Idacamper Custom Flatbed

[Porkchopexpress]

Very impressive build! I'm sure you enjoy using it even more knowing you built it and it is made to last.

 

[IdaSHO]

This build is terrific. Thanks for all the info.

Do you have a link for the donor ladder on these steps?

Thanks, and sure thing.

Stairs were made using one of these.

 

[ITTOG]

Great job and thanks for sharing.

 

[trackhead]

My favorite build on this forum. If I remember right, you said your old bed didn’t flex anyway (to any appreciable degree)?

 

[NOPEC]

My favorite build on this forum. If I remember right, you said your old bed didn’t flex anyway (to any appreciable degree)?

I would agree with Trackhead on the build. It is just great and has been really inspiring.

But, one of the best thing to me that came out of this build thread was a simple comment from IdaSHO a long time ago which I always rely on when I am banging away on my own projects. If I remember correctly, he said something like, "It may not be perfect, but it is excellent". Which, really is a standard unto itself, one many of us DIYers here can take heart in!!

 

[trackhead]

I would agree with Trackhead on the build. It is just great and has been really inspiring.

But, one of the best thing to me that came out of this build thread was a simple comment from IdaSHO a long time ago which I always rely on when I am banging away on my own projects. If I remember correctly, he said something like, "It may not be perfect, but it is excellent". Which, really is a standard unto itself, one many of us DIYers here can take heart in!!

The build is a keep it simple, well thought out camper with what many would criticize (armchair quarterbacks) the use of wood. But he’s proven it works, and really put some thought into how to make it work.

I love that it’s not carbon fiber, uses cheap XPS foam, and still kicks ass and actually gets used.

 

[IdaSHO]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the comments.

My favorite build on this forum. If I remember right, you said your old bed didn’t flex anyway (to any appreciable degree)?

The factory bed did flex plenty. The chassis on these trucks is still pretty flexy.

Here is a shot of the chassis flex. Both drivers front and passenger rear tires are hanging in this shot.
Its a good 6-8 inches from rear of cab to bumper of twist in total.

here is it showing the flex from the rear during bed build.
Though not totally flexed out... and not bottomed out in the pivot so it has more to offer.

 

[KiwiMtnClmbr]

Thanks as usual for taking the time to share so much of what you've learned and put into practice. I'm continuing to try and convince myself I don't need a pivot based subframe for my build. Every time I come back to study your rig and what you've been able to do with materials that others eschew, I find that asides of course from build quality and intentional design, the defining characteristic feature is probably that your box experiences significantly less stress than most if not all other demountables out there.

 

[trackhead]

Hey Kiwi,

Why does his box experience less stress? Because of new pivot mount? Or wood/flex construction? Curious?

 

[KiwiMtnClmbr]

Hey Kiwi,

Why does his box experience less stress? Because of new pivot mount? Or wood/flex construction? Curious?

Yes and yes. Far too many of us build strong like bull and of course we see where that ends up. But, making something just flexible enough that's adapted appropriately to the platform (truck) is obviously some mad scientist work. My WB is something like half of IdaSHO's and my rails are more twist resistant from both the design/build perspective and because it's a narrower and shorter length frame: it simply cannot twist as much. That said, as my track width is also narrower, smaller weight shifts and position changes from a pivot mount like his will/do have a significantly more noticeable affect on the handling and stability of my truck. I was all in on a free floating subframe until talking with a bunch of bush firefighters in Oz and NZ who have used small cabovers like mine for years and years as tankers and support vehicles on mountainside fires. Their preference across the board is captive springs with a very rigid subframe, but that applies only to the smaller and proportionally stiffer setups like mine. ymmv

 

[IdaSHO]

There is a bit of wizardry for sure. But unlike a spring mount, a properly built pivoting mount like mine goes a long way in isolating the camper from stresses, with considerably less substructure (and weight)

The entire bed, including crossbody box and over-cab rack, weighs just 400# (roughly) more than the factory bed (as I recall... its been a while!)
Knowing the flex/twisting limits of the truck chassis, and building the subframe and pivoting hardware with limits that exceed that of the chassis, the camper should never see ANY of those flex/twisting forces.

 

[IdaSHO]

This photo I posted previously shows the amount of available pivot.

Ive never bothered to measure it but it is a lot. Not shown is the shock assembly that I also incorporated to dampen movement when unloaded.
I have the truck in the shop this weekend, Ill snap some photos of that as well.

 

[KiwiMtnClmbr]

There is a bit of wizardry for sure. But unlike a spring mount, a properly built pivoting mount like mine goes a long way in isolating the camper from stresses, with considerably less substructure (and weight)

The entire bed, including crossbody box and over-cab rack, weighs just 400# (roughly) more than the factory bed (as I recall... its been a while!)
Knowing the flex/twisting limits of the truck chassis, and building the subframe and pivoting hardware with limits that exceed that of the chassis, the camper should never see ANY of those flex/twisting forces.

^ what he said ;-)

Sorry if it seemed like I was taking away from the discussion or in any way criticizing the build. I was literally lamenting that I keep getting feedback from those experienced with my specific platform not to do something like this, even though we can now see a great example of it working when set up correctly.

 

[KiwiMtnClmbr]

This photo I posted previously shows the amount of available pivot.

Ive never bothered to measure it but it is a lot. Not shown is the shock assembly that I also incorporated to dampen movement when unloaded.
I have the truck in the shop this weekend, Ill snap some photos of that as well.

Thanks in advance RE the dampeners. Please share if you can how/why you set them up however was most successful as this is a big part of the wizardry methinks!

 

[IdaSHO]

Here you go, photos of the rear dampers.

These are nothing more than front shocks for this truck.
The used car dealer that we purchased it from had tossed these inexpensive shocks on it.
I swapped them out to KYB Monomax shocks, so these were free to use...

The lower mount is a tab thats bolted to the rear hitch.
Upper mount is integrated into the bed.

These do very little, if anything loaded.
The entire bed is essentially made out of sheet metal. Its not terribly stiff.
So unloaded going down the road, road vibrations and harmonics tend to make it wobble a bit.
Their purpose is to dampen that movement, and they work 100%, without inhibiting the 3-point pivoting system.

And don't mind the mess. This is no show truck.