Loading and unloading without jacks stands

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huckfinn

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Dec 25, 2014
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In an effort to save the thousand bucks for jack stands, I've searched the forum for ways to to do this. I found casters, dollies, rolling tables, sawhorses etc. I found a complicated winch system. Having been a carpenter, and having built many things onsite to solve specific problems, I'm surprised there isn't more on this, considering the expense.

I would really like to have the camper off my truck when I'm not using it. I would like to be able load and unload quickly. The thousand pounds of camper weight does not seem all that much. Some kind of height adjustable dolly/cart with a come-along? Has anyone else thought about this?

Mark
 
Mark, my guess is that by the time you're finished building a height adjustable, rolling cart, you will have more invested in terms of time and money, than you would have with just a set of jacks. I may invest in a set of casters to speed things up, just because I get nervous with the narrow front jacks being so close to the wheel well flare. Now that I think about it, just a set of two extensions for the front jacks would work as well.
 
Wandering Sagebrush said:
Mark, my guess is that by the time you're finished building a height adjustable, rolling cart, you will have more invested in terms of time and money, than you would have with just a set of jacks. I may invest in a set of casters to speed things up, just because I get nervous with the narrow front jacks being so close to the wheel well flare. Now that I think about it, just a set of two extensions for the front jacks would work as well.
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I'm very open to this conclusion.

But not having the realities of the camper in front of me, I start to think. For example, couldn't a heavy wire harness attached to the jack brackets and an anchor point be used to drag the camper out onto a cart with a come-along? Of course the cart would have wheels with locks, and maybe it could be made with a central tipping point so that either end could be raised a half dozen inches to slip it over the top of the tail gate? To reload, another anchor behind the cab and a come-along could at least drag it halfway into the bed. From there, I'm not so sure about how to move the camper all the way in. Any ideas?

I think I could build what I've described in a long day and a couple hundred bucks. Which, to me, makes it a not completely dismissible idea. Though I'm willing to be made to come to my senses.
 
huckfinn said:
...I would really like to have the camper off my truck when I'm not using it. I would like to be able load and unload quickly. The thousand pounds of camper weight does not seem all that much. Some kind of height adjustable dolly/cart with a come-along? Has anyone else thought about this?

Mark
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You mean use a come-along to tug the camper off the truck bed and onto the dolly/cart standing behind the truck? That could work -- I used a come-along to center my camper in the bed when it was way-off-center.
But tugging it back on to mount the camper doesn't seem as easy...though, of course, not impossible, I'm sure. Or some other way to shove it in/onto the bed.

In my case: my driveway, yard, garage aren't suitable for carting the camper around anyway. In the rare occasions when I remove the camper (just twice in 9 years so far!) I attach the jacks, and the camper stands on the jacks in the gravel next to my driveway.

....................

Update: I see you semi-answered my questions before I got this posted...but still seems like getting the camper back in/on the bed is the problem. On WTW I've only seen an overhead winch/crane suggested as a feasible alternative to the jacks.
 
Yes, I'm thinking of tugging it onto a cart. The top of the cart would have a smooth surface like Masonite, over 3/4 ply.

You're right, the difficulty is to get the camper back on. Suppose, to pull the camper back into the truck, each front wheel had its own rope harness and a come-along attached to the front Jack bracket? I'd have to buy a second come-along but with two cranked alternately, wouldn't that inch the camper into place?
 
Somehow, I see the potential for a camper half on a truck, with the other half on the ground. At my age and weight, discretion is by far the better part of valor. Corner jacks and brackets are less than $700 if I remember correctly. Make or by a dolly to move it around once it's off the truck.
 
On the other hand, huckfinn: If you do figure out a sweet and easy approach that really works, write up an invention disclosure for it before you post it here! And then work on getting a patent.
Seriously. :)
 
Moving a cart over a rough surface is mostly a matter of wheel diameter. The bigger the wheel, the rougher the surface. Six inch swivel wheels could handle a lot of irregularity. Sure the swivels might not come to the right direction automatically, but they could be turned by hand. 250lbs per wheel isn't a lot.

Does anyone have any idea if the Jack brackets could withstand the lateral force required for this setup?
 
Back in my younger days I owned a number of Jeeps with hard tops. To remove the hardtops I used a come a long attached to an overhead frame. This would hook on the tops with J clips and then would lift the top right off. I used it inside a garage using the rafters as the lift point, that clearly would not work for a camper. A heavier duty system might work for a camper using a frame that matches up to the jack brackets on the camper. Lift up and drive out.

