ScottBailey
Senior Member
[thread=1822]After 8 miles, my turnbuckles came loose.[/thread] The eye-bolts were not spreading the vibrating load well enough. So I decided to bolt straight through the camper and skip turnbuckles.
I got 8 4"x4"x0.25" steel plates. I cleaned them up, and drilled 3/8" holes through the middles. On 4 of them, I filed the hole square to accept a 3/8" carrier bolt. Then painted everything.
Positioned the camper painstakingly.
Then positioned the "carrier" plates, marked, and drilled. The front plates are near the front corners, while the rear are froward of the end of the "in-step". The rear driver side might get hit by the the end of the overload spring at full compression. I can't imagine getting those springs to full compression, though, but I'll keep my eye out. Pulled the passenger side rear in a bit before drilling. Left the driver side where it was since I don't want to trip on it (see the picture).
I used 2.5" bolts for all but the risky corner. Decided to put a 2" in that corner. So, plates on the bottom, washer, lock-washer, and nut. Tighten it all up and I'll take it to work for a test spin before I try that dirt road again....
Here are the pics:
I got 8 4"x4"x0.25" steel plates. I cleaned them up, and drilled 3/8" holes through the middles. On 4 of them, I filed the hole square to accept a 3/8" carrier bolt. Then painted everything.
Positioned the camper painstakingly.
Then positioned the "carrier" plates, marked, and drilled. The front plates are near the front corners, while the rear are froward of the end of the "in-step". The rear driver side might get hit by the the end of the overload spring at full compression. I can't imagine getting those springs to full compression, though, but I'll keep my eye out. Pulled the passenger side rear in a bit before drilling. Left the driver side where it was since I don't want to trip on it (see the picture).
I used 2.5" bolts for all but the risky corner. Decided to put a 2" in that corner. So, plates on the bottom, washer, lock-washer, and nut. Tighten it all up and I'll take it to work for a test spin before I try that dirt road again....
Here are the pics:
- Hardware ready to go.
- Driver side front (dinette still isn't done!).
- Driver side rear. See why I left it there?
- Underneath. Lots of room between bed and anything else.