Shaving weight --- Leave the jacks behind?

[whizbang]

I am always looking to shave some weight since my 1/2 ton truck is right at its weight limits:

GVWR 7700 Loaded camper weight 7600

Rear Axel Rating 3900 Loaded camper weight 4000

Currently, I have Reico Titan hydraulic jacks on all four corners. I am thinking about getting the freestanding tripod style cable jacks that lift the camper from either side.

The Reicos weigh 30 pounds apiece. Removing all four would save 120 pounds (about 10% of my campers total weight!!)

Has anybody done this? Is it worth doing, or, more hassle than its worth?

 

[MarkBC]

A lot of people -- most WTWers, maybe? -- remove the jacks...to save weight as well as to remove potential hang-ups on narrow routes.
Like most others, I removed my jacks and then re-attach them when I want to dismount the camper. But I have the camper on the truck 99% of the time, so I rarely have to put the jacks on.

 

[Lighthawk]

Like Mark says, we pull our jacks off for weight and clearance. I also find they block my side mirror view.

My tip is to use a cordless impact driver to make the install/removal go quick.
I did chew up the original bolts, but now have grade 8's, which hold up better.

 

[Gormley Green]

I take them on and off each time now as well. And only use 2 bolts instead of 3 as its just a quick up and down and it saves a bit of time.

 

[Smokecreek1]

I'm the old ball out here. I leave my on, the extra weight may help my F150 in sandy areas or when it's really windy. Plus- you never know when you may need to drop the FWC somewhere!

Smoke

 

[Argonaut20]

Remove the jacks when traveling and put them back on to remove the camper. It is no biggie. I have used the free standing jacks on a camper and gladly remove and reinstall the corner jacks rather than go back to free standing. You can have exciting moments with the free standing jacks if the wind catches the camper when you are loading/unloading. The corner jacks are far more stable when you lift or lower the camper.

 

[rotti]

Remove the jacks when traveling and put them back on to remove the camper. It is no biggie. I have used the free standing jacks on a camper and gladly remove and reinstall the corner jacks rather than go back to free standing. You can have exciting moments with the free standing jacks if the wind catches the camper when you are loading/unloading. The corner jacks are far more stable when you lift or lower the camper.


I agree completely.

I used the free standing rental variety for years and they are spooky. The addition of any kind of incline, or if you have a lift kit and over size tires will add to the pucker factor.

 

[whizbang]

Thank you for the replies. I think I will try removing the jacks for my upcoming trip. I have an air powered impact wrench and and air powered ratchet. I never thought to use them for jack removal. My air compressor will be powered up anyway to air up the tires. Popping off the jacks shouldn't take too long.

Thanks again.

 

[UglyScout]

I remove the front two jacks every time I load the camper (They stick way out) - the rear two stay on as they aren't in the way and they are the least of my overweight concerns.

For the jacks I remove, I welded the bolt into the plate so it only takes one wrench to get them on/off. I only use two bolts per jack and then only put them on finger tight - so they come right off. Takes about 2 extra minutes to take them off after it is loaded.

 

[whizbang]

Well, I popped them off today. They were on with flat washers and lock washers and they were seriously tight.

The air ratchet worked great. In the future, I'll only use the nuts and bolts and snug them up just enough to do the job...