Quick removal camper jacks?

[Mark W. Ingalls]

Woodcraft 3/8-16 five point through hole knob

Use two per corner.

 

[SunMan]

Woodcraft 3/8-16 five point through hole knob

Use two per corner.


^^^
Pure genius

 

[jcfly]

I'll second Sunman on that.

 

[natjwest]

I'm not sure if it would clear the side of the camper. Anyone care to try?

 

[Mark W. Ingalls]

The jacks still fasten to brackets, I just replaced knobs for nuts.

 

[CamperDave]

Steve, Do you have pics of your camper on the Tundra? I am trying to put a Eagle on a F150, and will need to make a riser platform. Did you have to do this? I need to make mine about 6 inches tall to clear the rails.

 

[cvant]

After bolting and unbolting the 12 bolts on my jacks every weekend for the past few months, I built this set of plates and shoulder screws to make life easier. The plates are made from 3/8" x 2-1/2" 6061 aluminum from Mcmaster Carr. You'll need a six foot long section to make four plates, with enough left over for one extra in case you need it. The s/s shoulder screws are part number 90298A705. The shoulder screws will need modification on the lathe. (see attached drawing). The s/s nylon locknuts used to retain the shoulder screws are Mcmaster part 90101A243. I can't verify that this design will exactly fit all other applications, so I suggest that you make and fit a paper template first to see if you need to modify any part of the design.

Disclaimer : My camper is 4WC Fleet shell, so it is fairly lightweight compared to many others out there. This system may not work for everyone, and it is important that you determine the suitability of this design for your own specific purpose before proceeding.

When I went to post this and did a search, I noticed that someone else had a very similar idea. At least for me, this system feels pretty solid and definitely saves a lot of time and knuckles. I realize that not everyone out there has a mill and a lathe in their garage, but you might find a local shop to help you out on this..

 

[ETAV8R]

That is pretty smart.

 

[2trout]

Looks like a product opportunity there.....Dial in the production and sell the idea!

 

[cvant]

Yeah, I was thinking that too. But I already have too much work to do, so here it is for the masses.

 

[DavidGraves]

Howdy

I don't need any faster way to remove the jacks than loosening two bolts at each bracket.

But if you do....remember the bolts not only attach the jack, they clamp together the TWO angles mounted at each corner of the camper.

If one really needs to make a quick release bracket it might be well to make angled corner lift brackets on the camper it self rather than the factory set up.

It might be as simple as welding the two corner brackets....remove them FIRST !

Most commercial shelving units for lumber at Home Depot (for example) have a pin and slot gravity load locking system that one could adapt.

In my experience, the camper is so instable when on the jacks, I don't want anything added to the mix in terms of going wrong....and going down.

Just some thoughts.

David Graves

 

[cvant]

The three stainless steel shoulder bolts with locknuts also clamp together the two pieces of angle bracket in this design. All I can say is that it is pretty stable when in use.

 

[ETAV8R]

After bolting and unbolting the 12 bolts on my jacks every weekend for the past few months, I built this set of plates and shoulder screws to make life easier. The plates are made from 3/8" x 2-1/2" 6061 aluminum from Mcmaster Carr. You'll need a six foot long section to make four plates, with enough left over for one extra in case you need it. The s/s shoulder screws are part number 90298A705. The shoulder screws will need modification on the lathe. (see attached drawing). The s/s nylon locknuts used to retain the shoulder screws are Mcmaster part 90101A243. I can't verify that this design will exactly fit all other applications, so I suggest that you make and fit a paper template first to see if you need to modify any part of the design.

Disclaimer : My camper is 4WC Fleet shell, so it is fairly lightweight compared to many others out there. This system may not work for everyone, and it is important that you determine the suitability of this design for your own specific purpose before proceeding.

When I went to post this and did a search, I noticed that someone else had a very similar idea. At least for me, this system feels pretty solid and definitely saves a lot of time and knuckles. I realize that not everyone out there has a mill and a lathe in their garage, but you might find a local shop to help you out on this..

Quick question...Since you created the plates why not make the openings big enough for the stock shoulder screw diameter instead of having to lathe them down to fit the plate?

This design would make loading/unloading for trips so much faster. I don't have the tools to create this so I'd have to get a shop to do it.

 

[nikonron]

I'm just not in this big of a hurry and will seldom need to put my jacks on since the camper stays on full time. Ron

 

[cvant]

Yep, that would have worked too. I just happened to do this on a Bridgeport mill to get the placement of the three holes with some precision, and a .750 milling bit is what I used to cut the large hole. The heads of the bolts are also .750 diameter. So to get some clearance I cut the bolt head diameters down on the lathe which was easy to do. Your way would work too. If I didn't already have a machine shop set up I think I could have made these plates with a drill press, a saber saw with a metal blade, a good bit of file work....and maybe some slight design changes so that the shoulder bolts didn't need modification. Also might think about using 1/4" steel instead of 3/8" aluminum.

Like all things, usually right after I build the first one I can think of 5 ways to make it easier next time. But I only need one of these, so there won't be a next time. I'm just throwing this out there in case one of you want to try making one of your own. I tend to design things around what equipment I have and what tools are in the drawer. Yours may vary.

Ron, I agree. I am someone that takes the camper off and on just about every week. Sometimes twice a week.

 

[smlobx]

I've always thought that having two plates that attach with a (stainless) steel pin like halves of a door hinge would be an easy way to do this.
Am I missing something?

 

[nikonron]

I've always thought that having two plates that attach with a (stainless) steel pin like halves of a door hinge would be an easy way to do this.
Am I missing something?

That's an excellent way to do it also, I think. Ron

 

[cvant]

That'd work too. Good idea.

 

[cvant]

With the leftover piece of aluminum I also made a plate that lets me mount my 4G antenna to the jack bracket.

 

[NRVhawk]

Hey cvant, really impressive design and execution. I noticed that you also have motorized jacks. How have those worked out for you? I'm not loading / off-loading my camper every week like you are, but I do it often enough that I'm tempted by the Rieco-Titan motor retrofit kit.