Newb/first camper

[mdtundra]

Hey guys I’m about to purchase an 1989 four wheel camper that was completely redone, dryweight about 850lbs I have a 2018 tundra sr 4.6 4x4, what should I expect to do to the rear suspension, tires etc, if this has already been asked please send me to right thread, thanks!

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Hi mdtundra, welcome to Wander the West!

I suspect you have a composite floor in the bed of your truck, and that will require special mounts for the tie downs. Other folks in the Toyota community can provide more specifics. You’ll also want to figure out how you want to electrically connect the truck and camper.

You may additionally want to consider airbags to level your Tundra with the camper on, and if you don’t have them, perhaps upgrade your tires to load range E ratings. Not everything needs to be done at once.

This is a great place to hang out on the interwebs, with lots of knowledgeable folks to help.

We love to see photos, so please post a few when you pick up your new rig.

 

[mdtundra]

Hi mdtundra, welcome to Wander the West!

I suspect you have a composite floor in the bed of your truck, and that will require special mounts for the tie downs. Other folks in the Toyota community can provide more specifics. You’ll also want to figure out how you want to electrically connect the truck and camper.

You may additionally want to consider airbags to level your Tundra with the camper on, and if you don’t have them, perhaps upgrade your tires to load range E ratings. Not everything needs to be done at once.

This is a great place to hang out on the interwebs, with lots of knowledgeable folks to help.

We love to see photos, so please post a few when you pick up your new rig.

Thanks for the response! The guy has turnbuckles he used on his tundra and has them attached to the cleats in the truck bed

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

You may want to get specifics on how the cleats in the current owner’s truck are fastened. FWC should have mounting recommendations. No one wants to see a camper fly off the truck.

 

[BlueSky]

I have my 1200lb-ish camper on a 2008 Tundra. E-rated tires really helped. Sumo Springs also kept the sag to a minimum (I don't care for air bags). When my shocks and struts were worn out I upgraded to Bilstein (the more heavy duty off-road version) and that helped handling on rough roads. The Tundra rules!

 

[AWG_Pics]

I see on the four wheel camper website that these guys do sales and installs:

WEST CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA​

Main Line Overland, 917 Old Fern Hill Road, Suite #200, West Chester, PA 19380
www.mainlineoverland.com
sales@mainlineoverland.com
844-656-7626

It may be worth your time to head up there and chat with their installers.

I have firestone ride-rite airbags and E-rated 10-ply tires on my 2019 Tundra. Also, put a horse stall mat in the truck bed before install. You want to get the turnbuckles sorted out -- really one of the most important install steps.

 

[buckland]

Welcome to WTW and congrats on the new camper (addiction!) ... You can find just about all information here. Folks will help. Airbags and E rated tires good ideas. I did change out my airbags when I had a new beefy leaf spring installed but I leave the camper on all the time since retiring) Air bags level out the ride but aren't adding capacity. Smooths the ride. Good advise above... don't try and do it all at once. Get out there camping/....best place to make lists around the fire.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Welcome to the site.Another thing to check is the depth of the truck bed.
I think the FWC you purchased might be 19" from the floor to the underside of the overhang.
I think most of the new trucks have a 21" depth bed.That means you need to place some sort of spacer under the camper.
If so search the site as there are threads about this subject.
Getting info from Stan at FWC will be a great help.
Frank

 

[mdtundra]

This is how it sat on the previous owners

 

[Sagefemme]

Wow! Look at all that window!

 

[mdtundra]

Right! Got it home safe and sound

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Nice! Congrats!

 

[mdtundra]

Nice! Congrats!

So I’m a surfer I live about 15min from a beach where I can drive my truck on, do you know of anyone who has racks mounted on the side? I really don’t want to drill through the roof

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

There are racks that attach to the jack mounts, but I don’t have additional information.

 

[mdtundra]

There are racks that attach to the jack mounts, but I don’t have additional information.

Sweet I’ll do some research and see what I can find

 

[goinoregon]

look at mule expedition brackets. they attach to jack brackets. i used them for mtg an awning. worked great.

 

[AspensNook]

Howdy! Congrats on your camper! I love how a classic FWC still looks so good, and that side window is awesome!
I am also new to the camper life, I’ll share a little of my experience and choices.
I had airbags installed at the same time as the camper, I have a Raven that comes in at 1300 lbs. The airbags have pros and cons that are well documented, good for adjusting to your prefer ride height, but I feel they are a bit bouncy and I’m not sure they’ll be my solution long term.
My truck had SL tires, and had to be inflated to max PSI when the camper went on. My plan was to run those tires until they were done, however, after putting some miles on them, taking a couple of trips, and doing some research I determined that it was worth it to me to move to E rated tires ASAP. I just did a weekend road trip that was close to 600 miles that included heavy rain, lots of mountain and canyon driving, rugged forest roads etc, and let me tell you … The investment in the E rated tires was worth EVERY PENNY. The truck handled so much better in all of those conditions, the feeling of body roll and squishyness was reduced significantly, and led to a much more comfortable and confident drive. I felt so much better on the forest roads which were quite rocky, just knowing I had a stronger tire. The tires are the only thing that I have done post camper install, and I would highly recommend doing that when and if you are able.
I believe the truck will benefit from some additional upgrades for more control and less sway, at some point I intend to make some additional suspension upgrades that I think will lead to a more controlled ride and driving experience.

Congrats again, and happy camping!

 

[mdtundra]

Howdy! Congrats on your camper! I love how a classic FWC still looks so good, and that side window is awesome!
I am also new to the camper life, I’ll share a little of my experience and choices.
I had airbags installed at the same time as the camper, I have a Raven that comes in at 1300 lbs. The airbags have pros and cons that are well documented, good for adjusting to your prefer ride height, but I feel they are a bit bouncy and I’m not sure they’ll be my solution long term.
My truck had SL tires, and had to be inflated to max PSI when the camper went on. My plan was to run those tires until they were done, however, after putting some miles on them, taking a couple of trips, and doing some research I determined that it was worth it to me to move to E rated tires ASAP. I just did a weekend road trip that was close to 600 miles that included heavy rain, lots of mountain and canyon driving, rugged forest roads etc, and let me tell you … The investment in the E rated tires was worth EVERY PENNY. The truck handled so much better in all of those conditions, the feeling of body roll and squishyness was reduced significantly, and led to a much more comfortable and confident drive. I felt so much better on the forest roads which were quite rocky, just knowing I had a stronger tire. The tires are the only thing that I have done post camper install, and I would highly recommend doing that when and if you are able.
I believe the truck will benefit from some additional upgrades for more control and less sway, at some point I intend to make some additional suspension upgrades that I think will lead to a more controlled ride and driving experience.

Congrats again, and happy camping!

Thanks! And sweet rig! Appreciate the insight! So I’m getting airbags and Goodyear duratracs XL’s( had them on my old Tacoma and they lasted a long time) installed on my truck next week. Can’t wait to see how it handles with those upgrades as I plan on driving up to Nova Scotia and down to the outer banks of North Carolina