Getting camper on full size truck; advice and ideas needed

[kmcintyre]

Ok. I have some titan hand crank jacks and they were fine for putting the camper on my Dakota. I built a rolling platform just a few inches lower than the bed of the Dakota. A few cranks and on it went.

Now I have a RAM 1500. The difference in height is about 12". I started jacking it up and it's way to unstable. Jacks were leaning, etc., etc. The RAM is wider too and even though I have some extensions on the titans it's still crazy unstable.

I need ideas.

Here's a few I tried and thought of.

a) I put some 2x6's on the extensions but as I started to jack it up (maybe 1") things started to get scary.

my other thoughts:

a) I think ATC and FWC use a fork lift. I could rent one. I'm not sure how I get the prongs under the camper though and don't remember how they did it when I was there. I could just use the titans to get it up a few inches and the prongs would slide right in under it.

b) I could see if any of the local camper places rent jacks. I think they are cable jacks and they won't be far enough to let the RAM back in as they have to be pretty close to the camper (I think).

c) I could (and don't like this idea), take my shell off the Dakota. Put the camper back on it. Drive to a camper place. Take the camper off. Drive the RAM to the camper place and have them put it on. Taking the shell on and off along with the camper though is a major hassle!

d) I could call friends and lift it up; no way...

Any other ideas? I need ideas...

Thanks.

Kevin

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Kevin, if you're that apprehensive of the stability, you could use a couple of concrete piers or blocks under the jacks to gain back the height, assuming the truck sides/tire's will clear the front blocks as you back down on the camper.

When I had my Grandby way in the air to go on the F350, it wasn't as stable as when it was being loaded on the lower F250, but not nearly as unstable as you're describing. Is there any chance you have a structural issue going on? My jacks did not lean either.

 

[kmcintyre]

Kevin, if you're that apprehensive of the stability, you could use a couple of concrete piers or blocks under the jacks to gain back the height, assuming the truck sides/tire's will clear the front blocks as you back down on the camper.

When I had my Grandby way in the air to go on the F350, it wasn't as stable as when it was being loaded on the lower F250, but not nearly as unstable as you're describing. Is there any chance you have a structural issue going on? My jacks did not lean either.

These jacks never seemed to be all that great and since I bought them used, the orig. owner may have abused them.

I checked locally and I can rent a forklift for $69 for 2 hrs. I'm not sure how I get it to my house but I'm thinking that may be the ticket. I'm going to check w/ ATC and they took it off and put it on my Dakota.

 

[CougarCouple]

Kmcintyre
I think Home Depot sells concrete pymirid shaped pieces used to support lumber joists,
Or how bout some cinder blocks, should be able to stack several to make a steady base to install camper.
Russ

 

[Alley-Kat]

Is it possible that you could show us a photo of what you think is unstable?

I'm having a hard time thinking of it. I usually go up on one jack about 5" at a time, it looks like it's leaning over quite a bit, however, the center of gravity is still way inside the jack legs. I use my cordless drill with the drill adapter and it's just so easy to go 5" up at a time.

Also can you try cranking up the jacks just a little at a time, maybe only 2"-3" at a time, to keep the camper pretty much as "flat" as possible? I know that will take longer to "get it up", however, it could look safer to you.

 

[tree]

my buddy had his truck lifted pretty high, he put blocks under jacks, worked great.

 

[kmcintyre]

Ok, after some off-duty brain cycles I'm going to try this. Rather than putting blocks under the jacks, I'm going to lift the camper up a bit then put something between it and my dolly. The issue I think I am having with the jacks is that they are so far away from the camper itself and with the extensions I have on them, they are still 1' or more away from the camper. Once I start lifting, that angle causes the jack to start leaning in. So, in my new method, I can keep the jacks under the rails. I'll repeat until it's close to the height I need then lift the front of the camper to the right height, Back the truck up so that the front of the camper is on the bed of the truck. Then lift the rear. I'm thinking just a few inches.

The other option when I called about using a forklift was a cable hoist. They look perfect except they have "legs" that extend out front of the hoist. They are basically a forklift but portable. I could use this to get my camper to height but I wouldn't be able to back the truck under the camper.

I'll report later to see if this works.

 

[kmcintyre]

Update.... my new plan seems to be working. Luckily I have a lot of lumber that I can use for blocks as I raise the camper. I'm only about 4" away from getting it to height now. I'm also glad I have a dolly otherwise this would we swaying in the wind (not literally, I'm doing this in the garage).

I'll get it up to height, slide the dolly back a bit and block it on the dolly again with a little overhang off the front. I'll then take the jacks out and pull the truck in a bit. I'll raise the camper a bit more, back up more, etc.

The other thing I did was jack up the camper with the jacks facing front and back rather than on the sides. I could do this because of the dolly and it's a lot more stable. Those extensions really cause issues when you have the weight towards the edge and not near the centerline of the jack.

BTW, this is a REICO jack not a Titan. Not sure if that matters but it's a standalone jack w/ a crank. I have 4 of them.