Happijac anyone?

[AK Nomad]

Set my new (to me) Grandby on the truck (Ram) last weekend. I'm not crazy about the factory mounting idea - eyebolt with fender washers through bed sheetmetal. I crawled around underneath, but can't make it hit a cross membr, and building a custom bracket to the frame looks impossible.

My truck came with the Happijac system already installed, so I'm considering external tie downs. Anyone use this mounting system? What did the attachment points on the camper look like? How do they attach to the camper (bolt clear through with plate on the inside?) I wouldn't mind on the carpet areas, but there is a countertop in the passenger side rear corner. Does FWC provide external (to the bed) mounts if requested (just curious). What's optimum angle of the tiedowns? To clear the rear fender, my rear bracket must extend 3" or so past the camper wall (about the same amount as the jacks). Anyone have pics of these brackets or the camper mounted with the Happijac system?

 

[Mark W. Ingalls]

$0.02

Have you also considered bolting through the floor of the camper, instead of using the standard mounting locations?

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

Hello AK Nomad

From time to time we get customers mounting their campers with Happijac tie downs.

Most of these customers attached the turn buckles with a piece of chain to the camper "Jack Brackets".

(see sample pictures attached)


Hope this helps with a visual




.

 

[flinchlock]

From time to time we get customers mounting their campers with Happijac tie downs.
Is there any Pros or Cons vs the current/standard/normal method?

Mike

 

[pvstoy]

In those pictures the chain does not seem to make much of a triangle. Could the camper slide around including out the back?

 

[AK Nomad]

Thanks for the replies. I thought about doing exactly what Stan shows (thanks for the great pics, Stan) but was wanting to improve on the angles a bit. I would prefer the front to pull down and forward, the rear to pull down and rearward (to keep things from moving on long, rough roads). I have considered bolting through the floor (I've done it with an older pop-up camper) but wanted to explore the Happijac mounts first as it would make on/off much easier. The Happijac setup would also allow use of springloaded turnbuckles (I havn't researched them at all yet, just seen them at the local RV shop).

flinchlock - pros/cons of standard attachment inside the bed from my viewpoint:
pros
-simple
-inexpensive
-lightweight
-nothing hanging outside the bed to get hung-up on (visualize narrow, backwoods trail)
-to some point, you can adjust the eyebolt location in the truck-bed to optimize the angle of attachment (including side to side)
cons
-on my truck, I can't hit a bed crossmember unless the turnbuckle is at an extreme angle; and so I must mount the eyebolt through one layer of sheetmetal (with fender washer or plate on bottom side of course). I'd rather not damage the truckbed, or worse yet, have the camper rip loose on some rough road in the middle of nowhere.
-not as easy to keep an eye on while traveling (for loosening)

Anybody build custom brackets on their camper for external tie downs?

 

[pvstoy]

Hi AK Nomad,

Les aka "lqhikers" has some writeups on this subject. I did a search on his name and came up with three possibilities for you. There may be more?

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=753

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=595

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=654

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

I'm not sure ???

I don't think it would slide out the back.

It seemed to work ok when we did it, but we were NOT doing any off road use ??

=====================================================

In those pictures the chain does not seem to make much of a triangle. Could the camper slide around including out the back?




.

 

[drakeslayer]

I used to have stake pocket mount camper mounts with turnbuckles holding my Grandby in my Ford truck. I wheeled it all over and in some pretty rough stuff and never had a problem. I just zip tied the turn buckles at both ends so they would not loosen.

 

[AK Nomad]

In talking with different local folks I understand that there are optimum angles, etc. but sometimes you got what you got, and generally speaking people have few troubles, especially with these lightweights (FWC).

My stake pockets are basically inaccessible (an inch or two clearance) with the camper mounted, so I can't see how they could be used.

Last night I made 4 brackets from angle iron, and will bolt them through the camper and get it tied down. Hope I can take it out this weekend for the first time.

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

here is a link to the stake pocket tie down brackets

they usually work for the FWC's

the bracket is no more than 1/2" thick, max

so the camper shouldn't be touching it


http://www.crbrophy.com/tdhd.html






.

 

[winter200]

here is a link to the stake pocket tie down brackets

they usually work for the FWC's

the bracket is no more than 1/2" thick, max

so the camper shouldn't be touching it


http://www.crbrophy.com/tdhd.html







.
How much are those tiedowns? Seem like on 3/4 ton pickups that should be enough to get the job done without much trouble.

 

[Sam]

WOW, those seem cool. I may ditch the stock set up for the stake pocket mounts, as I hate unloading the camper and bending like a contortionist to get to the turnbuckles.

 

[brett13]

I used to have stake pocket mount camper mounts with turnbuckles holding my Grandby in my Ford truck. I wheeled it all over and in some pretty rough stuff and never had a problem. I just zip tied the turn buckles at both ends so they would not loosen.

I like this idea, because mine tend to loosen up. But I don't quite understand what to zip tie. Wouldn't you have to zip tie the turnbuckle to something that doesn't move to prevent it from turning? Can you explain? Thanks.

 

[craig333]

-----------

Hello AK Nomad

From time to time we get customers mounting their campers with Happijac tie downs.

Most of these customers attached the turn buckles with a piece of chain to the camper "Jack Brackets".

(see sample pictures attached)


Hope this helps with a visual






.
I might do something like that, only on the front, just a backup in case something went horribly wrong. If I ever take the camper off so I could access the bed

 

[AK Nomad]

Thanks for all the input, folks. I built a couple of brackets (1/8" thick angle) and tried to attach 2 pics to show you. The front mounts turned out to my liking. The rear brackets are difficult because of fender clearance. I may hook the rear turnbuckles to the jack mounts. I like the front of the happijac system better than the rear bumper mounts, that's for sure. I logged a few miles this weekend, and so far pleased with the results. If I can figure a way to strengthen the bed for the rear factory mounts, I may go that route in the future. I enjoyed reading lqhikers write-ups. so-long