new to using a camper - need some basics

[n/a]

Hi

We have always been 5th wheel users (still are) but we hit upon a super deal on an Alpenlite Camper. We have a one ton, duelly Chev Pick up. The camper is 11ft.

Here are my basic questions.
1. I remember when I was a girl, my uncle had a camper on his truck. He had two things as "necessary" items. He had what he referred to as a "boot" that fit between the cab of the truck and the window of the camper so he could have a crawl through area. He also had some kind of an inflated cushion between the roof of the cab and the bed area of the camper. Are these items still "necessary" and if so, where do I find them?

2. Where we have our 5th wheel hitch in the truck, there is a flat, metal piece that remains in the bed of the truck. Do we need to cover that with a piece of plywood or leave it uncovered? Will it create any harm to either the camper or trailer if left uncovered?

Thanks!

 

[Gary B]

new to using a camper - need some basics

Hi Nisey, the boots are not necessary, but are nice, I have been trying to find a place to get them for my slide-in camper, I think one could use a small inner tube say off of a motorcycle on the roof, but haven't come up with anything for the window. On my pickup I made a spacer out of OSB (fake plywood)with cut outs for the 5th wheel brackets, that way the camper sits on the spacer and not on the brackets Happy trails GB

 

[n/a]

new to using a camper - need some basics

Thanks!

We will be looking for a "boot"(and I will post if we find one) and we had thought about using a 1" plywood piece to fill in the area between the hitch rails.

Nisey

 

[n/a]

new to using a camper - need some basics

Thanks!

We will be looking for a "boot"(and I will post if we find one) and we had thought about using a 1" plywood piece to fill in the area between the hitch rails.

Nisey

 

[n/a]

new to using a camper - need some basics

Ok...,
I found the truck/camper boot and the cushion for between the top of the cab of the truck and the camper overhang. You can find both on the internet at
bobcoxcampercountry.com

Thanks for your help and hope this helped you too.
Nisey

 

[Gary B]

new to using a camper - need some basics

Hi thanks much for inform. will check it out as soom as I get to it happy trails GB

 

[gpetry]

new to using a camper - need some basics

Try checking with the local pickup truck accessory store that sells camper tops - you should be able to find a slider window boot there.

 

[Kim Bodley]

new to using a camper - need some basics

Our family also had a camper (with boot) when I was growing up. I asked my folks and my mother said that their was custom made for them at the same upholstery shop that redid the seats in their boat. She seemed to remember purchasing one at a "camper place", but said that if she remembered correctly it had a tendency to leak during heavy rain storms if the wind was blowing in just the right direction. She said that as far as she could remember the custom made boot never leaked. If memory serves correctly, the boot had a foam "square donut" with naugahyde that snapped inside the camper and inside the back window of the pickup. I also remember that the pickup had a slider, rather than a solid window (not quite sure how that arrangment worked when boot was in place.)