Casters on jack stands?

[DonC]

I found this picture and idea on another forum. Mounting casters with wheels on the bottom of the jack stands, and rolling the camper onto the truck, rather than backing the truck under the camper.

Has anyone tried this? Seems like it would be much easier.

 

[billharr]

There is a thread on this at Expo
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/71784-One-man-camper-loading-using-casters-on-jack-stands

 

[Lighthawk]

If you had perfectly smooth ground that might work. I would be concerned about the flex on the jackstands and leverage to tweak on the brackets. This is a process that gets repeated twice every time you dismount/mount the camper, so you've got to consider the long term impact on your camper.

I did put scaffolding casters, about 6 or 8 inch diameter I think, on a plywood platform framed like a beefy deck for my dolly. I initially drilled holes to house the 1 1/2" stems of the casters directly into 6x4 girders, but it started splitting the beam from jolting over a 1" lip into my garage.

I finally skinned the bottom with plywood and gorilla glue and bolted on a cast iron pipe flange to house the caster stems. That's held up so far. It would probably be better to do it all in metal but I don't weld.

 

[GpnAZ]

I found this picture and idea on another forum. Mounting casters with wheels on the bottom of the jack stands, and rolling the camper onto the truck, rather than backing the truck under the camper.

Has anyone tried this? Seems like it would be much easier.

View attachment 13405


I have used this method for the last 11 years on my FWC Hawk with no problems. I do have a smooth concrete floor to roll it on and I am careful when rolling it and it sure makes it a lot easier to mount the camper yourself. I have read a number of threads that advise against this method, so it definitely doesn't work for every situation.

 

[Alex]

If do it slowly on smooth surface it should be fine. Just make sure the caster does not get caught on something and stop suddenly.

 

[Gormley Green]

That ExPo thread was a good read. Seems safe enough under the right conditions. I do find squaring up the camper a big pain! Loading it is easy enough but I try to get the front and back within 1/8" equal and kicking the jack feet is annoying and imprecise.

 

[tree]

question, I just sold my camper dolly since im short on room due to trailer, truck and utv. was thinking of going full time with my hawk on truck. but.... if I want to roll it into the garage I seen a few online putting casters on their jacks. as long as you lower as soon as its off the truck to avoid twisting brackets etc.. my question is , on the fwc-rieco titan jacks is anybody using trailer jack casters? and are you using the 2 inch model or 1 3/4 model? I went to the dealer to measure (my hawk arrives nov 15th) the leg of the jacks. seems 1 3/4 might not fit. safe with 2 inch, but some slop in the fit maybe. will you pins of course. wondering if anybody has tried this yet?

 

[longhorn1]

Stan posted on this some time back and discouraged using casters. He said it is high risk.

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[tree]

Stan posted on this some time back and discouraged using casters. He said it is high risk.

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ok, if tom or stan says bad idea, that's good enough for me. no casters. I will build another dolly if needed. mine was heavy duty with 8 inch casters from grainger.

 

[Bombsight]

A while back I suggested applying teflon sliders to kick the FWC into a more accurate bed position.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000PB4G04/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

[hebegebe]

I use the same system as the 1st pic using a little heavier caster. I do not store the camper with weight on the casters as I use custom saw horses the jacks are only stabilizers. It has been some years now and I do the camper shuffle abt 6-10x a year with no ill effects remember each jack only holds 4-500# with about 10 screws per bracket it is much easier to load for sure


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[Advmoto18]

Just remember, the jacks are designed for vertical loading, very little, if any lateral loading. Same for the jack attachment points.

The entire jack system is designed for simply removing your camper from the bed of the truck. I have never seen a picture or video of FWC factory personnel discussing or using this method to move a camper. While you can probably move the camper via jack/caster, I think this method of movement is an accident waiting to happen.

 

[super doody]

I think if you attached two poles or pipes from the front to rear jacks on each side, it would dramatic improve the lateral stiffness for moving the camping on casters.

A while ago, Stan posted a picture of a U shaped contraption made out of metal and caster wheels to move a camper. It looked really heavy and was probably awkward store

I've been considering other options as well. My camper fits extremely tight on my 2006 Tundra double cab. In fact it touches the vertical lip for the tail gate on both sides. FWC recommended that I file down the spray on bed liner on the lip so the camper can slide out easier. I have a DD so I have not tried to remove the camper since it was originally installed by FWC.

 

[hebegebe]

One trick for safety no matter how you lift your box is to make sure the front overhang is a few inches higher than the rear while it is suspended so balance can't go haywire


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