Hello,looking for some help/advice. I have a Ford Superduty, therefore I require a platform below my camper to gain 3 1/2" height in the bed to clear the cab.
My Alpenlite came without a manual. One person said build the platform out of plywood and 2x3's. Then another said one manufacturer recommends using the Dow Blue Board Foam. I went with that.
Now I have my camper in for repairs after hitting a series of frost heaves in the road while going too fast.
The repair facility NEVER heard of using foam board before and said it has some give to it and may have helped make my damage worse!!
So..........what am I supposed to use??? What are the true manufacturer recommendations?
Papa Bob
1* DW "Granny"
1* 2008 Brookside by Sunnybrook 32'
1* 2002 F250 Super Duty 7.3L PSD
Husky 16K hitch, Tekonsha P3,
Firestone Ride Rite Air Springs, Trailair Equa-Flex, Champion C46540
"A bad day camping is better than a good day at work!"
I have 1" foam board under my camper for a little more clearance....It works for me. I can't see how it could make maters worse. I think a little extra give would be a good thing...........TD
Different campers require different lifts. When we had a Snowbird I needed 3 1/2 inches in my Ford SuperDuty too. I had an aluminium fabricator make up a frameword of aluminium channel to fit the truck back, then it was sprayed with Linex rubber coating. Non slip.
Whatever you decide, try to incorporate some framework that prevents the camper from sliding side to side. In the front of the box I put a 2 by 6 cedar plank on edge from side to side of the box, then screwed wedges into that so when the camper came down it fit snugly between the wedges and couldn't move. The front of the camper at the very bottom butted up against the plank to prevent forward movement and the camper remained off the box top by about 1/2 inch.
I also had a similiar set of wedges at the back, but it was a custom fit for the framework.
Mike and Carole
2006 Triple E Regency 27 foot SXL
2005 16.6 Double Eagle
I've used the same piece of 2" foam (4x8)from Lowes for 5 years now with no problems & we've traveled some rough roads. The foam board is in two pieces now but it does support the camper & provides needed cab clearance. I'll probably replace it next year.
I doubt the foam board had anything to do with the damage you suffered. Pickup beds are surprisingly flexible, and a sheet of plywood and a few 2x4's isn't going to change that much. If I needed to raise my camper up for cab clearance, I'd use foam board myself. Foam board is much lighter than a bunch of lumber, too.
What kind of damage did it do?
2001 Lance 1121/1995 F-350 PSD CC DRW. Many mod's and upgrades. See my Profile page.
If you're concerned about the foam, just make a perimeter frame out of 2X4s. The overall compressive strength of the foam has to be ten times or more the weight of any camper, but the edges can sometimes compact down as the camper leans and focuses a lot of weight on a narrow band of the foam. A would frame should prevent this. A 2X4 should give you exactly 3.5 inches. That was my plan if I needed it. I only decided to raise mine 3/4 of an inch so I used a handful of 1X4s laid flat as the weight difference was negligible. I may fill in the gaps later with foam for insulation.
I've been useing the blue foam board now for 2yrs with no ill effects. It will indent some on the edges but works great to clear my 5vr rails. It's light weight, easy to remove to put my hitch back in for the 5vr for the winter.
We've been using foam board (pink in my case - color don't matter - it's the mfgr's choice) for 3 years now with no problems. We actually attached it to the bottom of the camper with 2 sided carpet tape. We've been on plenty of rough roads (my wife refuses to let me forget about the 2 hour trip across 1 of the state forests in 4 low because the road was so rough) and not had a problem. Even after the trip from PA to IL this year (950 miles straight thru) still didn't have to re-tighten the turnbuckles (a key that the camper moved or settled).
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