Jack and extension plate question

super doody

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Joined
Aug 2, 2012
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Location
San Mateo Coast
Hi All,

I might be picking an Eagle camper but it doen't have jacks.

What size Rieco jacks do I need for a Eagle camper? It currently on a late model 2007 tacoma and I have 2003 tacoma. Will I need extension plates?

Thanks,

Jim
 
Hi All,

I might be picking an Eagle camper but it doen't have jacks.

What size Rieco jacks do I need for a Eagle camper? It currently on a late model 2007 tacoma and I have 2003 tacoma. Will I need extension plates?

Thanks,

Jim


I would call FWC! I believe they use a specific type of Rieco. Also they know for sure on the truck/jack requirements.

Congrats on the Eagle.

P.S. Get the Eagle serial number and then call FWC.

Sam :oops:
 
You will need the swing away extension brackets along with 4 mechanical jacks. The swing away extension is needed for the front only because of the wider wheel wells on the Tacoma.
http://www.riecotitan.com/camperjacks/swingaway.html



Hi All,

I might be picking an Eagle camper but it doen't have jacks.

What size Rieco jacks do I need for a Eagle camper? It currently on a late model 2007 tacoma and I have 2003 tacoma. Will I need extension plates?

Thanks,

Jim
 
You will need the swing away extension brackets along with 4 mechanical jacks. The swing away extension is needed for the front only because of the wider wheel wells on the Tacoma.
http://www.riecotitan.com/camperjacks/swingaway.html


That's an awful expensive way to go. My Eagle Shell was on a toyota before I got it and came with 4 titan jacks. And all the owner needed was a couple of flat aluminum plates to bolt in to provide enough separation. Easy to make.
 
My Eagle came with Reico Titans plus aluminum plates (probably homemade) to extend the front jacks outward for the Toyota it was originally on to clear the fender flares on that truck. As far as I know there is only one variety of the pure mechanical Titans, those provide a lift range of 36", more than enough for most uses.

Mine are the manual mechanical jacks, so I can't tell about the hydraulic jacks, mine came with two crank handles. They have plenty of mechanical advantage so the hand cranks work just fine and give the most accurate adjustment. My Eagle also came with the drill attachment fitting to run the jacks with a electric drill. That works fine as long as your drill is charged, it will run the jacks faster than the handles.

I figure that there is no need for the hydraulic jacks and it's more to go bad and more to fiddle with. If a jack fails on you out in the outback you may be in a world of problem, so keep them as simple and reliable as possible.

Unless you really need the jacks on trips it's better to take them off and leave them home during trips. Less to catch on things and they add quite a bit of weight to the camper. It's only a few bolts to take each one off.
 
That's an awful expensive way to go. My Eagle Shell was on a toyota before I got it and came with 4 titan jacks. And all the owner needed was a couple of flat aluminum plates to bolt in to provide enough separation. Easy to make.


And, as you say, one only needs two plates not four. They are needed for the front of the camper but not the rear.
 
Has anyone used hydraulic rieco jackets with extension plates?

I hastily made my own pair of plates from a slab of rusty 1/4" steel that I had laying around. I take both they and the hyd. Rieco jacks off when I'm not immediately using them. No pictures because I'm not proud of those plates, but they work fine for keeping the front pair of jacks from being rubbed by the rear tires (my CTD's widest point).
 
I sell the pair to WTW folks for 79.99 including shipping. Heres a link to what they look like
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rieco-Titan-Camper-Jack-Extension-Swing-Away-Style-Brackets-Dually-Clearance-/181008311192?pt=Motors_RV_Trailer_Camper_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2a24efa398&vxp=mtr
 
I went out and took a photo this morning.
DSC00006w.jpg
Here's how my 2007 Eagle shell was equipped with spacing on the front to fit a Toyota. You can also see in the background a jack attached at the back where no spacing is needed. The back Jack measures 1.5" from the plane of the wall to the inside of the jack tube. On the front the measurement of the wall to inside of the jack is 6". The bare aluminum plate is 3/8" thick, the painted extension one is similar material. This setup is plenty strong for my Eagle.

I think the painted plate is this one:
https://www.riecotitan.com/store/productpage.php?prod=178

The unpainted plate was made elsewhere, one of those plates has the original owner's name on it, probably meaning he had a local shop make it for him. You could probably replace both plates with one 13" long 6" wide 3/8" thick plate. Not a big problem to drill the holes needed.

