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Just another tie down question...


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#1 underpowered

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Posted 30 July 2020 - 04:54 AM

Just got my new (to me) swift camper delivered today (SOOO STOKE). It fits on my 6' ford ranger absolutely perfectly... except... because it is really designed to go on a shorter bed there is no space to mount an eye bolt behind the wheel well, the bump outs are right up against them. I might  be able to get an eye bolt in front of the wheel well, but if I did that in order to have my turnbuckles opposed the front and rear eye bolts would be like 2 inches apart.

 

so, it seems like external tie downs are kind of the only option for me. (I plan to remove it semi regularly so bolt down sounds rough) my question is: are the jack mount brackets an acceptable tie down point or do I need to install external tie downs points on the camper? Anyone installed external tie downs on a swift? any particular structural point I need to hit? 

 

I will attempt to ask fwc the same question tomorrow, but I thought someone here might give me some extra help (god knows I need it)  


Edited by underpowered, 30 July 2020 - 04:55 AM.

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#2 DavidR

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Posted 31 July 2020 - 01:26 AM

Maybe one solution is to not slide the camper all the way forward to where the rubber bumpers touch the cab bulkhead.  The Swift should be short enough that you can set it on the bed just far enough back that you have room to put eye bolts in the proper position behind the wheel wells without having it so far back as to create balance or drivability problems.  I suspect you'll only need to set it back 4-5" or so.  Just make sure it's not farther back relative to the rear wheels than it would be on a 5-ft. bed truck.  That way you'll get a proper tie-down, and if you have a Line-x liner or a rubber bed mat, there's little chance the camper will slide around.

 

We have a Fleet, which is designed for 6' beds and it sticks out close to 10" or so on our 6'  '93 Ranger.  The Swift is 10" shorter so I'm guessing you probably have enough room to work with to mount it back a little bit without having the weight too far back.

 

You could go with external tie-downs as long as 4WC says the jack brackets are strong enough, but it will be more awkward and less clean, IMHO.


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#3 underpowered

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Posted 31 July 2020 - 11:59 PM

For anyone following along at home, four wheel camper said that the jack brackets are totally strong enough to use as tie downs. I don't quite have it rigged up yet, but my plan is to use happyjacs on the rear and modify the tacoma front bracket and use that on the front. I am going with this because this way I am entirely bolted to solid thick gauge steel. (the bed eye bolt system scares me a bit. I am sure it works, but this makes me sleep better, which is what the camper is for in the first place.) Also, I think that I am just going to be able to close my tailgate with the camper on. I like the idea of having a little front porch for shoe removal etc. 

I will post pictures when I have it rigged up!


Edited by underpowered, 01 August 2020 - 12:00 AM.

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#4 DavidR

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Posted 01 August 2020 - 02:41 AM

I'll be curious to see how it ends up.  The bed eye bolt system does have some disadvantages. The biggest disadvantage has been that the turnbuckles can loosen up, and if they become loose, the action of the truck bouncing on dirt roads can cause the loose tie-downs to momentarily snap tight, putting a lot of momentary stress on the eye bolt.  This doesn't happen if the turnbuckle stays tight, however, so the solution has been to come up with a system that keeps the turnbuckle from loosening.  The eye bolts have been very stable since doing that.

 

The bed die down system is different in the Tacoma, though, and has different issues.  I'm confused now whether you have a Tacoma or a Ranger.  Your first post says Ranger and the last post says Tacoma ??  I'm probably just misunderstanding something..


Edited by DavidR, 01 August 2020 - 02:42 AM.

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#5 underpowered

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Posted 01 August 2020 - 03:19 AM

David, I have a ranger, the previous owner of the camper had it on a taco, and therefore the tacoma mounting brackets came with the camper. I am planning to modify the front one to fit on the bed bolts of my ranger. 


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#6 DavidR

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Posted 01 August 2020 - 03:36 AM

David, I have a ranger, the previous owner of the camper had it on a taco, and therefore the tacoma mounting brackets came with the camper. I am planning to modify the front one to fit on the bed bolts of my ranger. 

Okay, I get it now.  The idea of attaching to the bed bolts in front on the Ranger sounds like a good idea.  I'll be curious how that works out..


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#7 underpowered

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Posted 10 August 2020 - 04:18 AM

I am here with the install update!

 

I have not driven more than a few miles, so take this all with a grain of salt, but my plans seem to have worked out!

 

Front tie downs: 

I used the front bracket from the fwc tacoma system and attached them to my bed bolts. It fees very solid. I driled some holes in the front tacoma mountso as the bolts on the ranger are closer together than the ones on the taco. Because the rail sits on top of the bed slats I piled about 10 fender washers between the bed of the truck and the bracket, seems to hold everything very solidly.

 

I did have to space the camper away from the cab just a little, just used a little 2x6, but it fits very nicely in the bed of the truck. I like that I can still use my hitch mount bike rack without an extension.

 

Rear tie downs:

David, you are right that the external tie downs are a bit of an eye sore, but they are kind of my only option, and with them only on the rear they feel a bit less intrusive. I used happijac bumper button style tie down points with the happijac turn buckles. The factory said that the jack brackets would be strong enough to use as a tie down point. Unfortunately the tied owns were too big to fit through the holes drilled for the jacks to mount. I used a climbing bolt hanger bolted through one of the holes to achieve a larger eyelet for the tie down to hook into. I don't love that it is bolted on to a single hole. a 3/8" bolt is more than strong enough, but I am worried that I am concentrating a lot of stress on a single point of the aluminum brackets. I may eventually fab a bracket that bolts to all three bolt holes on the jack bracket. 

 

The other thing that is mediocre about this system is the opposition of the turn buckles. the fronts are angled forward. the rear are very slightly back, but nearly vertical. I have decided I am ok with this as the cab of the truck keeps the camper from moving forward in the bed. 

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Edited by underpowered, 10 August 2020 - 04:34 AM.

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#8 underpowered

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Posted 10 August 2020 - 04:35 AM

another pic

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