Camper jack mod's? Any way to reduce time putting jacks on and off...

S

shear

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Mar 28, 2012
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Does anyone have info on ways to mount the jacks faster? Maybe have the bolt already on the jack and use a locknut or something? I'm hoping to use my camper quite a bit this fall/winter season, but don't want to leave it on full-time again. I'm sure there has to be a way to do this.

Thanks!
 
Not a direct answer to your question, but an observation. If you have the two piece jack mounts, leave the bolts in the mounts. As the camper flexes slightly with use, the holes become slightly misaligned, making it hard to reinsert the bolts when putting the jacks back on the camper.
 
I spot welded my bolts to camper brackets then use wing nuts with jack brackets. I don't roll camper much and store on elevated saw horses using jacks as stabilizing outriggers


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So true about the camper flexing with use resulting in the brackets becoming misaligned. I had to slightly drill a few of my brackets holes for the bolts to fit through. Will you store (support) your camper on a dolly type structure and not on the jacks? If so, what about using the same size bolt with cotter pin...
 
I kept my jacks mounted on my Hawk all the time the first few years I owned it -- until I joined WTW and saw that all the cool people remove their jacks. ;-)

Now, there are good reasons to remove the jacks when heading out on a trip -- and I do so now. But leaving them on all the time isn't that big a downside, and if I removed my camper after every trip I'd probably leave the jacks on the camper.
But then, I'm lazy...
 
I built a raised platform box that my camper sits on and this allows me to take the stress off of the jacks (I can just lower them until it sits on the box but I keep them on the ground just for that extra support in case.)

I guess I could just keep the jacks on all the time but the added weight when driving isn't awesome.

I had heard from a friend something about putting a longer bolt through and securing it with a nut then that keeps the bolt on all the time then you can just put a wingnut on when wanting to put the jacks on.

That make sense?
 
I'm even lazier than Mark-I've never taken my jacks off in the 10 years I've owned my Granby ;) ! But I am probably not cool, but I'm sure one day I'll find that perfect place out there to drop the pop-up and move in :D ! Besides where else would I hang my canteen and fishing gear!

Smoke
 
i can't remember the size but i used nesting square tubing. using it like a receiver hitch. Leave them in when you are storing the camper , jack it up and slide them out the bottom. you can get it at pretty much any metal shop cheap 50 or so bucks.
 
Not the prettiest but planning on making some nicer mounts when I get a nicer camper!
 

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The Fleet is wide for the Tacoma and the jacks are way out there. They seem vulnerable when driving around. So, I take them off. The camper is typically off the truck during the winter and on the rest of the year. This summer, I took it off for a while so I could haul some furniture, then put it back on. Anyway, it doesn't seem like a big deal to me, removing and attaching the jacks. It only takes a few minutes. I use a cordless impact driver and keep the bolts & nuts on the jacks so I don't lose them.
 
jasona said:
Not the prettiest but planning on making some nicer mounts when I get a nicer camper!
Click to expand...
Nice job! Definitely thinking "outside the box".

My camper came with overkill grade 8 bolts and nylock nuts mounting the jacks (Never mind that the jack brackets were ready to fall off the corners!). The first time I removed the jacks, the threads on the nuts were galled resulting in me fighting for every degree unscrewing them. Tossed all that crap and replaced them with standard nuts and bolts.

Next, I bought the drill adapter for the jacks. So now, I use my cordless drill to both raise/lower the jacks then switch to a socket in the drill to remove the nuts. Pretty fast!
 
Good morning

My name is Johannes. I'm German but living in Switzerland. My english is not the very best but I hope it will work... :)

I'm reading in the forum as a guest for quite a while and got a lot of good and helpful informations here that helped me to find my FCW. It's one of the few Wildcat (Fleet) - Hardtop camper that have been sold some years ago. I bought it used in 2015. For me it is a good compromise for the moment. Very solid, not too heavy (but heavy) and the comfort of hard walls. And like I have seen my camper found already the way to the FB-Site of FWC where you can find some pictures from my trip to scotland last month:

Log into Facebook

Yesterday when I read this thread I thought I might be able to give something back to the forum and registered me. My camper already had a system called "D-Jacker" installed when I bought it and i don't want to miss it anymore. This system is developed by the the european FWC-Dealer and allows to install or remove the jack in less than one minute without using any tool. This video shows how it works. The video is german but I think it is anyway easy to understand how it works:


I have no idea if they would be able to ship it also to USA but if someone is really interested I could of course contact them to ask for you.

I hope this info is useful for you or helps to find or create a good and simple solution.

Best wishes from Zurich
Johannes
 
Ya Europeans are always a head of us . Maker should contact fourwheel and have them over those to owners. One hand washes the other. Perfect for off-roader or average person. And the weight it saves on corners and metal corners will last longer. Great
Info thanks for sharing.


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Johannes, welcome to the group, and thanks for sharing that information. I look forward to reading about your experiences camping in Europe.
 
Thank you for the warm welcome. I think the differents in genaral are not so big between camping in Europe or USA. Just that you have much more space to live and to go without being immediately in the next village or town.

When I have visited my cousin years ago and we travelled in his camper I realized the first time how big your country is.

Best
Johannes
 
Another welcome to WTW.
Very cool camper and even cooler quick release jack mount. That would be great to have. Quite pricey though.

I've sheared two of the bolts during the few years I've had my Finch. It really sucks getting ready for a trip and wondering if the bolt is gonna give up the ghost in order to remove the jack. Has anyone tried cleavis pins/cotters? My camper isn't on my truck full time and I park my truck under it when the truck is not in use. While I am pretty good at getting the truck under the camper without hitting the camper it has happened a few times. Pins/cotter pins may be asking for trouble.
 
Welcome Johannes,

Pretty cool gizmo there with the jacks :)

Welcome to the group and would love pics of your camper too :)

Come back over anytime because we do have lots of room :)
 
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