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#1 longhorn1

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Posted 24 October 2014 - 07:57 PM

I keep my camper at a storage place.  There is a slight slope to the asphalt.  On the down slope side I have 2 pieces of 3/4" plywood under the jacks, so the camper is stored close to level.

 

The problem I'm having is loading the camper into the truck and getting lowered so that I'm as close as possible with spacing between the truck bed rail and the camper on both sides.  The last 2 times I've done everything myself so it hopefully becomes routine.  Yesterday, I had the spacing front and back within 2/8",

 

I then used the hand crank 10 turns on each of the front jacks and repeated on the rear jacks.  I completely lowered the front and finished in the back.  The camper seemed to slide slightly to the downhill side. 

 

I raised everything back up and kicked the jacks on both sides to move it as close to center, but not as good as the original placement.

 

I lowered it again and on the rear I have 2" clearance on the down slope side (passenger side) and 3-6/8" on the up slope side.  On the front passenger side I have 3-2/8" clearance and on the drivers side 3-7/8" clearance.

 

I wonder if we both loaded the camper and lower the front at the same time and then the back, repeating until the camper was on the bed, whether 2 people would make a difference, or whether pavement slope though slight is the cause for the movement.

 

If I used my Andersen levelers to raise the passenger side so the truck was level, would this help get the camper centered properly? 

 

It is frustrating to have it almost perfect and then when it is lowered onto the bed to be that far off.  When I picked up the camper from Sean Dempsey and loaded it the first time, he showed me how to kick the jack legs to help center things.  He had a level concrete slab and we both used a power drill to lower the front first and then the back.  When he re-measured there was little change.

 

Looking for some ideas.

 

jd


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#2 dsrtrat

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Posted 24 October 2014 - 08:46 PM

Put some wheels under the jacks, either casters or platforms. I wouldn't kick or pull too much on the ends of the jacks, you are adding a lot of leverage to the jack brackets. Wheels help with centering. I usually let my camper down in the bed and then tweak the fit on the back gently with a crowbar until it is centered. 10 turns at a time per jack is about what I use, moving around and lowering a bit at a time. If you check the door fit while lowering you will most likely find that it will be hard to open or close if you go too fast.

Dsrtrat 


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#3 mynxd

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Posted 24 October 2014 - 11:41 PM

Measure the space between the wheel wells, and the outside base width of the camper. then apply a small strip of wood to both sides of the camper to create a closer fit which will stop most of the side slide. When I install my camper after removing it to make mods, I place short chunks of 2x6 in the truck bed which will force the camper into the correct spot (my driveway slope is both downhill and slightly sloped to one side).


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