Camper Belly Bar and fridge

[couleeman]

I just picked up a camper this weekend and now I have to get it and the truck ready for the season. I have figured out pretty much everything but 2 things.

1. Do I need a belly bar on my truck or can I tie it down to the tie down hooks in the box? I am mainly wondering about the front. (Slide in truck camper)

2. I was told the fridge does not work (propane electric). How do I go about testing it to find out if it is worth fixing?


Thanks.

Russ

 

[Cowboyup083]

what kinda of truck are you driving.

I have 07 gmc hd and they do have hole drilled out already on the frame for brackets for the front. I went with the brackets becasue off ground clearance, the belly bar hangs down way to low for the place that i go with the truck and camper

As for the fridge the only that i know to test it is by turing it on and letting it run,

 

[couleeman]

03 GMC 2500HD Extended cab, short box.

 

[Cowboyup083]

I think the best thing to do is go out and get the brackets that mount on the the frame, I think i paid around $300 for the pair, and the holes are alreday drilled out for you on the frame. I found that was the best thing to do, the belly bar was nice, but i did not have enough ground clearence when i went into the bush.

I found with tieing it down in the box of the truck, i could not get the tie downs tight enough to hold the camper to box.

Hopeful this helps you out

 

[couleeman]

Yep, this helps...

 

[tekimsbro]

couleeman,

It is NOT legal to tie a camper to the box of a truck anymore. The boxes are NOT strong enough. You have to use a frame mounted tie down. Cowboyup083 is right. You can use a belly bar...but it hangs down too far. Most people buy a frame mounted tie down that bolts on to the side of the frame. (even with the bottom of the frame) These should run you about $150 - $200 for a front set. They are not very hard to install. Depending on the size of the camper, (8' should be ok...anything larger is probably too heavy) you can go with J-hooks in the bumper, although they are not very strong. There are rear tie downs available (about same cost as front) but sometimes we use a belly bar slid through the bolt on reciever hitch or cut in half and welded and then installed in the bolt on reciever. Go see a local RV dealer, they will show you all your options.

Your fridge has a liquid in the cooling unit on the back. If the fridge will light on propane, try running it for up to 48hrs (can take this long the first time of the year) if it is still not cooling, you can try taking out the fridge and turning it upside down to get the liquid and bubbles moving through the system. (sometimes driving/bouncing the camper down the road will do this) If these don't work, you will have to take the fridge into a local dealer to have them check it out. Depending on the year...it may be worn out, they may last 20 yrs??

Hope these help you.

Mark
Happy Camper RV
Edson, AB
Happy Camper RV - Edson, Alberta

 

[couleeman]

couleeman,

It is NOT legal to tie a camper to the box of a truck anymore. The boxes are NOT strong enough. You have to use a frame mounted tie down. Cowboyup083 is right. You can use a belly bar...but it hangs down too far. Most people buy a frame mounted tie down that bolts on to the side of the frame. (even with the bottom of the frame) These should run you about $150 - $200 for a front set. They are not very hard to install. Depending on the size of the camper, (8' should be ok...anything larger is probably too heavy) you can go with J-hooks in the bumper, although they are not very strong. There are rear tie downs available (about same cost as front) but sometimes we use a belly bar slid through the bolt on reciever hitch or cut in half and welded and then installed in the bolt on reciever. Go see a local RV dealer, they will show you all your options.

Your fridge has a liquid in the cooling unit on the back. If the fridge will light on propane, try running it for up to 48hrs (can take this long the first time of the year) if it is still not cooling, you can try taking out the fridge and turning it upside down to get the liquid and bubbles moving through the system. (sometimes driving/bouncing the camper down the road will do this) If these don't work, you will have to take the fridge into a local dealer to have them check it out. Depending on the year...it may be worn out, they may last 20 yrs??

Hope these help you.

Mark
Happy Camper RV
Edson, AB
Happy Camper RV - Edson, Alberta

Thanks...I can reach the frame on the rear between the bumper and the box. Just for cosmetic reason I am going make hook on there. My uncle has a belly bar he said I can have. I will try that for now and if we use the camper enough then I can justify spending the money on a different setup.

 

[Cumminsnorth]

Heres a pic of by camper and belly bar I made the belly bar out of 2" square tube welded chains to the end. I mounted it to the frame using L brackets bolted through holes that were in the frame. Then I bolted the square tube to the L brackets. I never did tie down the back of the camper but I would recommend it as I have three nice little dents in the top of the cab from hitting a hole in the bush. If you had a Dodge I could hook you up as I now have a fifth wheel.

 

[couleeman]

Heres a pic of by camper and belly bar I made the belly bar out of 2" square tube welded chains to the end. I mounted it to the frame using L brackets bolted through holes that were in the frame. Then I bolted the square tube to the L brackets. I never did tie down the back of the camper but I would recommend it as I have three nice little dents in the top of the cab from hitting a hole in the bush. If you had a Dodge I could hook you up as I now have a fifth wheel.

The setup you have (other than the truck) will be almost identical to mine. I Have the camper then still pull a 4 place trailer. If we find we are using the camper quite a bit, then I will consider investing in a toy hauler. But considering the camper was free I can't complain for now.

 

[Cumminsnorth]

Ya we looked at the toyhaulers too just didn't like the lay outs and the fact that most of them have living quarters in the hauling part. We are thinking of building a house and living in the trailer for a few months until the house is done so we went with a straight fifth wheel now I pull that same trailer behind the fifth wheel.

 

[couleeman]

Ya we looked at the toyhaulers too just didn't like the lay outs and the fact that most of them have living quarters in the hauling part. We are thinking of building a house and living in the trailer for a few months until the house is done so we went with a straight fifth wheel now I pull that same trailer behind the fifth wheel.

That is a nice rig..but I like the truck in your av better....78 or 79??

 

[Cumminsnorth]

It's a 79 but it had some bad luck last year when the shed I had it stored in fell in you can see the front of the truck in the second pic beside the camper. I have bought a 78 to replace it as the 79 was wrote off. The 78 is currently being shipped from the states(its the last pic).

 

[coorslight]

Usually the older fridges are bullet proof - the cooling system anyway. The system works using a heat source, in your case the propane burns a little flame or the electical power heats an element. It is frequent for the element to burn out or the propane burner assembly to get dirty or plugged with debris ( can you say spiders?). A good cleaning of the burner assembly and most of the fridges I have had get up going.