Rules for loading a camper

[banderswipe]

Hi All, I echo Rusty's advice, "Kid Gloves" when loading or unloading the camper. The number one rule always put the camper on level ground preferably concrete. Number 2 always have someone guide you back into or pulling away from the camper.If you touch any part of the camper when backing in or out you run the risk of twisting your jack plates and allowing momentum to twist your jack legs through 90 degrees and dumping your camper either on its roof or just pancaked on the ground,believe me. I loaded mine on my own and just touched the side of the camper,it started falling back wards away from my truck it twisted all three of my jack plates and ended up teetering half on half off the bed of my truck. I lifted it up at the rear with a Farm (Jack-all) jack straightened out all the jack plates with some gentle swearing and brute force,backed under it again only this time with the farm jack at the back of the camper to prevent it from going back wards again.
This time I was successful and the rest they say is History or learning the hard way.I am going to replace all of my jack plates 3 of them and add a fourth and have them on the corners. I Will put my farm jack behind and have some body to guide me as well next time.
I wish somebody had given me this advice before I loaded my camper. I was a hairs breadth away from dumping my camper on its roof,you should have seen the air around me it was blue and not from the color of the sky.
This story might be entertaining now but it wasn't at the time.
If you experienced guys have any advice or story's on this topic dont be shy make us laugh or make us cry or add some new rules.

Thanks,

Kevin. (still a NOO PS you can see in the pictures that my jack plates are still twisted.

 

[Rusty]

When your raising or lowering...make sure you raise or lower EVENLY......front, both sides and rear, both sides....I almost lost mine once just by cranking too much on one corner....

AND....roll all the windows down in the truck when loading or unloading....so you can hear your wife and kids yelling STOP

 

[MikeDahlager]

Hi All, I echo Rusty's advice, "Kid Gloves" when loading or unloading the camper. The number one rule always put the camper on level ground preferably concrete. Number 2 always have someone guide you back into or pulling away from the camper.If you touch any part of the camper when backing in or out you run the risk of twisting your jack plates and allowing momentum to twist your jack legs through 90 degrees and dumping your camper either on its roof or just pancaked on the ground,believe me. I loaded mine on my own and just touched the side of the camper,it started falling back wards away from my truck it twisted all three of my jack plates and ended up teetering half on half off the bed of my truck. I lifted it up at the rear with a Farm (Jack-all) jack straightened out all the jack plates with some gentle swearing and brute force,backed under it again only this time with the farm jack at the back of the camper to prevent it from going back wards again.
This time I was successful and the rest they say is History or learning the hard way.I am going to replace all of my jack plates 3 of them and add a fourth and have them on the corners. I Will put my farm jack behind and have some body to guide me as well next time.
I wish somebody had given me this advice before I loaded my camper. I was a hairs breadth away from dumping my camper on its roof,you should have seen the air around me it was blue and not from the color of the sky.
This story might be entertaining now but it wasn't at the time.
If you experienced guys have any advice or story's on this topic dont be shy make us laugh or make us cry or add some new rules.

Thanks,

Kevin. (still a NOO PS you can see in the pictures that my jack plates are still twisted.


Hi Kevin,

I dumped my 8' NCO all the way to the ground when one of my tie down bolts got caught in the rear stake hole. The reason this happened was because I didn't back into the driveway far enough to keep the truck level when I pulled forward. The driveway pitches down to the street once you cross the sidewalk. That, coupled with the fact that I got lazy and didn't remove the tie down bolts from the camper, just the nuts and washers. I thought I had jacked the camper high enough for them to clear the truck. The result of these screwups was, I caught the left side tie down bolt in the left rear stake hole when the front of the truck pitched down and the rear correspondingly pitched upward. The camper twisted and came crashing down all the way to the ground.

It's one thing when you can blame someone else but this was 100% my fault. Lesson learned. By using my floor jack and lots of cribbing my neighbor and I managed to get the camper on the dolly and into the garage.

Three of the four Reico jacks came out ok as they bent the brackets instead of the jacks and/or tore out the corners where they were attached. The fourth one got caught underneath and was bent beyond repair. I had to take the bent brackets to a local metal fabricator and have them straightened. I re-built all four corners with new plywood and lots of Gorilla Glue. Three of the corners were punky due to previous water intrusion and I should have repaired them when I installed the jacks. This probably saved the jacks when the brackets bent and then bolts tore out. I repaired the aluminum skin underneath by patching and gluing sheet aluminum in place.

I have been reluctant to share this with you as it was a real bonehead move on my part. But since Rusty led the way, I figured I might as well come clean. Remember, always load and unload your camper on a concrete surface which is long enough to keep the truck level with the camper during the entire loading/unloading operation.

Mike

 

[banderswipe]

Hi Mike, Thanks for sharing that painful experience,Sometimes it doesn't take much for disaster to strike, but if recounting our bad experiences stops someone else from making the same mistakes we did, its got to be worthwhile.

Thanks again.

Kevin.

 

[brownbear]

I have to load my camper in the next three days and I've got to be honest- I am dreading it. I actually purchased some additional cable jacks, so I now have a total of 5. After the previous owner was using two to load it onto my truck- woefully inadequate, and terrifying, I might add- it prompted me to look for a few more, which I found after some Craigslist diligence.

I think Alaskan did a poor job insofar as jacks for these campers are concerned. They should have put jacking plates on the corners at the very least, but even better- installed permanent hydraulic corner jacks. The cable jack situation leaves too big a margin for error, and one can easily ruin his camper and/or truck. My situation is doubly scary as I have a tall 4x4 Dodge dually, so I have had to build some platforms for the jacks in order for the camper to clear my bed, and I've had to have extensions welded on two of them to clear my dual wheels.

Centering the camper is a nightmare, too, thanks to minimal clearance between the jacks, and is the reason why I am not using a rubber bed mat (which is preferable for any camper so it cannot shift during driving). Without the bed mat, I can push super hard, and move the camper an inch here or there into position once it's in the bed. Nothing comes easy doing this, and like I said, it sends a shiver up my spine when I think about it.

 

[Rusty]

OK.....Rieco Titan makes the screw jacks and also has electric conversion kits with wireless or wired remote

http://www.riecotitan.com/camperjacks/camperjacks.html

These make life at least safer....and with the conversion kit...you can stand in one location and jack up any or all of the jacks at once...think of it...sipping an iced tea and jacking the camper

Those cable jacks make great cabinet lifts for installers of upper cabinets .....with appropriate wheels they glide around a new kitchen like a dream....and if you have more jacks you can hire others to help ...with the other houses you're installing them in

all kidding aside, those cable jacks are dangerous...I should make it my lifes focus to rid the Alaskan world of them.

Don't take the chance...."in stability is peace of mind"....and a camper in one piece