whats the Slide-In 411?.. im new to this!

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outdoors_girl

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Jul 29, 2015
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I will be purchasing a truck and a slide-in in the near future and im wondering what I should know before I go buying anything. Im mostly gonna wing the whole thing...Im not t0o worried about hook-ups and the electrical stuff...just going for the bare minimum..... I know I need a big truck with power. However, do these 8-ft, 10-ft slide-in's matter against the truck bed size? Or are they all universal?. I might be getting an old model camper, but my truck might be a bit new. Or vise versa I don't even know yet!....Also what type of equipment do I need to strap this down to the truck? Does that stuff come attached to the camper already?....Obviously i'm super new to all this. :eek: ..any advice would be appreciated!
 
Pick-ups come with 5.5', 6.5' and 8.0' cargo beds. I think most truck campers require a long (8 ft) bed. Certainly the larger ones do.

You also need to be very concerned about the weight carrying capacity of the truck, usually called "Payload". Those campers are heavy!  Pick-ups intended for use with a truck camper usually have an extra-heavy duty suspension option added, sometimes it's even called a Camper Package.

They are also very top-heavy, so you need a rugged suspension to reduce the tendency to tilt in turns.
 
Your best advise would come from an installing dealer on tie downs and such.
I don't put much faith in the bumper button for securing the rear tiedowns.
There are better options out there that are more secure and strong.

Some model trucks have a deeper bed depth than others...make sure the camper you buy will not rest on the bed rails.

Be careful at a dealer, as the sales people will tell you a 2500# camper will be "just fine" in a half ton pickup. Don't believe it.

Even with "camper suspension" installed on your truck, air bags are a solid consideration and highly recommended.
 
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