flatbed / camper rear overhang guidelines

freedrive

Member
Is there a general guideline for how much rear overhang a flatbed/camper can have?
I know it's a big it-depends on the weight distribution...but...
I'd love to have the option to buy a 3/4 ton pickup with a ~6.5' bed (so common), and in the future install a 7 or 7.5' custom camper on a similar length flatbed.
It looks like this is a fairly common practice? But, how to decide the upper limit of the rear overhang? Is there a known max overhang 'moment arm' that trucks can handle?
Or, does everyone 'just know' that a 1500lb camper with an extra foot of rear overhang works just fine?
 

IdaSHO

IDACAMPER
I know it's a big it-depends on the weight distribution...

you said it.

:)


But really, a 1500lb camper on a 7-8000lb modern 3/4 ton is no sweat.
And most are designed with a considerable amount of weight forward.
You should be fine.

Im currently in the design stages of a custom bed for our next setup.
It includes a 24" gear locker at the front of the bed.
This pushes the entire camper back 24"

Im not concerned though, as I know where the COG is and have a handle on weight distribution.

It will make the overall setup just that much longer though :sombrero:

SD0006.jpg
 

Bayou Boy

Adventurer
You really have to be realistic about what kind of trails you are going to take the truck on with the camper mounted. Everyone has these ideas of building something that will tackle a legit rock crawling trail but realistically, you are not taking a full size camper on anything rated more than 4 or maybe 5 which you can do in a stock pickup truck. I took my stock Platinum F150 Super Crew with factory 20" wheels with an 8ft ATC up 5 rated Stoney Pass in Colorado. It wasn't bad but I'm not doing anything worse with any kind of camper. Stuff just gets torn up from the rough road and if the camper doesn't have a popup you won't fit in most places due to trees.

What I found when I took my first trips out west is that you think you are headed waaay back in the mountains with your rig and you turn the corner and some guy with a 5th wheel is already there. That puts it in perspective.

I don't think overhang is as much of an issue as height of that overhang. With a flatbed, your camper is already going to be 3ft in the air. Are you really going to be doing trails that have drop offs higher than that?
 

rruff

Explorer
I'd love to have the option to buy a 3/4 ton pickup with a ~6.5' bed (so common), and in the future install a 7 or 7.5' custom camper on a similar length flatbed.
It looks like this is a fairly common practice? But, how to decide the upper limit of the rear overhang? Is there a known max overhang 'moment arm' that trucks can handle?
Or, does everyone 'just know' that a 1500lb camper with an extra foot of rear overhang works just fine?

I have a long bed and the camper sticks 3ft off the back. I'm not expecting any problems from that. The heavy stuff will be low and forward.
 

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F350joe

Well-known member
The guy who owned my truck previously had a flatbed made for his camper. The bed is 7ft and fits a short bed camper flush when up against the headache rack. You could have one made the length you want , no problem, or just find a used one and cut it down then paint.

Departure angle is what you are concerned about. Too much overhang can make crossing a simple wash a chore. https://www.vcalc.com/wiki/KurtHeckman/Approach+(departure)+angle

You also do not want to put much weight aft of the rear axel. Too much weight behind the axel puts a lot of torque on the suspension and forces it to work at an angle, not ideal off-road.

This is with my shortbed camper. 53428382-426A-4F09-BB27-5D7D4D4F3A13.jpeg
 

southpier

Expedition Leader
..Departure angle is what you are concerned about. Too much overhang can make crossing a simple wash a chore. https://www.vcalc.com/wiki/KurtHeckman/Approach+(departure)+angle

You also do not want to put much weight aft of the rear axel. Too much weight behind the axel puts a lot of torque on the suspension and forces it to work at an angle, not ideal off-road.

This is with my shortbed camper. View attachment 437552

this is what I would consider first, and I think other design factors will follow naturally.

Q: any bigger pictures of your rig?

Q2: how does the torque play into it? or am I not thinking about things hard enough?

thanks
 

Darwin

Explorer
I don't think departure angle that big of deal if your design is something similar to IDaSHO. The more important thing to consider is weight distribution and handling. 2' seems reasonable if most of your weight is forward
 

IdaSHO

IDACAMPER
I don't think departure angle that big of deal if your design is something similar to IDaSHO. The more important thing to consider is weight distribution and handling. 2' seems reasonable if most of your weight is forward

Yep, again, it comes down to where that weight is.

Sure, Im moving the entire camper back 24", but the gear locker I'm installing that justifies moving the camper will comprise of roughly 500#, locker + gear.

So the front-to-rear COG change will be negligible.

And my setup does not reduce the departure angle at all.

Ill ********** the spare tire WELL before the bed or camper. :)
 

F350joe

Well-known member
this is what I would consider first, and I think other design factors will follow naturally.

Q: any bigger pictures of your rig?

Q2: how does the torque play into it? or am I not thinking about things hard enough?

thanks

Torque may not be the right word but think of the weight behind the axel acting as a lever. It takes less weight to max out the suspension the farther back the weight is. Kind of the same idea behind braking over bumps. It puts the suspension at angles that are less than ideal. A couple few feet is no big deal though.
CD67D341-5DB0-463B-89A6-F8005F743523.jpeg
4DA0F5DD-3DE5-4E8D-835A-AAF8D7621F58.jpgE16517A4-01F8-4C62-8B40-D461772BF42E.jpgDEE1316F-954C-4639-83E8-6981DFCBDB59.jpeg
 

Kach

New member
I'll be following this thread as well - have a 3/4 ton Ram qcsb that I'm considering a custom flatbed camper build. Pretty light hopefully but wondering about going 7' bed with a 1' "expo overhang" with an angle back to the 7' to help departure. Also considering a direct frame mount option as well - flatbeds are a bit heavier than I was hoping.
 

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