Just a thought.
 
Well, if I'm not soon totally convinced that discretion is the better part of valor, and I do decide to build it, the main satisfaction would be in documenting here.
 
We're going to the showroom this Saturday. Another week or two to order. 12 weeks for the build. I live in Berkeley—I suppose I could always drive to Woodland to buy jack stands, after the fact.
 
I would recommend you at least get the jack plates installed by FWC. You can use them as the attachment point for any sort of overhead lift device you may create and/or you can acquire the actual jacks later. Many places sell them.

I bought my first FWC in 1997 and opted not to get the the jack plates installed, but bought these 'brophy-brand' external portable jack devices that FWC used to sell back then. They were seriously scary, thus the only time I ever used them was to remove the camper and transfer it onto the new owners truck, ten years later. Honestly, as I recall that day, my heart rate increases, it was so scary having the camper wobbling on these things while you had to drive over the jack feet to move the truck under the camper.

I had a hard side camper with electric jacks, and it always went on and off for trips, and loading and unloading was seriously easier than parallel parking. About as easy as falling out of bed.

I bought my new FWC with the plates and the jacks. The jacks are still in the boxes, unused. I am glad to have them, since I can remove my camper from the truck anytime I want to. I could not find them cheaper than buying them from FWC.
 
Thanks! I will get the plates, at least. I haven't priced electric jacks, but anything to remove and install the camper faster and easier would be appealing, although I think I'm gonna need a cart or, or casters, at least, to move the camper into the area I have for storage. I was just thinking I might build a cart-type storage table with wheels that would also facilite removal and installation (with come-alongs and a tilting top) . It doesn't sound like anyone's tried it. If I get the plates, which I will, I'll, at least, have back up plan.
 
There have been others who have put casters on the jack plates. I believe someone at FWC warned that the legs on casters didn't have enough strength or stability to be safe. I have to take my camper off after each trip as I use my truck for work. I don't believe there is a better mouse trap than the jacks can provide. If I were you I would buy the brackets and jacks. Better safe than sorry. Build yourself a dolly to move the camper around. jd
 
cdbrow1 said:
Doing a little looking online and am thinking about engine hoists.

http://www.amazon.com/Torin-T32001-Foldable-Engine-Hoist/dp/B000CO9YME/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421354306&sr=8-1&keywords=engine+hoist


I wonder if you could use one or two of these to lift the camper slightly to reposition once on the truck (to get it centered). I am not sure I would feel safe using these to support the entire camper, although the fact they have wheels might make moving it around easier.
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I sold a similar hoist I'd bought to swap engines, for $50 after one use, so you could probably acqure one cheaply via Craigslist. Not sure I'd get one just for camper adjustments, though.

I have moved more than one camper, even ones twice as heavy as a FWC, a little at a time to center it, by hand force. It is a bit hard if there's a rubber bed mat but it can be done. Pushing on the jack mounts is a safe spot to avoid mushing the siding.

I may not have thought this was feasible, but way back in 1997 when I was first picking up a FWC that was exactly what the guys at the factory did to finish sliding it against the front of the bed, and then to properly center it.
 
IMG_1326 copy.jpg


This rough sketch something like I had in mind. Crazy?
 
Some of the Airstream renovators build gantry structures to lift the shell of the trailer off the frame. They use timbers for the frames as I recall. You might search on Airstream Forums for details. Use jack brackets for attachment points to lift. My only concern would be whether the the brackets and camper frame are up to the task.

All that being said, the jacks are versatile and convenient.
 
I have considered the same thing. Four good men can load a FWC or ATC by hand. Pick up one end off the saw horses, back the truck under and shove it on. That is where the term "slide in camper" came from. The first truck campers were light weight and this is the way they were loaded, by hand.

I never feel entirely safe with cable jacks but you can buy a used pair for $100. Corner jacks put the camper under a lot of strain when "walking" them up, twisting the camper frame back and forth. They also take a lot of installing. If I had sort of a custom made loading dock on my property for my camper, I would store and load my camper from it, using a couple of cable jacks to assist and a couple of cowboys to shove it on.

BTW, a pair of cable jacks is handy for removing the truck bed to work on the truck.
 
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