Supporting the Grandby?

[TCG]

Okay gang here comes the start of the questions.
I was wondering what the best way is to support my Grandby when it is off the truck? Do you rely only on the mechanical jacks or do you build a base for the camper rest on?

 

[craig333]

Sorry, never had mine off yet.

 

[cabezon23]

rolling base

Hi TCG,

I had a Sun-Lite camper a few months ago and my problem was getting it into the garage. It was a major operation! I had to release all the air from the air bags, lower the pressure in the tires to about 15 psi end even then I barely made it into the garage.
My solution was to build a cart out of 2x4s with caster wheels on it.

Benefits:
- easy to roll in and out of the garage
- work inside the camper without damaging the floor structure
- easy to pack it tightly in a corner of the garage

For my soon to be Bobcat I will build a new base with some pneumatic casters like these:
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200329847_200329847&issearch=110741

Another possibility would be to put casters under the jacks, but I seriously doubt that they would take the lateral forces when pushing the camper around. This way I could roll the camper around and set it on a fixed base in the garage.

Food for thought.

 

[simimike]

The first Granby I had I use to remove it all the time. I built a platform from 2X6's and a 3/4 sheet of plywood. Attacht some wheels and I was good to go. The FWC floor can't be walked on without support. When I sold that camper I dismantled the platform and gave away the wheels. Wish I had it back now.
If you have the room a wheeled platform is the way to go.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[jimjxsn]

For the longevity of the floor pack it is a good idea to support it when off the truck. Mine came with a stand but I’ve seen guys use pallets and saw horses to support the floor when the ability to move it around isn’t a concern.

 

[lqhikers]

easy answer for storage

tcg go to jay aronow,s (chnlisle) threads he has the best solution a small flat bed trailer the kind you can get from harbor tools etc easy to move around and some of them have removable tongues ,or can be modified to be removable plus you end up with a small trailer! i would direct you to it but have not learned the process yet!

 

[Mushhuskies]

Supports for a Granby

This is what I use. I got the idea from a poster on RV.net. that used it for one of those monster campers. Works great, very stable although I leave two jacks up either side as a precaution. For me KISS is a neccessity!

 

[TCG]

Thanks for the ideas

Thanks to all of you who have shared your ideas. It will not be necessary for me to move it around so I think at present I build some type of permanet stand. I didn't believe it would be a good idea leaving it on the jacks only. I wish I could leave on the truck as craig333 does.

 

[benburnett]

Storing camper

The eaisest way is just to put some 4 x 4 blocks under the camper. If you put one under each corner and one under the center that is enough support for someone to walk around in the camper. You might have to put two in each spot depending on how high the jacks hold the camper off the ground.

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

Hello TCG


Yes, it would probably be a good idea to have a little support under the camper floor while you have it in storage.

It will take some of the weight of the jacks, and will better support the camper flooring (in case you want to get in & out of the camper to work on it or load/unload gear) while you have it in storage.

The criss cross plywood boards (like mushhuskies has in his picture) seem to work very well and are really easy to make.

Here are some samples ...




.

 

[Kispiox]

I am new to truck campers and will take delivery of a new Hawk in a month or so. Okay, so it never dawned on me that I could not jack the camper free of the truck if I was going to be someplace for a while. I did not know the floor was not structural? So what sort of on-the-road solutions do you folks have up your sleeve? Do you carry something with you, or are there some easily scrounged materials and if so how configured?

 

[Connecticut Yankee]

When it's off the truck, my 1982 Grandby sits on two 2X4 wood horses with two 2X8 planks straddling the horses to give the camper's floor support. I am thinking of adding two more 2X8s just for more protective support but haven't gotten around to it. I also have the two jacks attached but not really doing much other than "holding" the camper a bit.