alaskan camper on flatbed

[bikeymikey]

i really liked the idea of the extra storage i'd get if i put my swapped my factory truck bed to a flatbed and built (or bought) some boxes for the top and undersides of the bed. especially after seeing how much less space there is in an alaskan compared to our old fwc granby. well I finally found a flatbed i pulled off a junker and got it on my truck but when i go to put the camper on it, i find that the jacks are too short.

i need some advice or suggestions.

in the far corner of my storage facility are a bunch of 12"x12"x4(or 6'). they're huge! i'm thinking about borrowing a few of those to bring the jacks up a tad to hopefully clear the deck.

thoughts?

thanks!

 

[mississippi]

Should work fine, just took my Alaskan off today and used 2x lumber as I only needed an inch. A flatbed is generally 3-4 inches higher than the factory box.

 

[TWHuntFish]

Those folks there are pretty cool...they won't mind as long as the dunnage gets put back.

We saw you Sunday when we parked the Fuso. That is going to be a good rig with that camper.
I will be over there on the 4th. working on my truck ... if you need a hand let me know.

 

[Carlyle]

A little wood under the jacks is a good idea, even when they are long enough.

Congrats on getting an Alaskan!

 

[bikeymikey]

Those folks there are pretty cool...they won't mind as long as the dunnage gets put back.

We saw you Sunday when we parked the Fuso. That is going to be a good rig with that camper.
I will be over there on the 4th. working on my truck ... if you need a hand let me know.

right on. i spotted you too, and would have said hi but i kinda had my hands full and limited time. you have some nice setups as well.

good to know i can make use of that wood. i'll be sure to put everything back as i found it.

and thanks for the offer to help, but the 4th is my last day at the facility, so i'm going to try to get out there this afternoon or tomorrow morning to do the deed.

mike

 

[bikeymikey]

A little wood under the jacks is a good idea, even when they are long enough.

Congrats on getting an Alaskan!

thank you! we've taken it out camping a few times and it's been great! we have a trip planned to yosemite next month. then it's off on our overland trip down the pan am.

 

[boblynch]

I had the same problem with short jack legs. We chopped off the feet and welded an extension to make them long enough. I normally stow the rear legs in a storage box to improve departure angle. Wood blocks are a good thing to bring along in either case.

 

[wyocoyote]

CAREFUL!
I haven't read your whole post yet, I just loaded a 8 foot alaskan on my dodge dually approx 8 foot by 8 foot flatbed with beefy headache rack. those reico titan 1000lb tripod jacks arent all that lets just say
It took all kinds of ingenuity to load it on the high wide flatbed.
AFTER LOADING AVOID MY MISTAKE:
I have some good anchor points on my bed, and used strong turnbuckles and chain to connect to the plates on the camper jack brackets on the Alaskan.
Here is the problem: since my alaskan is not designed for a flatbed, but rather to sit on the rails of a truck bed, or on the boxes of a utility bed, these anchor points are not safe on their own.
You need to put at minimum some kind of post in each corner near or under the brackets, particularly in the rear. I learned the hard way, on the road I checked and retightened the turnbuckles a couple of times.
Yikes when I checked things the next day after this 100 mile away pckup, I found my door would not close properly, I was about to curse the man I had bought it from. Since there wan nothing but the framing being pulled down towards the flatbed and nothing for the framing that is designed to catch the bed rails to rest on, I tweaked the camper, splayed it out a bit. I feel sure i will be able to remedy this by putting a block or tool box below.
Dont make my mistake. I'm sure this applies to any camper designed for a standard truck bed that you mount to a flatbed.
I too have switched from a FWC Grandby to an Alaskan.

 

[fisher205]

I don't know how old your Alaskan is, but they originally were designed to be mounted through the floor. If you are using the lift mounts you will be pulling the back apart so that the door won't close. I put eye bolts in closer to the wall to tie it down with. I also HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you get some tiedowns like happijacs or gunslingers that have some give if you are going to do any offroading.

