Alternate uses for jack brackets

I saw Trikebubble's propane tank bolted to the jack brackets and thought that might be a good place to bolt a RotopaX gas container. Has anyone come up with a bracket to marry the RotopaX bracket to the jack bracket without the Rotopax sticking out wider than the camper?
I already have a 5gal Jerry can and a 10 lb propane tank mounted on a swing away bracket attached to my 2" receiver, so I need an additional mounting point for the RotopaX, and as said earlier, I'd rather not drill into the camper.

I think the design is pretty straight forward, my concern what to use to make the bracket. Aluminum? How thick? Stainless Steel?

Thanks
 
Driver's side jack brackets are part of our outdoor shower enclosure. I scrapped an old tent for the project. The tent had those old style aluminum "studs" sewn into each corner, the kind that the end of the tent pole mates on to. They are just heavy aluminum wire (3/8-ish) with a loop bent into one end, kind of like a stick figure with no arms or legs. I took two of those off of the old tent. I found some smallish aluminum "L" brackets in my garage cabinet of wonders. I bolted one bracket to each of the driver's side jack brackets, in the top hole, so that the "L" bracket creates a horizontal mounting surface on the top of the jack bracket. I bolted the tent pole studs to this horizontal surface, with the front one pointed to the rear and vice versa. I used bolts and washers through the hole in the "L" bracket and through the "ring" on the tent pole stud (the stick figure's head). The tent pole studs look kind of like little gun turrets that can pivot horizontally. I left them a little loose. I then took one of the fiberglass tent poles, which was too long for our shower curtain. I removed enough sections so that it was just shorter than our curtain length (width?) and then retied the shock cord. I had to include the removed end section of the pole so that each end of the new pole has the metal socket that mates to the gun turret studs.

Set up is easy: Unfold tent pole, place one end on one of the gun turret studs, thread the shower curtain/rings onto the tent pole, bend tent pole enough to mate to the other gun turret stud. Now you have a shower curtain handing from a C-shaped tent pole on the side of the camper. But hangs down in the middle as there is no support. So I have a length of paracord with small hooks on each end. One end hooks to the roof bracket on the side of the camper towards the front. The cord then goes down to the middle of the tent pole curtain rod, through a metal ring, and then up to the rear roof bracket. You can adjust the height of the shower curtain by sliding the ring back and forth.

Version 1.0 used plasti-dipped magnets to hold the sides of the curtain to the side of the truck. But you could have a wardrobe malfunction if a magnet gets pulled off. So I bought a cheap grommet kit and put four grommet holes spaced evenly along the bottom of the curtain. Tent stakes are used to secure the curtain to the ground. We still use the magnets for the sides, but there is a lot less risk of a peep show happening now.

Topped off the kit with a large plastic tub (fits perfectly between the seats of the side dinette for travel). The tub is used to keep all the shower stuff in it, but the main reason was to contain shower water so that there isn't a huge swamp in your campsite. The idea is to stand in the tub while you shower, so it captures most of the water. We made sure to get a tub that was is sturdy enough to withstand being stood in on uneven ground without cracking. Initially I wanted to have a drain line running from the tub and I installed a bulk head fitting on the tub. But I haven't found a hose/pipe solution for the drain, so I capped it. FWC showers should be short anyway, but you do have to stand in a little shower water for a few minutes. We also have a folding wooden shower platform, just a cheap rip off product from camping world, but it works for now. When it is folded, it fits in the bottom of the shower tub. During showers, it sits next to the tub, so you have a dry-ish place to stand before and after.
 
Old crow
Thanks for the link to the fuel can thread. Boy did I learn a lot.

My main take aways were:
1- Be aware of dissimilar metals in contact with each other
2- Dynamic loading is different from static loading, Jack stands are designed for static loading.
3- Murphy may or may not be along for the ride depending on who you talk to
4- Don't carry move weight on any bracket/support than its designed for
5- Aluminum fatigues more quickly than steel
6- Rotopax have some disadvantages such as expansion, making removal difficult and the brackets may corrode

There are a number of great solutions on that thread for carrying 1 or 2 Jerry cans, as well as Rotopax tanks mounted on the Jack Brackets.

So I think I might make an aluminum bracket bolted to the jack stands with some sort of non metal spacer/washers between the dissimilar metal and bolts. I'll get a 2 gal rotopax (12.4 lbs of fuel) which will give me an additional 30 miles driving range, empty the additional fuel into the truck's tank as soon as there is room, do it in the morning before the sun expands the rotopax and only carry the fuel when I have a reasonable sense of need.

by the way, Texas ferries won't let you carry a visible independent external gasoline can or propane tank onto the ferry. They do allow an external propane tank if it is connected to a propane device with its on shutoff, ie connected to a RV system. Both the tank's valve and the appliance's must be closed and off. This came up in the discussion about externally mounted tanks.
 
Larry...

