may try putting in stringers to improve airflow to see if that fixes the issue. 

 

Thanks for all the pics!

[ntsqd]

Likewise, I'm thinking of adding some stringers. A 1/2" taller won't hurt me. What to coat the stringers with prior to install in the question.

[iowahiker]

Our camper was "walking" sideways 1/4" to 3/8" despite checking the turnbuckles every 1000 miles, most likely because of the turnbuckle angles (we measured and marked where the camper was when first installed).  We did not want to risk trapping water in the bed with a mat since the camper stays on full time.  We installed a 1x6" shim between each wheel well and the camper box side to restrict side-to-side movement and our turnbuckles now stay tight.  The shims are not attached to anything and are just slid into place after the camper is on the truck leaving about 3/16" of wiggle room.  If the camper "walks" again then we will slip in a slightly wider shim (an unplaned 1x6") to remove the 3/16".  Each truck bed has a different space at the wheel wheels but 1x6" is a good first fit for the newer F-150 and Granby.