Tightening Turnbuckles

[claws]

When I had my Hawk installed in December I asked Brenda at FWC if the turnbuckle hold downs tightened clockwise or counter clockwise. She said that they tightened clockwise, but the tech who installed the camper said they tightened counter clockwise. He said the reason for this is that it's easier to turn them counter clockwise by hand. I've only put a couple of hundred miles on the camper since I got it and have checked the turnbuckle tightness a couple of times and they seem fine. My question is; does one check/tighten the turnbuckles by hand or is a tool needed?

Thanks,

Kim

 

[Jon R]

Typical method is to tighten them as tight as you can by hand, then use a tool to turn it another half turn. You’ll get a feel for it. Just remember that when you are cranking it tight it is not the turnbuckle that is stretching.

Clockwise or counter clockwise is determined by which side of the turnbuckle you put upward. One end of it is reverse threaded. Put that end up if you want clockwise looking down to tighten it.

 

[Outnabout]

I put the end with the ridges up. Use a screw driver to make the last 1/2 turn.

 

[Charlie]

I added nuts on the right hand threaded end of the turnbuckle, which I then lock down with an end wrench. I put that end up so that they are easy to get to. This simple little fix stopped the turn buckles from loosening up, which previously had been a constant problem. I’m pretty sure that they are just your standard 1/4-20 thread.

 

[ckent323]

I have always tightened to as tight as I can by hand after putting the camper back on the truck. I recheck after the first couple of hours of driving and retighten as needed. After that I check before hitting the road each day (we often go on multi week or multi month trips). Never had a problem. Typically they do not need retightening for many days and a thousand miles or so after the first check. Sometimes a long trip down a really bumpy/wash boarded road leads to the need to retighten but rarely more than a half turn or so.

 

[claws]

Thanks for the info guys. I'll use a stubby screw driver and do the hand tight plus 1/2 turn.

Kim

 

[Lighthawk]

Charlie makes a good point about adding a locking nut on the righthand threads. I use a wingnut with a nylock insert.
As others have said, hand tight plus half a turn with a tool is about the right tension. I recently upgraded from the factory turnbuckles to Torklift stainless turnbuckles with forged hooks. It's a good idea to carry a spare with you.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

<snip>
I recently upgraded from the factory turnbuckles to Torklift stainless turnbuckles with forged hooks. It's a good idea to carry a spare with you.

Andy, I couldn’t find their stainless versions, just steel. They look good. Where did you purchase these?

I did find Premier brand stainless.

 

[Jon R]

...Sometimes a long trip down a really bumpy/wash boarded road leads to the need to retighten but rarely more than a half turn or so.

In my admittedly limited experience, when I have found a loose turnbuckle it’s because the camper shifted a little bit laterally, and the opposite turnbuckle was too tight after the shift. If I find a loose one I retension the opposite one for that reason.

 

[Regular Guy]

On my first and only trip so far I checked them everyday. The first few days after the install and most days off pavement I had to tweak 1 or 2 of the turnbuckles. On my next trip I think I will check them daily for the first few days after the reinstall and then any day I'm on rough roads.

Between my strength, the awkward positions, and the thin/flexing wrench I use I don't think I'm overtightening. I'll see what the turnbuckles look like when the camper is removed. I do have some galvanized turnbuckles that might work as replacements if needed.

 

[BBZ]

I double buckle on longer trips.

The turnbuckle holder on my camper has 3 bolts, I just replaced one with a 3/8 inch stainless, forged eye bolt and use that to run a ratchet strap to the factory tie down on my truck. I use the other to use the standard turnbuckle to the bed eye bolts I installed.

Just did 5200 miles from Colorado to Baja and back.. many, many miles of rough dirt roads and only had to re-tighten the rears once, Shifted a touch.

I also run wedges between the camper and the sidewalls of the truck bed front and rear, seems to help quite a bit..

 

[Lighthawk]

Andy, I couldn’t find their stainless versions, just steel. They look good. Where did you purchase these?

I did find Premier brand stainless.


It was with Tweety's
Torklift S9012

I thought it was stainless, but don't see that in the specs.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Stainless or not, the look much better than the aluminum turnbuckles. I’m going to use then on the new Cougar. Thanks!

 

[Lighthawk]

Stainless or not, the look much better than the aluminum turnbuckles. I’m going to use then on the new Cougar. Thanks!

Glad to help. The new ones forged bodies are rounded and much more comfortable to grab than the milled aluminum.
One other thing I noticed about my ten year old aluminum turnbuckles was a fair amount of slop between the bolts and the body.
I still carry them as spares, for our needs or to share with someone else on the road.

 

[dennis 221]

Just use zip ties to keep them tight

 

[Jon R]

I don’t know why FWC dealers use the aluminum turnbuckles. Could just be cost, but two possible advantages could be they serve as a structural fuse (via thread pull through) and the aluminum/steel interface is high friction, resisting loosening. If you use all steel, I would suggest using a jam nut of some kind because steel on steel is lower friction, especially if there is any oil on it.

 

[nikonron]

Our Eagle stays on full time so I've went away from the turnbuckles and bolted it down. It'd actually be easier to remove now verses trying to struggle with the turnbuckles through that awkward access door with one hand. It is bolted to the frame of the Tacoma. 3 points in front and 2 in rear with 1/2" s/s bolts. Ron

 

[Augs_N_Brandy]

Our Eagle stays on full time so I've went away from the turnbuckles and bolted it down. It'd actually be easier to remove now verses trying to struggle with the turnbuckles through that awkward access door with one hand. It is bolted to the frame of the Tacoma. 3 points in front and 2 in rear with 1/2" s/s bolts. Ron

Where did you bolt to on the Tacoma bed?

 

[nikonron]

Where did you bolt to on the Tacoma bed?

In the front I bolted a piece of 3/8"thick x 4" wide aluminum bar to the frame bolts, same place that the FWC bar is bolted and then drilled it in 3 locations and inserted 1/2" nutserts from the back side so that they cannot pull out. For the rear I used the most rear bed bolt holes that go to the frame, fabricated a bracket from 3" s/s angle for that connection point. All 5 points use 1/2" s/s button head bolts. It's a secure fit, no wiggle room, perfect line up when going on the truck. Ron

 

[Augs_N_Brandy]

In the front I bolted a piece of 3/8"thick x 4" wide aluminum bar to the frame bolts, same place that the FWC bar is bolted and then drilled it in 3 locations and inserted 1/2" nutserts from the back side so that they cannot pull out. For the rear I used the most rear bed bolt holes that go to the frame, fabricated a bracket from 3" s/s angle for that connection point. All 5 points use 1/2" s/s button head bolts. It's a secure fit, no wiggle room, perfect line up when going on the truck. Ron

20220121_162958_resized.jpg

20220315_155558_resized.jpg

Very cool! And you could fairly easily unbolt from inside the camper if you needed to?