newbie buys slide-in project

[donpontiac]

hey guys, this is my first post on this fine site.i've been a car guy all my life (50+ yrs) and have recently bought (stole) a slidein for some traveling i want to do in a couple years. it's a 98 shadow cruiser 961 with roof problems. i have it tarped till warm weather when i can fix that problem. evrything else about it seems to work fine and is in excelent condition. any advise on this part would be appreciated. i,ve not yet bought a truck but bear in mind, i own a truck salvage yard. i've been thinking of making a 96 or 97 f450 super duty with a super cab 4x2 and a flat bed with a zf 5 speed and a powerstroke 7.3. i'm hoping i can get some input from some of you guys about the camper mostly but also the power train ideas on the truck. thanks for giving this your thought.

[BigRedLancer]

Welcome to IRV2. I see no one has responded to your questions. I am not familiar with the Truck Camper you mention but having owned several TCs, I suggest that you select a truck based on two main issues. 1. The TC should fit the bed properly. Don't put a 8' TC on a 6' bed. 2. IMHO the #1 issue with TCs is you should have a truck that can safely carry the weight with the center of gravity in front of the rear axel.

Generally speaking, TCs are designed to sit in a truck bed as opposed to a flat bed. As with any heavy load, the drive train should be capable of handling the weight and have enough power to handle hills and long grades. Another concern with a TC on a truck is adequate braking. My last TC/truck weight in at 12,000 lbs and the service brakes were inadequate for the load.

Good luck with your project. Let us know what you decide for the truck.

[FatDog]

I am considering a TC but have never had one,
as compared to a flatbed ... does the truck box just provide tiedown points for the camper and stability for containing it?
the box sides don't provide any load bearing weight support too, or do they?

(here's a tow'r '96 450 for Don the truck guy )

[BigRedLancer]

I personally have never seen a TC on a flatbed. I don't know how secure the TC would be on a flatbed as my Lance sat between the bed's wheel wells and pressed against the front of the bed when properly loaded. Mine never moved as I traveled but I don't know if it would have on a flatbed.

My older TC had access doors inside the camper that allowed access to the truck bed area between the camper and inside bed side wall. This door was made of 1/4" panel that could be easily broken allowing entry into the TC. The tie down system (Happijac), on my Lance camper, were bolted to the front of the bed for the front tie down points. The tail gate was removed and the TC completely cleared the bed sides.

Good luck on your project.

Cheers

[CD]

I have seen TCs on flatbeds. I never looked at how they were secured but it must work.

[FatDog]

I have never owned a TC but am looking into them,
I have heard that the tie-downs for it shouldn't be tied straight down, but rather at an angle. Presumably, at an angle prevents some sway that would be more likely if the tie-downs are just latched straight downwards. (?)

If that is the case, it seems to me that a TC could obviously be tied down to a flatbed very very tightly, but that TC sway would be more so then if a bed was there to help contain it.

[CD]

Our TC the tie downs are angled fore & aft and I think most or all are.

[donpontiac]

THANKS FOR ALL THE RESPONSES. I DON'T GET A LOT OF CHANCES TO LOG ON HERE BUT I COULD TELL THAT YOU GUYS COULD HELP. FATDOG, YOU'RE THINKING LIKE ME. AN F450 SD HAS FOUR WHEEL DISC BRAKES AND GROSSES JUST OVER 15,000 LBS. I HAVE ONE AS A ROLLBACK AND JUST THIS PAST WEEKEND I HAULED A F250 4X4 7.3 WITH A ZF 5 SPD. I SCALED THE LOAD IN WHEN I GOT BACK HERE TO THE YARD AND THE LOAD WEIGHED 5960 LBS WITH A GROSS OF 15520. I DON'T THINK I COULD MAKE MY TC WEIGH 6000 LBS UNLESS I WAS CARRYING LUCY'S ROCK COLLECTION. (REMEMBER THE LONG LONG TRAILER WITH DESI AND LUCY?) AS FAR AS THE CAMPER ON A FLAT BED, I'D ATTACH A HEAVY ANGLE AT THE FRONT TO KEEP IT IN PLACE IN CASE OF A ACCIDENT AND POSSIBLY DOWN EACH SIDE. MY CONCERN IN THE CLEARENCE BETWEEN THE REAR WHEELS ON THE EARLY SUPER DUTIES.IT'LL ONLY LEAVE ABOUT AND INCH AND A HALF CLEARENCE THE INSIDE TIRE AND THE CAMPER. IS THAT ENOUGH???? PERSONALLY, I DON'T SEE THE NEED FOR A PICKUP BOX. THE CAMPER HAS IT'S OWN LIGHTS AND TAG BRACKET. I CAN EASY FABRICATE TIEDOWNS TO HOOK TO THE ORIGINAL TIEDOWNS ON THE CAMPER. THE PICKUP BED JUST SEEMS LIKE DEAD WEIGHT TO ME. THAT WAY I CAN ADD SOME STEEL JOB BOXES IN THE SIDE VOID AREA WHERE THE BED WOULD NORMALY BE.

[shovelrocker]

Yea, It'll work out great. You could put toolboxs running down the sides of the bed for storage under the camper. I had to shorten the sides of my F-350 to fit my Palomino Maverick 8801 in the bed, it was 15 inches from going all the way into the bed so I cut 15" out of the bed rails and recessed the tail lights. Now I'm thinkin storage in the form of underbed truck boxs, I'm gonna sink one on each side in front of the wheel well. Hey, you having a truck salvage yard, would you have a couple of these laying around? I'm thinking 24" x 18" x 18" black under bed boxes. shovelrocker3@yahoo.com