Question about buying used

[Another Rube]

This may be a really dumb question, but I'm going to ask anyway. Would it be possible to purchase a used camper and bring it home before you have the eye bolts installed in your truck bed? In other words, will the camper sit quietly in the back of my truck for a two hour freeway ride without being attached? Thanks.

 

[chnlisle]

I'm sure it wasnt too smart but I drove down from Olympia WA to Ventura CA without tying it down. I have a rubber bed mat so it didnt slip much..some but not much. I think you're probably safe for 2 hours if you drive carefully.

 

[kcowyo]

I have a spray on bedliner in my bed and nothing moves around on it.

That said, I would be very hesitant to try hauling a camper without it being fastened in some fashion. Too much of Murphy's Law applies to me to be that bold.

I would feel awful if it somehow fell out and caused an accident for an innocent person on the road. And I'm an ass, so if it fell out and no one was hurt, I would probably be rolling on the floor in laughter from the carnage.

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

If the camper has camper jacks or jack brackets, just buy a decent set of ratchet straps at the hardware store or WalMart ($20) and strap each corner of the camper down to the truck frame or rear bumper.

We usually have 1 customer a year launch their camper on the freeway because they forget to put their turn buckles on or they just never check the turn buckles to the point where they were all so loose, they fell off.

NOT A GOOD IDEA TO GO NO TIE DOWNS !

If the camper flys off, it will most likely be a total loss for you, not to mention the possibility of actually killing someone on the freeway !

Please take care -- a cheap $20 set of tie downs straps should do the trick !

 

[Everett]

Fastened It Down

I bought my Hawk Shell Model in Santa Barbara....took me 45 minutes to drill the holes(watching where to drive them through), turn-buckled it down, and went on my way to Laguna Hills-----Unless there is a special reason for hauling it without the eye-bolts and turn-buckles, I'd take the time and bolt it down-------

 

[EdoHart]

Secure it one way or another.

I bought mine used about 6 hours driving time away. I used 1 1/5 inch ratcheting tie down straps over the top of the camper and hooked to the stake pocket holes in my truck to get it home. I quickly found that 60 MPH was too fast as the camper shifted backwards 2-3 inches and while watching it in the side view mirrors, it seemed to kind of float. I stopped and repositioned it, then continued and never exceeded 55 MPH. It still shifted 1-2 inches back, but I never saw it "float" again. Maybe strapping it down low as Stan suggested will mean a shorter strap, hence less chance for the strap to stretch as well as a better geometry.

In my case, the straps were long and ran down the sides of the camper, perpendicular to the a main force applied to the straps. One strap holding the camper forward would probably have prevented the rearward shift, but there were no good attachment points on either the truck or the camper.

If at all possible, pre-mount galvanized shoulder eye-bolts with large washers above and below the bed before you pick up the camper. If nothing else, they're great for holding down just about anything you carry in your truck. Shoulder mount eye-bolts because they will be subjected to lateral (sideways) stress and the shoulder type is much less likely to bend and large washers because they will also be subjected to tension (pulling perpendicular to the mounting surface) and the washers help spread the load over a larger surface area of the sheet metal of your truck bed, and finally galvanized because they're subjected to getting wet, hence rusting.

Your average hardware store won't carry galvanized shoulder eye-bolts; I purchased mine from a specialty shop that had them within 24 hours of my order. A side benefit of going through a specialty shop was the fact that they knew what kind of washer I needed. I have no fear of ripping the eyebolts out of the truck bed.

 

[Sam]

When I bought my first camper I picked up a set of turnbuckles from a local hardware store and used the fctory tie down eyes in my truck bed to secure the camper. This got me home 5 hours with huge winds. Depending on what truck you have this may be an option. Also the front is the part that really needs to be secured, the back is not as important (Ben/Stan?)

Good luck.

 

[davinski]

Well, Here is another story.
Bought my Hawk shell this past winter. Asked here and on other forums for where to put the eye bolts. Did what I thought was right. Of course, they were wrong. I could not get the turnbuckles to fit, forget tightening them down.

