Design Tips For The Tray Of A Slide On Camper
Submitted: Friday, May 08, 2026 at 03:58
ThreadID: 152479
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Replies:4
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Matt S20
Hi Everyone,
I’m in Canada, converting an FG72EC fire truck into an overland rig. I'm getting the tray fabricated in China too, to receive an Ecocampor like slide on camper!
I’m hoping to learn from your experience!
Did you match your tray/deck width exactly to your camper’s width, or did you oversize it? Length, Width? If so, how much extra space did you leave to allow lifting lugs, corner straps, or chain anchor points? How far did you place those anchor points from the corner connections to ensure a good tie-down angle?
How did you reinforce the tray corners to handle torsional stresses from corner anchors? I’ve seen double 3mm checker plate—did you use that, or something thicker like 6mm or 12mm plate? Any tips on corner gussets or backing plates?
What kind of eyelets or tie-down brackets did you use? And what spacing did you use for the tray cross members to keep everything stable?
Did you do anything to protect the camper’s GRP undersurface from rubbing against the tray—like rubber strips or another method?
For guiding the camper into position, did you use angled steel at the front? I’m considering a 3-inch right-angle guide at the front to help position the camper. Did anyone use a similar guide at the back or middle to prevent side-to-side movement?
Any advice, examples, or specs to ensure smooth fabrication would be hugely appreciated! Thanks!
Regards,
Reply By: Member - McLaren3030 - Friday, May 08, 2026 at 06:54
Friday, May 08, 2026 at 06:54
Hi Matt S20,
Firstly, as you are in Canada, there may be different requirements with regards to vehicle weight and axle overhang specifications to those that we have in Australia, so any specific information that anyone here provides may not be applicable to you in Canada.
There are a couple of specialist companies here that build custom truck/camper combinations. Earthcruiser, SLRV Expedition Vehicles, are two that I know of. Most of their builds are based on 8 to 10 tonne flatbed trucks, but they also build other camper setups for pickups. You can find them on line, they may be able to guide you on your build.
Macca.
AnswerID:
649211
Reply By: Member - wicket - Friday, May 08, 2026 at 13:32
Friday, May 08, 2026 at 13:32
Expedition portal
If you don’t have much luck here you might want to try this
AnswerID:
649212
Reply By: Peter_n_Margaret - Sunday, May 10, 2026 at 09:28
Sunday, May 10, 2026 at 09:28
Strz
F350 4WD
Durack River 1995
Leonard Gorge 1995
We had a slide-on for about 10 years.
It was a pain to get on and off, so we left it on the tray so it was ready to go at a moments notice.
It was my daily driver.
After a few years, I bolted it permanently onto the vehicle. That allowed a registration change from truck to motorhome which reduced the rego cost significantly.
We had a great time with that vehicle, but I would never have a slide-on again.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome
AnswerID:
649213
Reply By: tonysmc - Sunday, May 10, 2026 at 19:18
Sunday, May 10, 2026 at 19:18
Mine bolts on with 4 bolts (2 each side) and 2 turn buckles at the back, pulling it forward. Hanging from the bottom of the camper I have 4 plates, 50 x 6mm, hang down 50mm. I bolt through these into the side of the tray, however there is a 70mm gap between these and the tray. I have made up removable spacers to fill in these gaps out of 50 x 50 square tube. The reason I did it this way is because you rarely get it perfectly lined up when backing under and if you’re using anything to “guide” the camper into the exact correct position, it puts a strain on the legs because they are flexing to try and move over. I’m able to back under, wind the legs up and I put the spacer in the side with the widest gap and I simply bolt that side first and it pushes the camper over to the right position. I then bolt the other side. I have also made up a tool using a jockey wheel tube I can use to pull the camper over sideways if I was too far off center but found I rarely used it. I hope that makes sense.
AnswerID:
649215