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tie downs turnbuckles vs ratchet straps


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#21 Kenny&Sharron

Kenny&Sharron

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Posted 09 November 2017 - 01:08 AM

There are a wide spectrum of opinions on tiedown methods on various forums as we all know. Some border on the ridiculous. I've even seen a post recommending chain type load binders. 20k WLL. There are many that feel a extreme amount of tension is required to hold a camper on. Working load or capacity and pre-loading are two completely different elements.

 

As far as the OP's query, I would not recommend ratchet straps for permanent attachment. The strap is prone to degradation over time. Sure truckers use the big, wide straps but they are constantly inspected and replaced at regular intervals or the first sign of wear. My camper is only on my Ram 2500 for trips, which are off-road and can be very rough.

 

In the front I have HappiJac spring-loaded tiedowns and good quality hardware store variety turnbuckles in the rear. I have a DeeZee rubber mat and use guide blocking as seen in the picture below. The guide blocking has about a 1/4" of clearance on each side.

 

When I load the camper I put some pre-load on the front spring turnbuckles and leave the rear ever so slightly loose for the first several miles to let the camper "find it's spot" then I hand tighten for the highway. When I leave pavement I stop to air-down the tires and I adjust or reconfigure the tiedowns based on expected terrain. If it's mild I'll leave the front alone and ease off the rear so there is some slack. If I expect rough trails were the truck chassis will experience substantial twisting I ease the front so there is minimal pre-load. This allows the full range of spring travel. The rear is loosened to substantial slack. I then run a ratchet strap from the bottom of the front tiedown to the eye bolt under the rear of the camper, each side. This is near horizontal with a slight lean. The guide blocks are key in this configuration as they essentially limit sideways movement. The straps pull the camper forward into the bulkhead but since they are near horizontal they will allow torsional movement. Gravity does a lot of the work here and I avoid hitting bumps or dips fast enough to jounce the camper, well, honestly to avoid shaking up the beer in the fridge.

 

This method has worked very well for me as it keeps the camper in place without stressing eyebolts and thus the structure and allows the truck to twist at it's own rate and not tear up the campers structure in the process. I think many people don't realize how much twist there is in these truck chassis. I've learned this over many years of running my old trail Jeep which has a very flexible c-channel frame to compensate for the stiff leaf springs and lack of articulation (by design or not). In fact they are notorious for the clutch linkage seizing up when the chassis is radically twisted.

 

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thanks Joe, sounds sound to me.  new to 4W camping, just setting up an 03 Tacoma dual cab for a small Phoenix camper.  not wanting to reinvent the wheel, but skirting dodgy advice !


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