 

[bikeymikey]

CAREFUL!
I haven't read your whole post yet, I just loaded a 8 foot alaskan on my dodge dually approx 8 foot by 8 foot flatbed with beefy headache rack. those reico titan 1000lb tripod jacks arent all that lets just say
It took all kinds of ingenuity to load it on the high wide flatbed.
AFTER LOADING AVOID MY MISTAKE:
I have some good anchor points on my bed, and used strong turnbuckles and chain to connect to the plates on the camper jack brackets on the Alaskan.
Here is the problem: since my alaskan is not designed for a flatbed, but rather to sit on the rails of a truck bed, or on the boxes of a utility bed, these anchor points are not safe on their own.
You need to put at minimum some kind of post in each corner near or under the brackets, particularly in the rear. I learned the hard way, on the road I checked and retightened the turnbuckles a couple of times.
Yikes when I checked things the next day after this 100 mile away pckup, I found my door would not close properly, I was about to curse the man I had bought it from. Since there wan nothing but the framing being pulled down towards the flatbed and nothing for the framing that is designed to catch the bed rails to rest on, I tweaked the camper, splayed it out a bit. I feel sure i will be able to remedy this by putting a block or tool box below.
Dont make my mistake. I'm sure this applies to any camper designed for a standard truck bed that you mount to a flatbed.
I too have switched from a FWC Grandby to an Alaskan.

oh wow. that is good to know. i was just about to order some anchors, but now i'll have to reconsider. have you put the posts under your corners? if yes, how did it work out for you? do you have pictures to share?
the whole point to mounting it on a flatbed is obviously to have extra storage. i wanted to get some custom made wooden boxes. do you think that if i have them made to fit flush under the overhangs that would be sufficient to resist the splaying effect, or would it be wise to beef up the corners of the boxes?

I don't know how old your Alaskan is, but they originally were designed to be mounted through the floor. If you are using the lift mounts you will be pulling the back apart so that the door won't close. I put eye bolts in closer to the wall to tie it down with. I also HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you get some tiedowns like happijacs or gunslingers that have some give if you are going to do any offroading.

mine's a 1991, and i was planning on bolting it through the floor, in addition to using turnbuckles spring loaded. that's what you're recommending, am i correct?

 

[fisher205]

mine's a 1991, and i was planning on bolting it through the floor, in addition to using turnbuckles spring loaded. that's what you're recommending, am i correct?

I have the front on cushioned turnbuckles and the back through the floor. I would recommend tying to the camper with an angle iron in the side wall instead of through the overhang. I also cushioned the through the floor bolts with some old rollerblade tires. This allow a little give in the back mounts.

 

[bikeymikey]

I have the front on cushioned turnbuckles and the back through the floor. I would recommend tying to the camper with an angle iron in the side wall instead of through the overhang. I also cushioned the through the floor bolts with some old rollerblade tires. This allow a little give in the back mounts.

interesting... do you have a picture of your angle iron set up that you could show me?

thanks, mike

 

[fisher205]

No, I actually have it tied through the overhang using eyebolts, but have managed to pull out the corners and straighten out the eye bolts ( I probably take the camper into to many places that it wasn't meant to go). I just believe the angle iron on the sides and mounting to the floor won't cause as much twisting on the camper as mounted out on the overhang. I also don't like the use of elevator bolts as well as the eye hooks. I would rather have the eye hooks fail than tear the camper apart. I will try and post some pictures. There are some in an old thread but it may be hard to find.

 

[bikeymikey]

No, I actually have it tied through the overhang using eyebolts, but have managed to pull out the corners and straighten out the eye bolts ( I probably take the camper into to many places that it wasn't meant to go). I just believe the angle iron on the sides and mounting to the floor won't cause as much twisting on the camper as mounted out on the overhang. I also don't like the use of elevator bolts as well as the eye hooks. I would rather have the eye hooks fail than tear the camper apart. I will try and post some pictures. There are some in an old thread but it may be hard to find.

i found it, thank you.

i'm going to be bolting the camper through the deck of the flatbed, since that's one of the requirements for converting my 1 ton commercial registration to rv registration, thus saving me a coupla hundred bucks every year.
if i use the same type of mounting as you did on all 4 corners, with rollerblade wheels, would i still need the turnbuckles? i would rather not have to use them because i really want to build some boxes to go under the overhangs, and they just get it the way.
my flatbed is mounted solidly to the rear of the frame, and the middle and front mounting points are going to be of the floating variety.

 

[fisher205]

No you shouldn't need the turnbuckles. I originally was going to just bolt through the bed but my fuel tank was in the way. You will probably have enough room with the flatbed to get at a bolt. I would like to someday put mine on a flatbed also, but I have a new ride for the old Alaskan and will have to do things as I can afford it.