Truck fit guide / Half-ton truck
Truck Bed Camper for Ford F-150
The F-150 has the widest payload range of any half-ton — from 1,700 lb base trims to 3,325 lb on HD Payload Package. Both Kimbos fit cleanly.
Shopping for a Ford F-150 slide-in camper? Both Kimbo platforms fit, Kimbo 6 (830 lb) for daily-driver setups, Kimbo 8 (1,125 lb base) for extended travel on F-150s with HD Payload Package and 6.5'–8' beds. Both are hard-side slide-in campers for the F-150.
Recommended Kimbo
Kimbo 6
From $27,990
Compatible generations
12th, 13th, 14th
2009–2014, 2015–2020, 2021+
Payload range
1,700–3,325 lb
From your door-jamb sticker — cargo budget for your exact truck.
Tailgate rule
Both bed lengths fit
Bed length determines tailgate behavior.
How it fits
Why a Kimbo works on a Ford F-150.
The F-150 is the most-shopped half-ton truck in America, and the variance in payload across trims is genuinely wide — 1,700 lb on a base XLT, all the way to 3,325 lb with the Heavy Duty Payload Package. That spread matters for Kimbo buyers because it changes the install math significantly. On a base F-150, a Kimbo 6 install is comfortable but not generous. On an HD Payload F-150, you've got 1,500+ lb of margin even after the Kimbo 8 is mounted, water tank is full, and the family is in the cab.
For most F-150 owners, the Kimbo 6 is the easier daily-driver setup, it keeps the truck feeling like an F-150, not a heavy-duty hauler. The Kimbo 8 makes more sense on F-150s ordered specifically for extended travel (HD Payload trim, 6.5'–8' bed, dedicated camping rig). The 14th Gen (2021+) is the strongest F-150 platform for either Kimbo: refreshed frame, stronger payload across most trims, and a meaningfully better rear suspension under load than the 13th Gen.
Two trims to know about. Raptor sits taller, runs the off-road Fox shocks, and has lower payload than the standard F-150 (~1,400 lb), it fits a Kimbo 6 but the rig will feel softer and you're paying a $25K+ premium for off-road dynamics that don't translate to camper performance. Lightning (the EV F-150) is a different vehicle entirely, different bed-rail tie-down points, different suspension geometry, different payload profile. We don't currently support Lightning for Kimbo installs.
Bed length × cab configuration × model-year era is the other axis that matters on a Ford F-150. Modern F-150s ship in three cab choices paired with various bed lengths: SuperCrew with 5.5' or 6.5' bed (the most-shopped 14th Gen configuration), SuperCab with 6.5' bed (14th Gen) or 6.5' / 8' bed (12th–13th Gen era), and Regular Cab with 6.5' or 8' bed (largely discontinued for 14th Gen). For Kimbo fit: the 5.5' SuperCrew bed fits the Kimbo 6 with tailgate-down operation and is too short for the K8; the 6.5' Standard Bed across SuperCab and SuperCrew is the most versatile choice, fits both Kimbo platforms with tailgate-close operation on the K8 and is the F-150 configuration we install on most often; the 8' Long Bed (most common on Regular Cab and 12th–13th Gen SuperCab) is the F-150-perfect Kimbo platform with the most install margin and the cleanest tie-down geometry of any half-ton we install on. Heavy Duty Payload Package (factory option 18B) is available across all bed lengths and is the configuration we'd specifically spec for a Kimbo 8 install on any cab/bed combination.
Watch — Kimbo on a Ford F-150
KIMBO LIVING — The Lightest & Most Spacious Truck Camper Ever
Down2Mob Overland walks through a Kimbo 6 — 1.1M views. Exterior walkaround, interior tour, and the lightweight hard-side construction that makes the Kimbo work on midsize and full-size trucks alike.
By generation
Year-by-year fit notes.
Truck-camper fit isn't one-size-fits-all across model years — frame, cab clearance, and suspension change between generations. Here's where each Ford F-150 sits.
2009–2014
Ford F-150 12th Gen (2009–2014)
2015–2020
Ford F-150 13th Gen (2015–2020)
Aluminum body, rivet placement on tie-down brackets reviewed at install.
2021+
Ford F-150 14th Gen (2021+)
Specialty trims
Ford F-150 trim variants we cover.
Trim-specific fit guidance for Ford F-150 variants where the trim has real engineering implications — factory lift, wider track, lower payload, or limited bed configurations.
The math
Your payload margin, calculated.
Real numbers for a fully-provisioned Kimbo install on a Ford F-150 at the middle of its payload range. Substitute your own door-jamb sticker for a precise calculation.
Calculating for
- Ford F-150 payload (mid-range)+ 2,513 lb
- Kimbo 6 (typical load)− 1,052 lb
- Passengers (cab)− 340 lb
Remaining margin
+1,121 lb
Comfortable buffer
Calculated using the midpoint of the Ford F-150's published payload range and a typically-loaded Kimbo, plus cab passengers. The Kimbo 6 rides from 830 lb base dry to ~1,200 lb fully loaded (modules + water + propane + jacks + gear). Your specific truck's door-jamb sticker is the cargo budget that counts — trim packages, options, and tow packages can swing this by 200–500 lb — and your rear axle rating (GAWR) on the same label is the structural limit a slide-in actually pushes against. Travelling lighter, a higher-payload trim, and rear airbags add real margin.
Want to run your own door-jamb number — or check a different camper? Use the Truck Camper Payload Calculator.
The Kimbo team's pick
If we were buying a Ford F-150…
If we were buying an F-150 for a Kimbo, we'd get a 14th Gen XLT or Lariat SuperCrew with the 6.5' bed, the Heavy Duty Payload Package (factory option box 18B), and the FX4 off-road package. That's the F-150 with the strongest Kimbo install case, strong payload across both Kimbo platforms, the bed length supports K8, and the FX4 is the right level of off-road capability without paying for Raptor's overkill.
Recommended platform
From $27,990
Kimbo 6
The nimble original. Built for midsize and half-ton trucks.
- — 830 lb dry
- — R5 insulation, four-season ready
- — Full-size memory foam bed
- — Hand-riveted aluminum monocoque shell
Ford F-150 questions
Ford F-150-specific questions, answered.
Cross-shopping?
How Kimbo compares to the rest of the Ford F-150 camper market.
We've put together an honest comparison of Kimbo against the campers you're most likely cross-shopping — Four Wheel Campers, Scout, Go Fast Campers, Lance, and the rest. Real prices, real weights, and explicit recommendations for when something else is the right answer.
Talk through your Ford F-150.
Door-jamb sticker, intended use, modifications you're considering — bring it all by. We'll tell you honestly whether the rig will work the way you want it to.