Planning: positioning of the camper on the flatbed

[Belltownbikes]

So we are in the planning stages for our next camper. We have settled on a 3500 series truck with a flatbed and one of the 8' flatbed campers. We are thinking a Dodge 3500. I'm also thinking a 3500 crew cab chassis cab. These come in a couple of different lengths, but we would get the 60" cab-to-axle version which is normally fitted with a 9'4" flatbed. The chassis can be shortened to 8'.

In either case, we will fabricate the flatbed ourselves.

We must carry bicycles. But we also must upon occasion pull a racecar trailer or a snowmobile trailer. But sometimes we won't have either - the skis can just go in the truck.

I could shorten the chassis to accommodate an 8' flatbed. The camper would be tight up against the cab. I could fabricate a nice aluminum box that rested on the hitch receiver and attach to the back of the camper to house our bicycles. When we pull the trailer, this box could be easily removed and the trailer should tow nicely with the hitch relatively close to the rear wheels. And the bicycles could just get added to the rest of the stuff in the trailer.

Or - I could lengthen the chassis just a bit to allow me to build a 2' wide box that mounts right behind the cab with the camper on an 8' long flatbed behind this storage box. There's some advantages to this. One of which would be to allow me to install a rooftop carrier forward of the camper overhang. And the box is always there, and there is open access to the back of the camper. The disadvantages include, permanently increasing the overall length of the unit; and placing the receiver further from the rear wheels making towing slightly less enjoyable. It also pushes the relatively heavier camper further aft, placing the light bikes and stuff midships - which seems wrong.

Anyone have any thoughts on this matter? Thanks - Bob

 

[simple]

Those are all good considerations. The weight and CG's of the various campers might help drive your design process.
I'm assuming you are not going to be demounting the camper and it will have a side entry.
If you push the 8ft box up to the cab, maybe you could used the remaining 16 inches of chassis to mount your storage box. Add the "expo angle" to the bottom rear of the box so you can achieve your 24-30" depth while keeping your hitch receiver in a good spot.

 

[Rachel15]

You have shared a helpful post. It's a great idea to push the 8ft box up to the cab to have more storage.

 

[IdaSHO]

Id say it really depends upon how conscious you are about weight distribution.
Secondary would be what your actual needs require.

When built, I purposely designed our camper with a weight forward bias.
Looking at the photo below, our WET front-rear COG is right at the power ports, which is right above the rear tires.
This might seem a bit far back, but once you add the weight of the bed, the cross body box, and its contents, its perfect.
Rolling across the scales we are a 40/60 front/rear, which is ideal for the truck and its axle ratings.

Ours is a super cab with an 8' bed. I added roughly 24" to the rear of the chassis to support the bed and (re)hang the hitch.
That said, I integrated a large (24") cross body box to our bed for a few additional reasons.

*rear mounted box would be un-necessarily complicated to remove camper.
*as designed the box can handle not only long items, but tall. It hauls the camper jacks vertically, while still allowing loads of dry storage space for bikes, gear, etc.
*as designed provides adequate structure for the cantilever over-cab rack.
*as designed provides a convenient and secure location for fuel filler(s). Both fillers are right inside the drivers' side door.

It handles and performs fantastic.

 

[Belltownbikes]

Thanks for the feedback Kenny - and I bet looking at yours stuck in the back of my head somewhere. I'm very inclined to go that route. There are many advantages. I'll look up your thread - did you document construction of the box? It dawned on me this weekend I could get a couple of commercial steel boxes, set them on end, cut the backs out and fabricate a bridge between them. Would save a bunch of fab time. Have a good day - Bob

 

[IdaSHO]

Thats exactly what I did for the boxes for mine.

I didnt want to spend the time and effort of working out the door/seals/latches, so I sourced some 24x60 boxes to use.
Lopped the business end off, and tied it to a simple steel angle iron frame work.
The bulk of the panels on the bed are .090 aluminum.
The steel provides the shape, the aluminum provides the sheer strength.

Plenty more photos of the bed construction here...

SuperDuty

Explore this photo album by Kenny Bonnefin on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

 

[Belltownbikes]

Thanks again for the information. The photos are very helpful. I like your ladder storage. I'm trying to work out some sort of platform that would be 6-8" below the door. Then there would be one less step to deal with. I'm approaching retirement and anticipate that this would be our retirement home and in use as long as I can manage it. I can forsee a time when a tallish open ladder might be a challenge, if not for me then for the dog (if might be a challenge for the dog right now). But that whole concept runs counter to "keeping is as simple as possible". Have a great day - Bob

 

[IdaSHO]

Your very welcome. And I totally understand the concern about ladder/stair height. Had it not been a concern, I wouldnt have the large fold out stair grab bar. I really didnt want anything bolted to the outside walls, for a few reasons, but safety when entering/exiting especially in the ice/snow ultimately won out.