Is slight misalignment of camper a reason to reload?

[SleepsWithBears]

After loading my Grandby for the first time (myself) on my Tundra yesterday, I found that the Grandby is slightly out of alignment with the truck bed, about an inch of skew when measured from the rear of the camper.

The camper is not rubbing or hitting on the truck anywhere, so I'm wondering if I need to take any measures to bring it back into alignment. I'm not planning any rough travel this year (unfortunately.) The OCD part of me wants to have it perfect, but is there any substantive reason I should correct the alignment?

Thanks

 

[Beach]

Should not be a problem but if you want to get it perfect, its' not hard. Just jack up the camper slightly(just get the load off the truck) and push it where it needs to go, there is enough sway in the jack legs to move where you need.. Get someone to lower it while you hold it in position. If your going to leave it on for a long time, you might as well get it right.

 

[BillTheHiker]

I would be concerned that the angle of the camper might be working against the turnbuckles. FWC has a video explaining turnbuckle angles and how they work. Sorry, I don't have a link to it but try Google or call FWC.

 

[BBZ]

I get very OCD about it, but also found if you jack it slightly you can push it into place.. but takes 2 people..

 

[AK Nomad]

I expect it will be fine, I've driven many miles with poorer alignment than that - no issues. Having said that, I always try to get it very close. When by myself I jack it a little on one end and use blocks of wood and wedge to push it over, then unjack it.

 

[MarkBC]

... so I'm wondering if I need to take any measures to bring it back into alignment...

Thanks

I'd say No - you don't need to.
I've driven with my Hawk cockeyed in the truck bed for many miles - usually when the turnbuckles were loose. Nothing bad happened. YMMV.

 

[trikebubble]

I get very OCD about it, but also found if you jack it slightly you can push it into place.. but takes 2 people..

There is no way my OCD tendencies would let me get past that. I'm afraid I'd be staring in the side view mirror the entire time. I'm sure the concern to my mental stability and well-being would far outweigh any actual issues that could/would arise from being even marginally askew.

 

[alano]

I'm sure your truck and the camper will be fine with that misalignment, but it sure sounds like you won't be so go ahead and fix it - it will be worth your while.

Alan

 

[Bill D]

If it's out by "an inch" I'd realign it. As others have mentioned it's quite easy to do and you may as well get used to doing it. I've loaded and unload mine solo plenty of times on ice, gravel, uneven terrain etc.
You can easily single handedly move the camper an inch or two in any direction by putting some weight on it in the direction you want it to move, while it is on the jacks.
Lowering the camper on one side more than the other will cause the camper to move in that direction, due to the weight of the camper on it's own.
I suggest when starting out, count 10 cranks on each jack 10 driver front, 10 driver rear, 10 passenger front, 10 passenger rear
then
10pr, 10pf, 10df, 10dr
then
10dr, 10df, 10pf,10pr
and so on, and so on....

As you get more comfortable with the process, you can move onto 20 cranks. Don't get carried away though, take care not to twist the frame of the camper. Try to keep things relatively even. The camper will practically stand on 3 jacks if things are relatively even, there is no need to get nervous.

If you are on uneven ground, bend down at the tailgate section and look and see how even the camper is coming down onto the truck bed. Adjust accordingly.

 

[Advmoto18]

Not an issue.

But, it will tickle the back of your mind all day long until you re-load the camper symmetrically.

 

[nikonron]

I'm so OCD that I wish you hadn't posted this, please jack it up and get the alignment perfect so that I can sleep. Ron

 

[badtoytrd]

Doubt there is any way to do it for a Grandby but when one of the original elevator bolts broke on my Fleet during a trip my wife and I were able to lift the one side slightly and shift it back into alignment.

 

[SleepsWithBears]

LOL, who knew the 4wc tribe had OCD in its DNA? I guess I should have but I just wasn't thinking. Because I was out measuring the misalignment every 5 minutes. So I'm going to fix it. Thanks for all the tips about how to do it.

 

[craig333]

I would say ignore since my ocd only applies to toilet paper and microwaves. That said I did use the winch on my Jeep to move the camper around once.