We are thinking of buying an old Alaskan camper to put on the dodge. What kind of tie down system do you recomend? We will be taking the camper off-road frequently.

 

If im not mistaken there pretty heavy. if your offroadin it you probably go with a happy jack system or something like it.

 

Get a system that bolts to the truck's frame! The ones that have the attachment points on the bed are not as strong. Torq-Lift in Kent, Washington make them and I have been extremely happy with 'em.

 

I have an old 8 foot cab over Alaskan Camper. It seems heavy. I use TorkLift tiedowns with HappyJac turnbuckles. I've not had a problem. I really like the camper...

 

Does anyone know if the torqlifts are a no drill affair for a 3rd gen truck?

 

Just an FYI - a guy I used to work with put an old Alaskan on his 2001 and he had to do some major surgery to the back of the camper to make it narrow enough to fit. If the camper has never been on a modern truck it might be too wide in the back.

 

Our first camper was an Alaskan...they are great, you'll love it. It IS very heavy though ( Mahagony cuboards and lots of heavy wood) you should be fine with standard bolt to- frame tiedowns....do NOT use eyehooks or you'll bend your back bumper
If your going to buy the Alaskan, check it for dry rot and check the lifting cables and pulleys for wear, stretching. The neat thing about the Alaskans is that you can pull into any campground..... and people are thinking " gee, that's an butt-ugly canopy on that truck"... but then they are amazed when it transforms itself into quite a unique and functional camper!
good luck!