Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Our custom true flatbed truck camper build thread

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Topic: Our custom true flatbed truck camper build thread

Posted By: Rbertalotto on 02/05/15 10:12am

Etrack with 1/4 plywood over the flanges and then floor covering will give you recessed E-Track. No tripping and a great place to tie down work tables etc.

RoyB
Dartmouth, MA
2021 RAM 2500 4X4 6.4L
2011 Forest River Grey Wolf Cherokee 19RR
520 w solar-200ah Renogy Li-Epever MPPT

Posted By: Butch50 on 02/05/15 11:53am

E Track is the best thing to add to an area you are going to haul cargo or ATVs and such. I put it down in my trailer and I don't find myself stumbling over it and I can normal stumble over a pebble on the cement.

Also just to let you know my Road Force enclosed trailer (made by Wells Cargo) uses 3 big hinges on the rear ramp door. They have a grease zerk in them to lube them.

Butch

I try to always leave doubt to my ignorance rather than prove it

2021 Winnebago View

Posted By: Bedlam on 02/05/15 01:06pm

This an old picture before I set up e-track on the walls. My enclosed trailer only has four recessed tie downs (one in each corner), so there are three 15' lengths of e-track on the floor. The e-track stops at the beaver tail of the load floor.

[image]

Harbor Freight sells the e-track in 5' sections (Item #66726) for under $20 each and it is currently 10% off. Combine that with a 20% off coupon and you can buy pieces for under $15 each.

Chevy Sonic 1.8-Honda Passport C70B-Host Mammoth 11.5-Interstate Car Carrier 20-Joyner SandViper 250-Kawasaki Concours ZG1000-Paros 8' flatbed-Pelican Decker DLX 8.75-Ram 5500 HD

Posted By: Jfet on 02/05/15 01:44pm

It is neat but we will have a minimum of 12 tie down points already (6 flush mount pull rings in the floor, 2 hook points on each side wall and 2 hook points on the forward wall under the workbench). We are talking a pretty small garage/workshop here (10x8 inside). I think it will be a cleaner look with just the six floor tie downs and the rubber garage floor. Easier to sweep out too.

It is a minor thing either way and pretty easy to add/change.

Posted By: BoonHauler on 02/09/15 06:09pm

Jfet wrote:

Jfet:

Quick question for you.

I'm going to order my furnace. Did you paint the front grill or did you order it black like that?

Everything I come up with is the standard Hydroflame brown.

05 RAM 3500 CTD 4x4 Q/C Laramie DRW/NV5600/3.73, B&W Gooseneck, MaxBrake, PacBrake PRXB, Brite Box Fogster, BD steering Box Brace
2014 BoonHauler 3614

Posted By: Jfet on 02/10/15 06:28am

BoonHauler wrote:

Jfet:

Quick question for you.

I'm going to order my furnace. Did you paint the front grill or did you order it black like that?

Everything I come up with is the standard Hydroflame brown.

Are you sure two years of research on a furnace is enough? [emoticon]

We ordered it black. I can look up the order and vendor if you are not able to find it in black.

Posted By: Jfet on 02/10/15 09:39am

Update time.

We threw three 1.5" thick blocks of aluminum at our cnc mill and it spit out some beefy aluminum feet for our garage pod ramp door. I am going to miss that mill so much when we hit the road.

The feet serve three purposes. First, they protect the diamond plate edge trim from the concrete/rocks/ground. Second, they elevate the ramp end about 7 inches which decreases the ramp angle on our relatively tall flatbed (40 inches off the ground). Third, they act as receiver tubes for our jackstands which turn the ramp into a stable porch/work platform.

We added some rubber strips to the feet to protect them from hard surfaces and keep them somewhat dent free. They are not *too* heavy but we may do a little pocketing in the sides to shave off a bit of weight. They are fine for now and mate perfectly with the jacks.

Because the door is getting heavy (I am guessing 250 to 300 pounds when the marine ply is installed), we needed a way to raise and lower the door without killing our back. We explored various methods others have used in toyhaulers (side springs, overhead springs with cables, hinge springs) but did not really want to have obstructions on the sides of the ramp when it is being used as a work surface or porch. It would be quite hard to remove a spring under tension after the jacks are supporting the door.

What we have started with is a simple 2500 pound ATV type winch, fastened to a welded bar on the roof in the center of the door width. The winch cable (soon to be Amsteel) is attached to the ramp door with a Y harness clipped on to mounts bolted through the ramp outer frame. (Y harness is temporary nylon rope for testing). It works but is noisy. I guess that is somewhat typical of these small winches. When the ramp door is fully down or has been converted into a porch with the jacks, the Y harness can be unclipped and stored away, leaving a unobstructed three side view.

There are definitely other, maybe better ways this can be done, but this was quick, cheap and will work for awhile. A dual cable system could be made with either pulleys or a rotating bar driven by the winch motor but either solution would add complexity and weight.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the feet and winch, along with a poor video of the door being raised. I don't think I would raise it at 5am at a campground [emoticon]

YouTube video: http://youtu.be/a5E6MLQA8EQ

[image]

Posted By: bka0721 on 02/10/15 10:35am

Always great to see your updates. I like the thought about the dents and debris impacting the ramp door when it is down. As much as I try to avoid this, it still happens. My plan is to swap out my current axles soon (now that my solar phases are done and I need another project) the ramp will be even steeper. So doing something like you have done (I have large rubber bumper Pads from my Race Trailer) with my ramp door too.

I like that you will be using it for additional platform. One of the added benefits in having my trailer is to use it during windy and rainy periods. I can be outside of the Truck Camper and still be somewhere out of the rain and wind, to read, eat, and watch the sunrises and sunsets. Good use of space and your Jacks too.

Looks great. Can't wait to see it loaded and full of toys, dirty and worn from use and a bit of scrapes and dirt on the Pod floor.

b

Posted By: Jaxom on 02/10/15 08:23pm

Hmmm...perhaps I'm not understanding something with the ramp as a platform.
Are you gonna use the jacks to raise the ramp end or merely hold it up? If the former, then it seems to me that the feet of the jacks will need to slide forward and back during the raising and lowering.

Jerry
2015 Jayco Seneca 36FK
2011 Jeep Wrangler Sport 2 door
2011 R & R 20' Aluminum Enclosed Car Hauler
2007 Montrose 16' Aluminum Flatbed ATV Trailer

Posted By: kereams on 02/10/15 08:58pm

Sounds serious! Is the winch mounted all the way back? Looks like the cable would get in the way but hard to tell with the angle.

*2011 F350 SRW CC/LB/PSD - Mods: Custom overload springs with custom early engagement blocks~Firestone Airbags~Hellwig Big Wig Rear Sway~Rancho RS9000XL~Bilstein Steering Damper~19.5" Hankook DH01'a on steel wheels.
*2012 Chalet Ascent S95R Camper

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