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Safety wire?


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#1 ScottBailey

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Posted 16 February 2009 - 06:57 AM

8 miles down this road loosened my turnbuckles.

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8 miles out loosened them again!

I'm not ready--for various reasons--to bolt through the floor and I don't want to add nuts to the turnbuckles.

Is anyone using safety wire on their turnbuckles?
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Scott Bailey -- W7SEB
2007 F350 XLT Diesel CC SRW SB 4x4
Cheap tent and a Partner Steel stove. 
Future? Really like the Hiatus, but I'm broke AF, so dreaming about a DIY.
SOLD: 2008 ATC Panther:dinette, 5th wheel


#2 davinski

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Posted 16 February 2009 - 07:15 AM

This alarmed me when I first started out.....each time you remove the camper, you have to go through it. the more often you tighten, the less you have to do it.

I also changed out the turnbuckles and use one with loops instead of hooks. fancy carabiners attach them to the eye bolts. Even if they come off, they can't fly off the truck.

I remember adding bolts, that did slow it down.

Good luck. At least you are getting out there!!!!

Dave/Seattle
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#3 DirtyDog

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Posted 16 February 2009 - 07:17 AM

This was a big issue for many of us at Death Valley. Most seem content with the idea of putting nuts on the turnbuckles. Personally, I'd like to see a better alternative from the factory.
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#4 Rockjok

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Posted 16 February 2009 - 12:21 PM

On my front turnbuckles I overtighten them slightly and then run a piece of solid wire through the barrel of the turnbuckle and one of the eyes. It'll back off hopefully to the right tension and no further. I don't use stainless wire, just 12 or 10 Ga solid electrical wire that's easy to manipulate in tight spaces.

Rob
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#5 keith

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Posted 16 February 2009 - 04:02 PM

I'm wondering if wing nuts would be an option?
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#6 John D

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Posted 16 February 2009 - 04:43 PM

I used ropes and cleats on my last camper and they worked better than turnbuckles. I intended to use them on my FWC but the turnbuckle setup was standard in this community. Sooooo, I'm back to using turnbuckles now, and with no problems.

The advantage of ropes and cleats is rope has a bit of stretch that effectively puts less strain on the anchor points. Ropes are easier to adjust than turn buckles because the tail if run inside the camper to a cleat where they can be easily tended.

Having used both setups, each for years, I think ropes and cleats work better, they are stronger, work better when the truck body flexes and they are easier to use. I might change back and take some pictures, just so this community could see how to do it, even though this is not rocket science and most of you guys could figure this out for yourselves. John D
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#7 DirtyDog

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Posted 16 February 2009 - 09:17 PM

I'm wondering if wing nuts would be an option?


That's what I was thinking too. I'll give it a try one of these days.
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#8 masterplumber

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Posted 17 February 2009 - 03:04 PM

My '87 Granby didn't come with provisions for turnbuckles so bolting it thru the floor was the only easy option at the time. I've never had it come loose & that includes probably 50k - 70k miles on the truck & many miles on washboard etc... Crawling under to undo 4 nuts is no harder than taking out the turn buckles IMO the only tough part is lining up the holes when putting it back on but really no big deal. I wrote about a trick in another post that might help you guys running turnbuckles - measure the distance between the bed rail & the lip on the camper & put some closed cell foam in there - it greatly reduces the sway between the truck & camper. Mine was just under an inch so I glued together strips from an old sleeping pad.

Doug
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#9 ScottBailey

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Posted 17 February 2009 - 03:23 PM

I wrote about a trick in another post that might help you guys running turnbuckles - measure the distance between the bed rail & the lip on the camper & put some closed cell foam in there - it greatly reduces the sway between the truck & camper. Mine was just under an inch so I glued together strips from an old sleeping pad.
Doug

Doug,

That is a great idea! I will absolutely do that next time I have my camper off the truck.

I like the bolt through option, but am hesitant to commit the camper to it's current spot. In this [thread=1674]thread[/thread], Mark moves his camper back a bit and puts a bladder tank in between truck and camper. I'm considering the mod, and since I wish to minimize the number of holes in my bed, I'll hold off until later for bolt though.

In the mean time, I ordered safety wire and a twister from Aircraft Spruce. I also fiddled with jigs and drilling holes in the turnbuckle ends. I'll do a full writeup when I'm done.
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Scott Bailey -- W7SEB
2007 F350 XLT Diesel CC SRW SB 4x4
Cheap tent and a Partner Steel stove. 
Future? Really like the Hiatus, but I'm broke AF, so dreaming about a DIY.
SOLD: 2008 ATC Panther:dinette, 5th wheel


#10 pods8

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Posted 17 February 2009 - 08:20 PM

I'm wondering if wing nuts would be an option?

Perhaps some wing nuts a lock washers (since this isn't a jam nut situation as opposed to trying to keep the turn buckles from backing off the nuts).
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2003 Dodge 1500 quad cab 4x4 5.7L Hemi auto w/ ride rite air springs and 1999(2000?) Hawk

2007 Dodge 2500 quad cab 4x4 5.7L Hemi auto and slowly progressing build.

FYI: I've got a bunch of extra 14ga wire in red and black. Its a thick jacket 41strand wire (likely MTW wire) verse typical 19strand automotive wire. It has good flexibility but factor in the thick jacket. I'll ship out 100' coils for $18 (I can go 50' of ea for that too) if anyone is in need of wire.




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