Not having a mat or plywood base for your Grandby is almost certainly why you had issues. With a mat, the campers don't move much after you retighten the turnbuckles when you have a few miles on.jonb96150 said:I've only had my FWC Grandby for a few weeks and have had turnbuckle issues. After an hour of rough dirt road I checked them and they had all come completely loose, one lost on the road somewhere, and one lying on the truck bed. Camper drifted 4" backward and 4' sideways. This was with jam nuts and lockwashers on the RH thread of the turnbuckles.
Ordered a rubber bed mat hoping it will help. And I think I'm going to safety wire them so they can't rotate loose. I may end up using the exterior Happijac mount points that came with the truck in addition to the typical internal turnbuckles that seem to be on every FWC I see around here. I can't recall seeing an FWC with the external tiedowns. Is there a reason for that?
There are several reasons you don't see external tiedowns. First, the turnbuckles work. Second, in rougher terrain, external tiedowns can catch on things when you're in tight terrain.