I take back that there is only one type of the Titan mechanical jack itself, there are two. One has it's mount permanently welded at the top of the jack, the other comes with three "C" rings so can be adjusted more for the height the jack is mounted. The ones on mine are the "C" ring type, which appears to be cheaper, and probably an advantage if you are going to leave the jacks on permanently as you will be able to adjust them higher for greater ground clearance when stored on the camper. There are several listings for the jacks, but mostly they differ in the pieces that FWC attaches to the camper.
 
chnlisle - The ebay link doesn't work.

"This page may have moved or is no longer available. Please try one of the following:"
 
I just picked up a new Eagle from the factory a couple weeks ago with my 2004 Tacoma 4WD TRD. I got it with the Reico Titan jacks. I saw them getting ready to back the truck up with no extension plates installed and questioned them since Stan had originally told me they were required (I planned to make them myself). They stated that they weren't needed. I was not close enough to see how much clearance there was but the professionals got it on with no plates, so it can be done. I took the jacks off as soon as we got home and intend to leave the camper on the truck full time. Someday I'll find out just how tight a fit it is. It may be that it is worth it to have the added wiggle room extension plates provide.
 
I just picked up a new Eagle from the factory a couple weeks ago with my 2004 Tacoma 4WD TRD. I got it with the Reico Titan jacks. I saw them getting ready to back the truck up with no extension plates installed and questioned them since Stan had originally told me they were required (I planned to make them myself). They stated that they weren't needed. I was not close enough to see how much clearance there was but the professionals got it on with no plates, so it can be done. I took the jacks off as soon as we got home and intend to leave the camper on the truck full time. Someday I'll find out just how tight a fit it is. It may be that it is worth it to have the added wiggle room extension plates provide.


The guy I got my Eagle from said that they were required because of the fender flares he had. If your's does not have fender flares then that could be the reason. You can measure your bed width with a tape measure and then compare that to the jack clearance.

When I had my Eagle at FWC they put in the window boot for me which involved having to partially unmount the camper. They are very practiced. But also note they are working on a flat concrete floor, out in the wilds I'd want more room than on the floor. More sideways motion is possible in the rough. I'd not want to hit the jacks if moving. However, with the Ranger there is plenty of clearance between the outside of the bed and the jacks and I probably could do fine without the extenders. It's inside the bed just forward of the tailgate opening where it's close for me. Only about 1/4" on each side of clearance there, I have to be precise there.

Note when the FWC guys set my Eagle back on they were carefully measuring that it was centered on the bed with a tape measure before setting it down. They were serious about balance.

BTW, when I first picked up my Eagle it was located on a fairly steep driveway that I had to back up to go under the Eagle. Somehow I managed to line up first try. Manual Transmission and I used 4x4 low range. I also had the seller to watch if I was getting it right. I've had it off and on several times since, so far it's easy if you don't rush.
 
Thanks for the reply and the advice guys. Got some eye bolts and washers from Home Depot and took off my camper shell tonight. I'm leaving for the 9 hr drive from Half Moon Bay to Vegas tomorrow morning at 5 am with my pup in tow. The seller doesn't have extension plates or jacks. He is borrowing a set of 4 corner jack and improvising plywood extension sandwiched between the brackets for the transfer. :D
 
I got her home in one piece! The seller didn't have to jacks or extension plate so he borrowed jacks for the transfer and made some extension plates out of 1//2 inch (?) plywood. For informational purposes, here is a photos. Following Walt's advice we did shake camper before it was freed from the seller's vehicles just incase the extension plates failed, it would only fall a couple of inches. Time to start planning, buying, building and hopefully a lot really fun adventures.

2012-12-01_16-03-24_603.jpg
 
I got her home in one piece! The seller didn't have to jacks or extension plate so he borrowed jacks for the transfer and made some extension plates out of 1//2 inch (?) plywood. For informational purposes, here is a photos. Following Walt's advice we did shake camper before it was freed from the seller's vehicles just incase the extension plates failed, it would only fall a couple of inches. Time to start planning, buying, building and hopefully a lot really fun adventures.



Glad it worked out.

The camper looks familiar, very familiar. On mine I've got the change of the door to add a screen door done, and today was fitting the door for the propane tank storage and sealing it on. Next is to finish sealing the inside of the propane space and building up the frame around that which will support the fridge and then the rest of the stuff forward of that. Plus putting in water tank and battery bank and wiring in the front end. I am trying to take a few photos as I go to share.

The adventure begins even before taking it all fitted up to your specs out camping :)
 
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