Great review of issues...add to that the additional weight carried and that the weight is not low, nor centered...ounces add up to pounds etc.....one parameter I keep in mind is to only add weight that I can't do without; not what I might need..tough call but it needs to be made especially if you leave the pavement.

I ride off-road dirt a lot on my motorcycles with camping gear and boy do I watch the weight carried! Same with our Tundra/Hawk.

Phil
 
Went and bought myself some extruded structural t-slotted aluminum from 8020 inc and built myself a rack that I can slide anything from ski racks, rod holders, etc into. Stuff is bomber, there's no flex and the total weight is under 20 lbs. No welding necessary, just bolts and t-nuts. Adds a few inches to the width but I don't go for the compact parking spaces anyways. No more skis on the roof for me.

My next project may be building a fold down table out of the stuff that attaches to the two jack brackets on the other side of the camper.
 

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Wallowa said:
Ski rack..interesting never thought of that [not much weight]...just make certain anything you attach does not increase the width or hang below edge of the camper [if you go off road]; all my skis are 190 cm or less...will measure today.....but either side of our Hawk would block the propane door and interfere with entrance door or the right rear window...perhaps an off set rack on the right rear inboard of the truck bed.

Let us know how you solve the issue of freezing the water system on ski trips...I am still working on that..

Thanks...Phil
Click to expand...
You won't. Anything you do will be high risk low reward. You would have to rip your cabinets apart to "try" and insulate the lines. The safe thing is to winterize and take 2-gallon containers of water.
 
longhorn1 said:
You won't. Anything you do will be high risk low reward. You would have to rip your cabinets apart to "try" and insulate the lines. The safe thing is to winterize and take 2-gallon containers of water.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately I concur...in teens or lower the system will always be at risk...and like you stated the risk is not worth the reward of having an on board water system...which when ruptured would create havoc to the camper...I recently purchase a 7 gallon water container for this purpose and to extend our off road ventures....more water mass, less likely to freeze.

Drain...carry water jugs...and carry those in the cab while on the road!

Phil
 
One thing I do wish had been done on the jack brackets...... in case anyone from FWC is lurking..... round off the bottom corner. I can't see a reason for them to be a 90 degree point. They hurt when you back into them or stand up under one...... don't ask..... ;-)

I would grind them off myself but right now everything still looks new......
 
I found some highly reflective tape about 1 “ wide that pulls off in 2” lengths. Wrapped a piece around each lower corner on the jack brackets. Doesn’t prevent daytime collisions but helps a lot in avoiding them at night especially if using a headlamp.

Paul
 
Stuck adhesive foam on them and duct taped it over that...so far it works...wanged my head and got the message...never thought of grinding them down....but even that will only slightly blunt the impact....
 
I built a flyrod vault. Holds two flyrods with reels. Used aluminum angle and flat stock, bolted to the jack brackets on the driver's side.
 
I fabbed up a simple rack using 1" square tubing.
Got some Tacoma bed C-channel rails from a junkyard.
Put it all together so I mount, strap down, and move around any of my too many accessories.
Fuel pack, shower, axe/shovel, chairs, random stuff.
It's not 100% complete, but its good enough for now. Sorry for the crappy pics.
This was by far better than drilling any holes into the camper.
Rig4tAR.jpg

3iIlxoY.jpg
 
nevadamerica said:
I fabbed up a simple rack using 1" square tubing.
Got some Tacoma bed C-channel rails from a junkyard.
Put it all together so I mount, strap down, and move around any of my too many accessories.
Fuel pack, shower, axe/shovel, chairs, random stuff.
It's not 100% complete, but its good enough for now. Sorry for the crappy pics.
This was by far better than drilling any holes into the camper.
Rig4tAR.jpg

3iIlxoY.jpg
Click to expand...
OK, i have to ask... in the first pic of the back of your camper, what does the ski binding mounted to the propane door do?
 
longhorn1 said:
I built a flyrod vault. Holds two flyrods with reels. Used aluminum angle and flat stock, bolted to the jack brackets on the driver's side.
Click to expand...
You have pictures?
 
brokenhornmw said:
You have pictures?
Click to expand...
There should be a previous post. I will get something posted.
Click on Wander the West, then click on hiking, biking, and floating and scroll to my January 17th post. Scroll through my post. I had several places where I mounted it, but the final place is on the driver's side up high. There is also the link to the original design. Good luck.
 
Alley-Kat & Others...
I love the outside fold down table idea, but will never have the luxury of a friend teaching me to weld stainless steel to make one. Hmmm... Alternately, it would be easy to bolt together a setup with hinges for the table top.
The only thing missing is the table top...
Can anybody brainstorm a thin, rigid, lightweight, affordable strip of some material that could be bolted to these hinges for the table top? Something easily obtainable & shortened with a simple saw, a drill, & bolts.
This worktop is close, but too heavy & expensive. Perhaps a strip of metal bolstered with 1" square tubing?
A solution is out there, just waiting for us to stub our toes on it.

Edit added: Wallguards?
 
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