Truck Campers, Tie Downs, What Are You Using

[hgs_notes]

I'm working on my 79 crewcab C-30. I'm just getting it back on the road after it sat for several years while I poked along doing the LS swap. I have a truck slide in camper that I want to use in it. I don't have tie downs and in a brief search I'm not finding vehicle specific ones for a square body. The stake pocket ones are not strong enough. I don't have a problem fabricating something up myself but would like to see some designs people currently use.

It's not pretty but it's functional and almost rust free. Still have a few areas to address.

Show me what you got.

[Ziegelsteinfaust]

My old C20 had brackets off the front fenders for the front. They had sandwich plates on the back.

The sides had some flat stock with studs bolted through the bed. With side pieces for the lashing points.

It did not have a camper when I got it. So I have no idea what kind it was. Other the owner said it had one before when I asked about the brackets.

[dieseldawg142]

it's good you can fab, cause there really is not a lot out there for 73-87's.
squares can be hard to frame tie your camper because of the fuel tank(s).
most squares i seen wit a camper have either stake pocket tie downs or homemade belly bars. most aftermarket belly bars won't work cause of the tanks. and was never a fan of the GM factory tie downs- putting holes in yer sheetmetal and letting the body take the twisting...
as my truck is lifted, not only are the fuel tanks in the way, but so is my driveshaft and mufflers, so i made two bars for the front, and taking a cue from the guys who have "Rock Tamer" mud flaps mounted to their hitch, made a tie down bar that bolts onto my hitch.
https://www.cruiserframes.com/rocktamers.asp
there really is not a lot of load put on camper bars. your camper sits in the box between the fenderwells, just like haulin a reg load. what the tie downs do is stop any rocking making the load more stable. i hauled my camper home 20 miles after purchase with just a couple ratchet straps till i could figure out some bars.
my rube goldberg home made mounts, couple pieces of angle and some pipe...(it's all i had laying around at the time) you can see how the tanks become an issue (and muffs and driveshaft...)


my homemade rear bar just bolts onto my hitch


i've had my camper in some pretty rough off road spots, have had it leaning way past where you would think it would flop on it's side and have never had any probs. crews are great for haulin' campers too, nice long wheelbase makes for a very stable ride

[1976gmc20]

The newer pickups have factory eyes in the four corners inside the bed, so you can install turnbuckles to eyebolts somewhere under the sides of the camper. So you could put some sort of brackets down inside the bed, but your camper needs to have inside access to the wheel well areas.

Another thing we used to do back in the 1970s was through bolt the camper "wings" down through the top rail of the bed, using pieces of wood/plywood with a hole drilled in the center as shims between the camper wings and bed rail. Again, you need wheel well access for the front bolts. It is somewhat hard to get the bolts lined up again if you take the camper off and on. Also any flex in the truck bed gets transferred directly to the wood frame of the camper. But we did that a lot at the Mitchell dealer especially on the smaller slide-in campers.

[hgs_notes]

I did something similar to dieseldawg for the front tie down. But I added a piece that goes up to the front bed crossmember so as I tighten the chain it pulls against the bed. It will wrap around the gas tanks. On the rear I'm just going to make some tabs to bolt onto the ends of the bumper.

[farmall]

HappiJac no longer makes a set for our trucks but this is what they looked like.
https://store.lci1.com/chevy-gmc-tie...et-182906.html
When they first came out it was just the black triangle pieces for the front that mounted between the bed and the cab with an inside the bed backer plate. The rear was little chrome buttons that mounted on the ends of the rear bumper.
Good for small to what back then was large campers. They were around $100 for the kit. Much later they started using the cross bars when campers got really big and heavy. I have a set on a dodge I am selling. See---- https://www.amazon.ca/HappiJac-18286.../dp/B003VATFTS

https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=740428

[farmall]

This is the kit.
https://www.amazon.ca/Happijac-18285.../dp/B005G21F24

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by farmall

This is the kit.
https://www.amazon.ca/Happijac-18285.../dp/B005G21F24

Thanks, I remember seeing those set ups way back when. I'm happy with what I built. Got the rear tie downs on last night. Just some D rings bolted through the bumper. The bumper is pretty stout C channel.

[dieseldawg142]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

I did something similar to dieseldawg for the front tie down. But I added a piece that goes up to the front bed crossmember so as I tighten the chain it pulls against the bed. It will wrap around the gas tanks. On the rear I'm just going to make some tabs to bolt onto the ends of the bumper.

those look righteous, i like the box brace, does it work fine?
might haft to steal this idea from ya and modify mine

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by dieseldawg142

those look righteous, i like the box brace, does it work fine?
might haft to steal this idea from ya and modify mine

Works great! The bar doesn't move once you tighten the chain. Very solid.

[hgs_notes]

Just realized I didn't post a picture of the truck loaded up.

Also, dieseldawg, I was checking out your build and was wondering what year ford those seats were from. I used 2004 F150 seats in my regular cab dually and it was a huge pain fitting them in. I wouldn't recommend it. But apparently the king ranch seats fit somehow.

[dieseldawg142]

not 100% sure what yr their from hg, but i think they were either '04 or'05.
surprisingly all the front seat holes matched up with the factory holes, just had to add a spacer on one bolt, the back ones were a little diff. the front holes lined up wit the factory ones, the rear holes missed by about an inch and some change and required some simple angle brackets, as it is a split 60/40, there was no middle holes, so i drilled them and they went thru the factory body brace with some added fishplates