FAQ for Flatbed Truck Camper
Publish Time: 2021-08-17 Origin: Site
What is a Flatbed Truck Camper?
Truck campers mounted on pickup trucks are the most popular. A unit referred to as a slide-in, or cab-over is lowered or slid into the bed of the pickup then secured in place using tie-downs and turnbuckles. Pickup campers can be mounted on trucks as small as half-ton models, also known as light-duty pickups, such as the Ford F-150, Ram 1500, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, GMC Sierra 1500, Nissan Titan and Toyota Tundra. These trucks are rated to carry loads up 1,000 lbs. making them suitable for small slide-ins. Larger camper units require a three-quarter or one-ton pickup. Flatbed truck campers are mounted on trucks with a flatbed. And as the name suggests, they are built with no fixed sides, tailgate or roof. Tie-downs are typically located along the side of the trailer. Some people remove the truck bed from their pickup truck and replace it with a flatbed. Some flatbed truck and campers can range up to 53 feet long, accommodating a larger, more roomy camper body, although most camper bodies are 6.5 to 11.5 feet in length. The resulting vehicle often looks much like a Class C RV. The difference being that the camper portion can be lifted off, allowing the vehicle underneath to revert to use as a truck.
Why Choose a Flatbed Truck Camper?
1. Off-Road Capabilities: Truck campers in general, both the pickup and flatbed based models, are favorites with owners who plan to take their rigs off-road, do a lot of boondocking, or just enjoy going where more “delicate” motorhomes wouldn’t dare. The four-wheel-drive feature of many trucks lets the truck camper travel through sand, mud, and steep and bumpy conditions that would destroy a typical motorhome, or at least leave it waiting for a tow. 2. Can Tow A Trailer: Truck campers, with their more powerful engines, also are great for towing boats, horse trailers, or utility trailers loaded with motorcycles, ATVs, jet skis, snowmobiles or other “toys” that today’s adventure seekers want to bring along on vacation. 3. Easy to Drive: Truck campers are generally smaller than big motorhomes or fifth-wheel combinations. They have a tighter turning radius and are easier to park since they usually fit in a regular parking space. Gas mileage is likely to be a bit better as well. And the units are easier to store and maintain. 4. Registration and Insurance Savings: Another, often overlooked, advantage of a truck camper is the savings in insurance, registration, and licensing fees. Many, if not most, states consider the camper body itself to be cargo, instead of a typical RV that has to be registered as a separate vehicle. All owners have to do is maintain the license and registration on the truck itself. The same goes for insurance, although some companies will offer a special rider for the truck camper, usually at low cost. 5. Tax Advantages: There may be a tax break involved as well. The IRS waives the $25,000 limit on expensing any vehicle “equipped with a cargo area (either open or enclosed by a cap) of at least 6 feet in interior length that is not readily accessible from the passenger compartment.”
6. More Space: Since flatbed truck campers don’t have to fit into a pickup truck bed, they have additional storage space for a water heater, water tanks, extra batteries, and propane as well as more spacious living quarters. Some even have storage boxes mounted at the back of the camper.
They are secured to the truck bed itself, often with pins or bolts, without cutouts around the wheel wells and the sides of the truck bed. This lower center of gravity makes them more stable, as well, allowing heavy items like water, propane, and batteries to sit lower in the overall design. Some flatbed trucks also have a crew cab so a couple more adults can ride along too. 7. Multiple Uses: You can also remove the camper and use your flatbed truck for work or other activities. Therefore, your flatbed truck can be used in a variety of ways. Truck campers have some “cons” as well. They aren’t ideal for people that need accessible features, due to the higher clearance, and many find that the interior is cramped compared to a big Class A of the sort preferred by full-timers. While pickup campers have traditionally dominated the truck camper field, flatbed campers have become increasingly popular in recent years. The slide-out design necessarily causes the pickup camper to be narrow on the bottom to fit into the truck bed, then balloon out over the truck sides. This design not only limits storage and living space; it may create a top-heavy rig and affect stability.
-Can you pre-cut openings for windows and doors?
We can offer this service with cost as we have embeded strengthen parts inside, but that will be confirmed before producing. your own Openings can easily be cut with a jigsaw and plastic rated blade, but the embeded strengthen parts can not make . So if it willl work in really bad expedition, you'd better let us pre-cut opennings for windows and doors.
Can you do departure angles?
Yes, we have two size of the box shape, one is the standard square shape , the other is the departure angle design. Please mark the desired angle (including dimensions) in the quoting template if you need.
-Can you design subframes?
We have the service of this, but you need supply the full chassis layout to us in advance.
-Can I use different windows and doors than what’s listed on your specification?
Yes. However, we highly recommend our windows and doors as they work in perfect balance with our camper bodies.
–Can I order a camper body with an alcove?
Yes. Please ask us for our alcove quoting template.
–What’s included in the shipment?
1. CKD type with All panels cut to size (other than departure angle),
2. CBU type with assembled box per your requirements.
–Can you help with the interior layout?
No. We are solely a camper body supplier, not a full scale outfitter/design office.