How to anchor light-weight truck bed camper to first gen

It's getting retired from camper duty and getting some body work pretty soon anyway

 

Alright. First of all, the transfer station is a racket. Last time I went, I had a bunch of oil and antifreeze. My weight difference after getting rid of all that seemed high, but whatever. Today I just went through the scale to weigh the truck, but told him I had recycling. The difference between weighing in and weighing out was 60lbs! And all I did was throw away an empty chip bag. Heavy bag, apparently...

Anyway, I was pretty shocked on the weight. @KNABORES won't be. Camper + truck = 5880. Truck alone = 5020. 860 pound camper.

We had two votes for 5-700, 2 for 7-900.

 

I'm literally half a ton heavier

 

Yeah. With a bigger, more powerful truck though. My truck moves great with the weight. But the suspension doesn't like it.

 

Not quite bottomed out but damn close. I'm about 125 lbs under max GVWR.

 

Pretty close! I'm more conservative as a I get older, but I think people go a little overboard worrying about this stuff. I drove a 1978 Toyota Chinook all over the western US. A motorhome built on 2wd Toyota pickup. That thing was so far over capacity. Built in a factory, sold to the public.

Now...you absolutely need to drive accordingly. Very cautiously. But if you understand how the truck handles and drive defensively and don't be a dumbass, it's workable.

 

Yeah, not surprised. Wood is heavy.

Those old Toyota pickups were 1 ton chassis trucks. Legit. Rated from the factory.

 

Were they? I remember there were some rare ones, built for or by Uhaul, that were true duallys. Not that they need to be a dually to be a one ton. I don't think? Back when I had the Chinook I knew more about it. It's all fading. Anyway, I think my Tundra with a 2,000 lb slide-in would feel safer than that Chinook. Doesn't mean it would actually be safer, but the road feel would be better.

Yeah. Now I realize the solid 12-14mpg I was getting with the camper is going to go away...I had been driving with OD on. Realizing it's nearly 900lbs and I've got the earlier transmission with the weak OD gear means I should definitely be turning it off when I've got the camper. I was hoping to avoid that. Such a huge difference on long trips to be driving with the rpms so much higher, and driving so much slower.

Glad I weighed it early on though. Means my additions need to be really light. I've got a drop-in two burner cooktop ready to go, still shopping for a small sink. Then I need to build cabinets for both to sit on. They'll need to be very, very light. Add water (no water tank, just water for a camping trip), gear etc and I'll be really pushing payload.

 

Any update on the build? Genuinely curious how this turns out.

 

Hey. I have a lot of parts gathered and staged, but no progress on construction. Winter hit, holidays, then I started a new job.

I found a used two burner stove top, bought a small sink, and I've cut both the counter tops, including the cut-outs for the sink and stove. Unfortunately lacquering them will either have to wait till spring, or I could ask a friend with a heated garage to borrow some space. Over the winter I hope to get everything cut, fitted, and ready to go once the weather warms up.

 

Sometimes I forget that winter is a thing for people. It's a symptom of a lifetime of living in AZ LOL.

 

Yep, it's a thing, and for the most part I love it.

Here's a teaser.