22 replies to this topic

[patrickkidd]

My 1993 FWC Ranger 2 came with two large and extremely heavy cable jacks that don’t quite sit out of the way of my 2002 Tacoma’s rear wheels (sketchy!!) and I can’t travel with them. Is it ever possible to find a used four-point jack kit, the happijac 4196’s are so expensive!

I am going to be homeless for a while this winter and summer and won’t be able to store my current jacks. I’d also love to be able to remove my camper to drive my truck around while on the road.

Also, any tips on selling these old cable jacks? Seems like an odd item that might be tough to sell...

Thanks!
-Patrick

[DavidGraves]

Hi Patrick

 

The camper in photo does not have corner mounted jack brackets.

 

The jacks you have are better than nothing. You may want to find another pair of the Brophy jacks you have for starters.

 

Using four of them is much safer and easier than just two.

 

The old Brophy jacks I use for a second camper are of knock down construction and at least could be transported more easily because of this.

 

Hang in there.

 

David Graves 

[patrickkidd]

Hi Patrick

The camper in photo does not have corner mounted jack brackets.

The jacks you have are better than nothing. You may want to find another pair of the Brophy jacks you have for starters.

Using four of them is much safer and easier than just two.

The old Brophy jacks I use for a second camper are of knock down construction and at least could be transported more easily because of this.

Hang in there.

David Graves

It’s amazing how if you start asking about a problem it starts solving itself. Right after I posted that, three Atwood electric jacks popped up on CL - the first in months. And for $100 (!!!). i managed to snag them. So now it’s a matter of figuring out what wiring hardware and or controller/switch I need. One of them has two conductors and the other two have four conductors and two bipolar momentary switches.

[patrickkidd]

Does anyone know what to consider when mounting brackets onto a camper like this that doesn't already have them?

 

I will be mounting 2 brackets to the corners on the window side (right/passenger), and then probably have to have a machine shop make a bracket to mount the third one to the horizontal underside at the balance point on the driver's side.

 

Or I wonder if I should just have the machine shop make me three identical mounting brackets that mount on the overhang....

[jimjxsn]

I would find a fourth jack...

 

Plus, the driver's side is the heavier side so two would be best on that side.

 

The edge trim is trimmed and the jack brackets screwed to the corners with lag screws that have rubber washers  like these.

 

[patrickkidd]

I would find a fourth jack...

Plus, the driver's side is the heavier side so two would be best on that side.

The edge trim is trimmed and the jack brackets screwed to the corners with lag screws that have rubber washers like these.

And why find a fourth jack?

[Wandering Sagebrush]

And why find a fourth jack?

Stability is the first thing that comes to mind.

[patrickkidd]

Stability is the first thing that comes to mind.

Stability, like it will be prohibitively dangerous to take the camper in and out of the bed or just inconvenient?

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I doubt that it will be prohibitively dangerous, but certainly not as stable as a jack on each corner. Three point used to be common, but I suspect no one builds them that way any more for a reason. If you caught the single jack while loading/unloading, it might cause serious damage if the camper went over.

All that said, there are still a bunch of old campers out there.

[patrickkidd]

I doubt that it will be prohibitively dangerous, but certainly not as stable as a jack on each corner. Three point used to be common, but I suspect no one builds them that way any more for a reason. If you caught the single jack while loading/unloading, it might cause serious damage if the camper went over.

All that said, there are still a bunch of old campers out there.

Wow, the seller managed to “find” the fourth Jack. I’m getting it for $100, making the total for all four $200.

This thread has an uncanny connection with reality...

I am curious, does anyone know how these are wires originally? I ordered the socket kit. It seems as though two of these jacks have up/down controls and four 10AWG leads and the other two just have two 10AWG leads. Does each Jack with a controller hav one lead to the power source and the other to a “slave” Jack? That way I could just stand at the back of the camper with a hand on each “master” Jack instead of buying the $400 remote control kit.

Thanks!