Roof clearance
Roof clearance
apstang50 |
Apr 16 2017, 04:47 PM
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#1
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Group: Members Posts: 12 Joined: 24-October 16 Member No.: 9,235 Favorite Truck Camper(s): lance Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: 2001 GMC Sierra 2500HD extended cab Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift with Fastguns Truck and Camper Setup: Just bought my first slide in. A 1992 Six-Pac. |
So I need to build a box for my camper to sit on so the over hang will clear the rood of the truck. I've looked in the owners manual for the camper but it doesn't say. From the bottom of the camper to the over hang is about 40". From the bed of my truck the the top of the lights is about 42". I'm thinking if I build a 5-6" box for the camper to sit on, that should give me 3-4" of clearance. Just looking to see what everyone else has on average for clearance between the roof of your truck and the over hang of the camper. Thanx.
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SidecarFlip |
Apr 16 2017, 07:15 PM
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#2
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Group: Members Posts: 472 Joined: 15-October 16 Member No.: 9,221 Favorite Truck Camper(s): Forest River Palomino SS Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: 1997 Ford F350 4x4 LB SRW CC 7.3 diesel Type of Tiedowns used: HappyJac standard Truck and Camper Setup: 1997 Ford F350 4 door 4x4 Crew Cab 7.3 Diesel, Lance 915 loaded, 2015 Palomino SS1500 Loaded |
QUOTE(apstang50 @ Apr 16 2017, 04:47 PM) So I need to build a box for my camper to sit on so the over hang will clear the rood of the truck. I've looked in the owners manual for the camper but it doesn't say. From the bottom of the camper to the over hang is about 40". From the bed of my truck the the top of the lights is about 42". I'm thinking if I build a 5-6" box for the camper to sit on, that should give me 3-4" of clearance. Just looking to see what everyone else has on average for clearance between the roof of your truck and the over hang of the camper. Thanx. Not following your line of thinking. If you have a Lance and a normal pickup truck, the camper overhang (bunk I presume) should clear the cab with only a bed mat in the bed. I've never seen one that didn't clear. I've seen some close ones where the owners had to add a sheet or two of plywood, but never a box. You start elevating the camper 5 or 6" off the bed, you'll have handling nightmares as well as tie down issues. With a hard side vertical Cg is important when it comes to roadability. |
apstang50 |
Apr 16 2017, 08:34 PM
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#3
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Group: Members Posts: 12 Joined: 24-October 16 Member No.: 9,235 Favorite Truck Camper(s): lance Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: 2001 GMC Sierra 2500HD extended cab Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift with Fastguns Truck and Camper Setup: Just bought my first slide in. A 1992 Six-Pac. |
QUOTE(SidecarFlip @ Apr 16 2017, 07:15 PM) Not following your line of thinking. If you have a Lance and a normal pickup truck, the camper overhang (bunk I presume) should clear the cab with only a bed mat in the bed. I've never seen one that didn't clear. I've seen some close ones where the owners had to add a sheet or two of plywood, but never a box. You start elevating the camper 5 or 6" off the bed, you'll have handling nightmares as well as tie down issues. With a hard side vertical Cg is important when it comes to roadability. I didn't say I have a lance. Not sure where you got that? I'm not new to towing or hauling heavy loads. Just looking to see what others have for clearance so I can get a better idea of what I need. |
towpro |
Apr 17 2017, 07:40 AM
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#4
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Group: Members Posts: 27 Joined: 7-February 11 Member No.: 5,281 Favorite Truck Camper(s): Arctic Fox Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: 15 Ram 3500 Dually 4x4 Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift Truck and Camper Setup: 2016 Arctic Fox 990 |
Yes truck beds and cabs have changed through the years so older campers might not fit some newer trucks. I think I have heard of this problem with Ford?
anyway, most recommend screwing the required height adjustment framework to the bottom of camper so it comes in and out with the camper. Wish I had some measurements to help you. Another group of people who have had to do this through the years were trying to accommodate 5th wheel hitch rails that were permanently mounted into bed of truck. |
SidecarFlip |
Apr 17 2017, 08:55 AM
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#5
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Group: Members Posts: 472 Joined: 15-October 16 Member No.: 9,221 Favorite Truck Camper(s): Forest River Palomino SS Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: 1997 Ford F350 4x4 LB SRW CC 7.3 diesel Type of Tiedowns used: HappyJac standard Truck and Camper Setup: 1997 Ford F350 4 door 4x4 Crew Cab 7.3 Diesel, Lance 915 loaded, 2015 Palomino SS1500 Loaded |
QUOTE(apstang50 @ Apr 16 2017, 08:34 PM) I didn't say I have a lance. Not sure where you got that? I'm not new to towing or hauling heavy loads. Just looking to see what others have for clearance so I can get a better idea of what I need. Got it from your data list right under your screen name... "Favorite Truck Camper: LANCE |
JADE RACING |
Apr 17 2017, 09:32 AM
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#6
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Group: Members Posts: 46 Joined: 12-December 14 Member No.: 7,895 Favorite Truck Camper(s): adventurer Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: 07 gmc 3500 dually D/A Type of Tiedowns used: torklift/fastguns Truck and Camper Setup: 07GMC3500 dually diesel/auto airbags torklift tiedowns/fastguns 56 gal transferflow tank banks spd brake/tuner;06 adventurer 106DBS 2.5ownan geny awning topper torklift stairs remote bbq rear awning ext trl hitch/basket for sewer tote |
WHEN WE TRADED OUR LAST T/C, THE NEW TO US, A 2006 Adventurer106DBS came with an aluminum 4x4 frame that had been fabricated and was screwed to the bottom of the t/c. When I initially loaded the t/c onto our 1 ton dually I noticed that it had nearly 10" of clearance between the cab roof and under belly of t/c. After returning home I removed this framing and now have about 5" clearance at the clearance lights. Handling was amazing after the removal. That was a return trip from lower New Hampshire to Ontario. Turns out that the previous owner had a newer Ford with a deeper box and needed the clearance for the bed rail tops. Not all campers are built to the same specs.
