Tripod jack tips?

E

Edgewood

Senior Member
Joined
May 30, 2012
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206
Location
Bellingham WA
I have tripod jacks to lift my Eagle FWC onto my new Toyota Tacoma. With the camper lifted on the jacks there is very little room to fit the truck between the jacks stands. It's like threading a needle. I really don't want to screw up and hit the stand and drop the camper. I also don't want to spend the money for corner jacks. Any advice to ease my fears?
 
I've been looking on Craigslist but no luck. Bill, scary is the right word. It takes some of the fun out of going on a trip knowing I have to use the tripods.
 
I used the tripods (from a rental place) for years. At first they had a set of three and that seemed marginal but then they only had two and that was down right scary. My truck had a 4" lift and 35' tires so I had to place 4x4s under the jacks to get it high enough. Add in a slightly inclined driveway and....well I was younger and braver and.....dumber.

My advice is spend the money on the corner jacks. A smashed camper and damaged truck will really take the fun out of a trip.
My new Hawk has the corner jacks.
 
Well, you could do what I do when I need something that I can't buy all at once. Buy one or two at a time. Eventually, you will have them.

DP
 
Make sure you re-adjust your mirrors so you can see between the camper and bed rails, and use a ground guide. It's nerve racking, but really not a big deal. Once you have half of the camper hovering over the bed, you're out of the danger zone. There's nowhere for the camper to go except down into the bed where you want it. Biggest thing to be aware of is how the feet for the jacks are positioned and if they're gonna get run over by your back tires or not. If you don't pay attention to this and end up driving over your jacks with the camper in the air, it can get ugly quick. Take your time, go slow. You will be fine.
 
That's the problem BSS. There is really no wiggle room. I marked on the ground where the tripod legs rest when I last removed the camper but the truck tires just fit between. The tripod is at the balance point so that if I screw up I think the camper would just slide off the back of the truck.
Darryla that is an interesting idea. Maybe I could just buy two corner jacks and use them in front and use the tripod jacks in back.
 
Spend the money and get the corner jacks. It is still close to the jacks and you will likely need a set of extender plates for the front jacks because of the fender flares on the Tacoma.I have about 1 inch clearance on either side when loading the Bobcat so it is still close. The camper isn't waving around in the air the way it would be on tripods, though.
 
I have tripod jacks to lift my Eagle FWC onto my new Toyota Tacoma. With the camper lifted on the jacks there is very little room to fit the truck between the jacks stands. It's like threading a needle. I really don't want to screw up and hit the stand and drop the camper. I also don't want to spend the money for corner jacks. Any advice to ease my fears?


I would fabricate some extenders out of 1/4" steel plate and through-bolt them to the 'lip' of the plywood base at the CoG points. Then I would drill and through-bolt the adapter plates to my tripod jacks.

I would take the adapter plates off and stop the holes while travelling.

All the best,
MWI
 
Adding some simple, steel extension plates to the cable jacks can really help.

We added some to our shop jacks.

Makes a world of difference.

Maybe $ 20.00 in parts, and 1 or 2 hours of time.

(see pictures attached)

This makes the jacks a little more stable (less chance of the camper slipping off of the cable jacks), and it gives you more clearance for loading / unloading the camper.

:)


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How much is your camper worth? Truck?

Corner jacks are cheap insurance and will last the lifetime of the camper.
 
I have a 2001 Tacoma with a Bobcat on it. I did not need extension plates. Also, check around on the internet before you do buy the corner jacks. You may find a better price than going to the camper dealers. Who knows its worth checking out.

DP
 
I use un-modified tripod jacks to load/unload my mid-nineties FWC Ranger II with "wings" on/off my 1986 Toyota Xtra cab pickup. It seems scary, but is actually pretty stable if the jacks are centered on the COG of the camper. With the "wings", there is only about 3/8" wiggle room. I don't even try to back the truck under the camper. The camper sits on a dolly that I roll to the truck and line up as close as possible to the bed on my nice flat and even concrete RV area. I position the jacks with the forward leg rotated out a little to just clear my tires and lift the camper about 2" higher than the truck bed. I then PUSH my truck under the camper making minute adjustments with a floor jack under the axels as needed for perfect camper alignment. I know it sounds like a PITA, but I can load my camper by myself in about 1/2 hour or so including the tie downs.

CWD
 
Please call Terry in our service dept. when you have time.

He handles of of the parts, pieces, and service.

He can get you a price for new jacks.


FWC SERVICE

ASK FOR TERRY

1-800-242-1442


thanks

:)

___________________________________________________________


Great ideas Stan and Mark , thank you. Stan what would a full set of corner jacks set me back?





.
 
Well, we had a scary time with our tripod jacks, but then I noticed that one of them had been modified to break down and it was in fact bending and ready to break.... Ten minutes with the welder and I was back to original condition.

We have a 3/4 ton 4x4 dodge pickup with 33" tires and once the jacks were repaired, we had no issues whatsoever. I have 1" of wiggle room or less on each side. With two of us, we loaded the rig in under 15 minutes and did not feel unsafe. That is with a fully loaded Keystone 9.5'.

I was going to buy corner jacks, and had been watching craigslist for the last six months. But after a few times loading with the tripod jacks, I doubt I will ever change things up.

Regarding the tires rubbing the tripod jacks, yes ours did that but it didn't have ANY effect on the camper. Plus, by that time the camper is just going to fall onto the pickup bed.

Just my .02.
 
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