I had longer turnbuckles that I bought just incase. Got the front two to barely make it. No way on the rears.

Use a long tie down strap to hold the camper in the bed against the front. hooked in the the stake holes on each side. Two sets, one for the front pair and one for the back pair of stake holes and ran it around the back of the camper.

I figured this would work. Of course, the day I got it, it was raining like hell. Loaded it. Drove about 30 minutes, stopped for lunch. Amazingly, the camper had moved back about 2 inches, with tie downs and turnbuckles. The buckles were loose, the tie downs had stretched.

I thought, this is not too good.

Stopped in another 30 minutes. Moved again, about 1 or 2 max inches. Tightened it down again.

Home in about an hour in traffic. Moved about 1/2 inch.

I hate to think what would have happened if I have to do some evasive or defensive driving.

My problem was that I did not know where the eye bolts should go because I did not really know where the ones on the camper were located. You've got to get the angles right on the front and back so they work in concert. hard to visualize but try this....

I had the eye bolts set to do this (front / / back). But I couldn't get it to fit because i drilled the eyebolts in too far for the turnbuckles to reach. Did not want to do this in the pouring rain. Now, I have them arranged like this:
(front \ / back). I was told that (F / / or (F \ \ was not right but that (F / \ or (F\ / would be preferable.
Since I had to put in extra holes, I left the eyebolts and i have this config:
(F\ / /. Figured, had the eye bolts, might as well use them.

I did some 4x4 roads, checked the turnbuckles before the trip. Tight, and already been on many small trips. No problem. 4 hours and 25 miles later, Right rear was gone, front ones all loose, Left rear about to fall off. Camper moved 2 inches back. Yikes. A quick downhill stop to move the camper forward, an extra turnbuckle, and a lot of rearranged gear, I was able to tighten it all down.

On the way back, checked 1/2 way and all was loose, but not gone. Same at the end of the trip.

Now, I always check and have stared using turnbuckles with eye bolts and clasps...don't want to loose any more.

The more I drive it on regular roads, the less it seems to loosen.



Hope this helps. Good luck. Tie that thing down.

Dave

 

[Sev3en]

I live in Portland and picked up my camper in Seattle (3-4 hours). I did not think twice about spending the time to drill the holes and bolt the sucker down.

Just threw all my tools in the truck as well as a full compliment of tie down straps had i needed them.

I will say that I did not anticipate the width of my camper (Fleet model) and had to stop in at a Shucks to get some wider mirrors.

FWIW I say spend the time either before hand or while picking up your camper to do it right.

Good luck

s.

 

[chnlisle]

See I told you It wasnt too smart. In my defense I did have the fronts turnbuckled.

 

[pvstoy]

I have a spray on bedliner in my bed and nothing moves around on it.

That said, I would be very hesitant to try hauling a camper without it being fastened in some fashion. Too much of Murphy's Law applies to me to be that bold.

I would feel awful if it somehow fell out and caused an accident for an innocent person on the road. And I'm an ass, so if it fell out and no one was hurt, I would probably be rolling on the floor in laughter from the carnage.


I second this....I also have spray in liner and the camper will not move when you set it down. You have to pick it back up to slide it around.

I picked my new camper up and just used rope to tie it down. one over the top front end of the bed and one over the top at the rear. Also one from the bed rail hooks around the back. Drove slow for 40 miles home with somebody following me. There was no movement mainly because the spray in liner. I was very nervous doing this and I think I was watching the camper more than the road.

I did not order mine with access holes nor the tie down eyebolts. I drilled and bolted through the floor into the truck bed. With the spay in liner and the clamping force of the bolts, I never have to worry about the camper moving.

 

[benburnett]

No tie downs

I can tell you a story of someone who was killed as a result of not tying down the camper.

Don't care how it is done, always tie it down if you are going on the freeway, no if's and's or butt's about it.