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SidecarFlip |
Apr 17 2017, 06:39 PM
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#7
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Group: Members Posts: 472 Joined: 15-October 16 Member No.: 9,221 Favorite Truck Camper(s): Forest River Palomino SS Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: 1997 Ford F350 4x4 LB SRW CC 7.3 diesel Type of Tiedowns used: HappyJac standard Truck and Camper Setup: 1997 Ford F350 4 door 4x4 Crew Cab 7.3 Diesel, Lance 915 loaded, 2015 Palomino SS1500 Loaded |
Always keep in mind that the higher the camper sits, the higher the vertical Cg is.
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RV_Tech |
Apr 18 2017, 10:24 AM
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#8
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Group: Members Posts: 201 Joined: 27-July 12 Member No.: 6,199 Favorite Truck Camper(s): Hallmark, Northstar, Outfitter Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: F-350 SRW 6.2 Supercab Type of Tiedowns used: Happijack front, Torklift rear Truck and Camper Setup: Hallmark Ute XL No modes to truck Torklift Fast Guns Fast guns had to be cut down to absolute minimum (14 1/2") to use with Happijac front tie down and Hallmark camper. |
With the newer Fords the bed rail height issue is well documented with Northstar offering a bed riser for Ford trucks as an option and if you pull up "bed riser" on the web, you will see a load of different designs.
Steve |
Dorado |
Apr 20 2017, 12:03 PM
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#9
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Group: Members Posts: 31 Joined: 2-February 17 Member No.: 9,387 Favorite Truck Camper(s): Lance Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: 1995 Ford F-350XLT Crew Cab Type of Tiedowns used: Happijac Truck and Camper Setup: F-350XLT:Airbags, Happijac Tiedowns, 1997 Lance 880 |
I have a '97 Lance on a '95 F-350. The previous owner of my camper doubled stacked 2x4's for clearance on his truck. While taking it home I noticed that I had a lot of sway. I removed one layer or 1.5" and that little bit improved the sway and handling immensely. You want the camper as low as you can get it and still have clearance. I would remove the last layer of 2x4's except I have things bolted into my bed that I need.
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SidecarFlip |
Apr 20 2017, 08:30 PM
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#10
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Group: Members Posts: 472 Joined: 15-October 16 Member No.: 9,221 Favorite Truck Camper(s): Forest River Palomino SS Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: 1997 Ford F350 4x4 LB SRW CC 7.3 diesel Type of Tiedowns used: HappyJac standard Truck and Camper Setup: 1997 Ford F350 4 door 4x4 Crew Cab 7.3 Diesel, Lance 915 loaded, 2015 Palomino SS1500 Loaded |
QUOTE(Dorado @ Apr 20 2017, 12:03 PM) I have a '97 Lance on a '95 F-350. The previous owner of my camper doubled stacked 2x4's for clearance on his truck. While taking it home I noticed that I had a lot of sway. I removed one layer or 1.5" and that little bit improved the sway and handling immensely. You want the camper as low as you can get it and still have clearance. I would remove the last layer of 2x4's except I have things bolted into my bed that I need. Thats vertical Cg or the pendulem effect. The higher the load, the more sway. Why truckers haul heavy machinery on a drop deck. You want the load as low as possible. One of the main reasons I sold my 97 Lance HS. My 350 Ford 4x4 is 6 over stock so the Lance sat way high (13' 2" to the top of the AC unit) and in a cross wind or a curvy road, I was keenly aware of the high center of gravity. With air bags and sway bars (front and rear), it was rock and roll. Very disconcerting at times. My new Palomino SS has a much lower vertical Cg and I purposely load heavy items on the floor (like my inverter generator). Unlike the Lance, the Palomino carries it's batteries in the front compartment with the FW tank, on the floor. My Lance had it's battery box up high on the side. My propane bottles were also high. The Palomino carries them lower and every pound of weight factors into the sway equation. Finally, I don't have a roof air unit now. Thats 100 pounds way up in the air that adds to the rock and roll. My truck does double duty as a farm truck so I have a gooseneck hitch in the bed, but it folds away so it don't stick up at all. Basements are nice on a TC, but basements add to height and that adds to sway. |
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