Welcome to the fourth entry in June’s Medium Mod Contest. One Medium Mod will be published in every Email Alert in June. At the end of the month we’ll hold a reader vote to determine June’s winner. Click here for information about the 2020 Mod Contest, including how to enter.
Joe Glidewell, Carriere, Mississippi
Flatbed Truck Security Cage Using ATV Ramps
2016 Ford F250
2016 CampLite 6.8
As with all flatbed truck campers, there is ample room under the wings of the camper for storage. I wanted to utilize that storage, but also feel confident that items wouldn’t grow legs and walk when I was away from the camper.
I found a set of used aluminum ATV ramps online for $50. I removed the hinge that allowed them to fold in half and then cut about 15-inches off the end of each piece. Then I got a piece of 1-inch aluminum angle from the local hardware store and some zinc coated self-tapping screws.
Then it was as simple as attaching one of the 15-inch cut-offs to the longer piece at a 90-degree angle. I found an online metal store and got four pieces of aluminum channel that would fit into the stake pockets of the flatbed and attached that to the L-shaped ramp. I drilled a hole in the channel under the flatbed that will accept a padlock.
When the lock is in place the ramps can’t be lifted out of the stake pockets more than a half-inch or so. When the lock is not in place, the L-shaped cage can be lifted upwards until it touches the bottom of the camper’s wings, and then slid outwards away from the truck.
So far so good. I put my Honda EU2200i generator on the driver’s side and my ice chest and firewood on the passenger’s side.
Everything is out of the rain and snow and I can run my generator while on the flatbed and not worry about theft, or harmful exhaust fumes due to the open concept.
It took me four hours to complete this modification and cost me $120. In my opinion, the skill level of this modification is medium.
Disclaimer: The modifications above are submitted by Truck Camper Magazine readers. It is your responsibility to make sure that any do-it-yourself modification project you undertake is safe, effective, and legal for your situation.
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