developing a 'hoist' for the camper?

[jeffyg]

i am having a few jack issues... and i dont really like to leave them on with the camper is on and its a PITA to install and remove them (Well its not that bad but i could do without it). also i have my hawk on a F350 with 33" tires so its pretty high off the ground.

i have a pole shed thats 12' high, i am starting to give some thought for something to lift the camper straight up and then lower it onto sawhorses for storage. then when its time to install it lift it up again back in and lower it down.

i guess the trick would be to be able to move the camper around a little bit when its hoisted so i dont have to be bang on with the truck. electric winch or crank, thinking something like a 2 1/4x 2 1/4 x 10' steel square stock that slips under the sides and lift it from there (i dont really like how my corner brackets are mounted too)

attached is a picture of the pole shed, its an old picture i have since brought up the grade 1-2' with crush and leveled it off and its empty right now. its a pretty darn solid structure so i am not concerned with the weight.

any thoughts or anyone done this before?

jeff

 

[jeffyg]

oops

 

[DanoT]

I think it is way better to have the standard: truck moving and camper stationary. Your way and the camper will be swinging and you will still have to move the truck. There is also the danger of damaging the camper with the guy ropes that will lead from the steel lifting beams to the lifting device (winch).

 

[Fitwon]

oops


I would recommend building a camper "Dolly" to move your camper around and into the Shed/Barn/Shop/Garage. It looks like you have a gravel surface. If so, you will need real air tires--not the various poly ones that are most common in the marketplace. I plan on doing this if I do not get to build my garage this summer/fall. That depends on the stock market's recovery. I will try to attach a picture of my storage area. Currently I store my River Hawk 19' Boat there and my Truck--now my Outfitter Caribou 8.

 

[highz]

To do what you want to do safely, I think you would need at least a hoist and trolley:

http://www.mcmaster....rolleys/=7xqlkl

Could get expensive.

 

[Fitwon]

I am thinking wheel barrow type air tires and wheels--four of them with two on swivel. Somewhere I saw plans for a camper dolly. I know I have seen pictures of them but they were only with poly type wheels which won't work on gravel.

 

[ntsqd]

Just this last weekend I followed a Bigfoot that had been run into something. The right-rear jack was at an angle to the camper and barely hanging on. It did not look safe or even usable for lifting the camper.

Backing up to the OP's original concept; If your hoisting frame were rectangular and slightly larger than the outside dims of the camper then each corner of the frame could support a cable/chain/sling/rope apparatus that picked up where the jacks currently are mounted. Make those lifting apparati long enough that the lifting frame can stay slightly above the top of the camper. You will need to pay attention to the diagonals running from the corners of the lifting frame to the lifting hook. The shallower their angle, the greater their tensile loading. It is very easy to generate some unexpectedly large tensile numbers in those parts.

If the jack mounts were re-configured to look something like below then either the jacks or the hoist could lift the camper out of the bed while leaving nothing attached to the camper while in use.