camper tie-down systems

[K-9]

I'm new to this site and apologize if this is a silly question. I have a 1990 Eagle II that I carried on my 1989 Dodge Dakota. I now have a new F250. Because the Eagle II is 7' wide like many larger campers, (and their material says it will fit) we thought it would work. Our problem is the tie down system. We want something that goes in the frame but don't feel confident about the clearance between the side of the truck and a tie-down like Torklift. The camper is a pop-up and only weighs 1,130 lbs., but I don't want to ruin my truck bed either. Any ideas?

[K-9]

I'm new to this site and apologize if this is a silly question. I have a 1990 Eagle II that I carried on my 1989 Dodge Dakota. I now have a new F250. Because the Eagle II is 7' wide like many larger campers, (and their material says it will fit) we thought it would work. Our problem is the tie down system. We want something that goes in the frame but don't feel confident about the clearance between the side of the truck and a tie-down like Torklift. The camper is a pop-up and only weighs 1,130 lbs., but I don't want to ruin my truck bed either. Any ideas?

[RedneckExpress]

Well, shy of going to Happijacs, you could use belly bars, but they'll always be sticking out, unlike the torklifts.

[K-9]

Thanks for the suggestion. I had belly bars on the Dakota, but I thought I read somewhere that late model trucks like my F250 are difficult to fit--the belly bar may interfere with the drive shaft. I'll do some further checking.

--Lori

[Tombs]

I had a belly bar on my truck for one trip. When I unloaded the camper after I was home I had a bad vibe going down the road. The bar had scored the shaft and through it out of balance. We had no idea that had happend. No sound or feel of it.The dealer warr. covered it but it would have cost almost a thousand for the fix.
I now have the torx lift and love it. No problems with clearance.