Tilt bed for cabover camper

[Terrainist]

Maybe this thing is working now.

I was wondering why no one has put/thought of/discussed putting a cabover camper on a FG with the cabover portion of the camper over the cab of the truck and the camper sitting on a bed that tilts back similar to a dump body so that when the cab of the truck is needed to be tilted forward to gain access to the engine the front of the bed on which the camper rests could be raised with a jack (whew)....clearing the cab and making the tilting of the cab of the truck forward possible.

I was thinking something along the lines of a pop up truck camper to keep the CG, weight and wind resistance low. I know the camper would have to be raised off of the bed (typically) so that it would go over the top of the cab of the truck.

Long winded but you get the idea. Any thoughts?

BTW: Dig these forums.

 

[kerry]

Is there something like that on the thread with lots of pictures of FG? One problem is that the camper would have to be raised quite high. I have a service body on mine. It is mounted on top of the rear frame rails. I think it has a 3 or 4 inch frame underneath it. I raised the inside of the service body 8" to fit my camper in. (It wouldn't fit between the wheel wells). Even with that amount of lift on top of the frame rails, the camper is not high enough to clear the top of the cab.

 

[Terrainist]

Yes Defenderbeam, the picture of the FE with the S&S camper mounted to the flatbed is exactly what I am talking about as far as position of the camper on the truck.

Now, just imagine it is an FG, that the camper is a pop up like yours Kerry, and that everything behind the cab of the truck can tilt up to allow the cab to tilt forward.

As far as the tilting bed, picture an FG dump truck. Now, with your mental cutting torch, cut the sides and the front off of the dump bucket in back. That should leave you with a flat bed...that tilts back. Put the pop up camper on it in the same postition as the FE we discussed. If the cab of the truck is needing to be tilted forward, then raise the tilt bed a couple of feet, just enough to clear the truck cab.

Seems like the concept should work, and would open up some possibilities as far as cabin solutions on the FG.

 

[haven]

Here's a different solution to the cabover issue on a forward-control truck.
This seems like a simpler and lighter weight solution that to tilt the whole camper.

This is "Mitsy," the camper built for Australians Colin and Prue Kerr. You can find more photos
of their travels here http://travel.webshots.com/album/561282692qhJVoB

Chip Haven

 

[93Canter]

Weight might be an issue, tilt trays seem to made of heavier gauge steel.

My current camper appears to be based on a dumper tilt tray. It was previously an overweight fire truck.

It is still too heavy for my liking even though I put a lot of effort into making the camper body light weight. So I am doing a major rebuild and doing away with the original tray.

 

[kerry]

Weight might be an issue, tilt trays seem to made of heavier gauge steel.

My current camper appears to be based on a dumper tilt tray. It was previously an overweight fire truck.

It is still too heavy for my liking even though I put a lot of effort into making the camper body light weight. So I am doing a major rebuild and doing away with the original tray.

Is there a picture of your camper here?

 

[dhackney]

I think you are adding weight, creating complexity and planting the seeds for more problems down the road than are necessary.

You just don't need to tilt the cab that often on an FG.

If you are keeping your camper stock, meaning you are not connecting it to external systems or components mounted outside the camper on the truck, then removing the camper should be a very straightforward and quick proceedure, especially if you use electric jacks.

The weight of the four jacks would be much less than a tilting bed and hydraulic cylinder.

"Simplicate and add lightness." - Edward H. Heinemann, Douglas Aircraft designer.


If you are committed to a system of the type you describe, buy one off the shelf, such as this one from Simpson: http://www.trucktransformer.com/

"Buy what you can, build what you must." - me

 

[Terrainist]

Thanks for all the input guys, I appreciate it.

Guess I will wait until I have a FG in my possession (someday) and assess the situation. I didn't sense any light bulbs going off over any of your heads so that tells me the idea maybe isn't all it's cracked up to be. We shall see.

Thanks again.

If anyone has anything else to add, by all means....

 

[Terrainist]

Oh, and thanks for the link DHackney. I hadn't seen that before and will keep it in mind.

 

[93Canter]

Is there a picture of your camper here?

Pics of my camper are in my posting on this page:
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=349278#post349278

 

[jhrodd]

I would have liked a dump bed on my work truck but didn't want to push the overall weight too much. I got an oil change last year in California and it took all of 5 minutes to jack the camper off the truck. We have Fast Gun Derringers for turn buckles and the camper jacks are remote controlled.

 

[Terrainist]

Wow, very nice set up.

Thanks for posting that, it makes it easier to see how making a tilt bed could be a bunch of work for perhaps very little reason.

Would be easier to make/keep the camper removable to gain access to the engine. Even out in the boonies somewhere if one had to get into the engine then it looks like something could be done to just jack up the front of the truck camper to get there.

Truck campers on fuso's are such nice set up's. Gotta see if I can't get one.

 

[jhrodd]

Thanks, I don't know how high you would have to jack up the front to tilt the cab. I'll check that out. It might put too much stress on the front jacks, they are not overly robust. I only have 35,000 miles on mine but have not had to tilt the cab except for oil changes. Here's a shot of the little guy a couple of weeks ago in the Shasta-Trinity area.

 

[dhackney]

Love that side entry door on the camper!

Color me envious...

Great rig.

 

[kerry]

I would have liked a dump bed on my work truck but didn't want to push the overall weight too much. I got an oil change last year in California and it took all of 5 minutes to jack the camper off the truck. We have Fast Gun Derringers for turn buckles and the camper jacks are remote controlled.

Are your jacks long enough to lift the camper off without putting a block under each jack? On mine, I need additional height.