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How to Dismount & Mount Pickup Canopy -- Solo?


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#11 MarkBC

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Posted 12 July 2021 - 08:02 PM

Thanks, guys!

 

I'm partial to the ideas that don't require "build", other than attaching eye-bolts and chain or cable or rope to lumber -- 2x4s and/or rafters.

 

"...get inside the canopy and crouch in the middle of the canopy with my back against the top. As I straightened my legs the canopy would lift off the truck..." 
I remember (about a million years ago) my dad using this approach as part of the process to dismount the camper/canopy shell from our Datsun (pre-"Nissan") pickup.

 

I'm glad that my canopy's weight -- at 175 lbs (allegedly) -- is in the range that one non-Superman can wrangle without needing major mechanical advantage such as the burly steel jacks required for my FWC. And at that weight, no more than "body-weight", the gear (chain, rope, rafters) doesn't have to be too burly either.

 

ANY MORE SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOME -- IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO SUBMIT YOURS!  ;)

I'm not quite ready to try anything yet...until I clear some junk out of the way in my garage.


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#12 Casa Escarlata Robles Too

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Posted 12 July 2021 - 10:21 PM

Mark could you come up with a way to use your camper jacks?

Just a thought.

Just be careful with lifting yourself, backs are hard to replace.

Frank


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#13 MarkBC

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Posted 12 July 2021 - 10:41 PM

...
Just be careful with lifting yourself, backs are hard to replace.
Frank


So I hear.

A friend of mine has had a chronic bad back, lots of pain, for a long time - one of an assortment of injuries from 20 years in the Army. One expert has told him - twice - that he's not a good candidate for surgery. "Try pain management" he's been told. Can you say "opioid"?

I'm very grateful that I've never had any skeletal, joint issues (knock on wood).
OK, I did slip and fall on black ice while riding my bicycle 20 years ago...putting a crack in the socket my femur ball fits into.. and setting me up for an increased chance of arthritis in that spot. But so far I've only had very few, rare, flate-ups.

My back is fine (k.o.w) and I do plan to keep it that way. I'll be careful.
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#14 Jon R

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Posted 13 July 2021 - 04:10 AM

I did similar to thisoldcamper but with a manual hoist system - as I'd just lift up and shorten the chain on each corner until the topper is up near the ceiling.


That is exactly what I do. It’s important to raise the corners only a little at a time to avoid twisting the canopy too much, which can shift the glass in the windows and mess up the seals (I have a 1990s Gem Top plastic canopy that’s pretty flexible in twist.)

On my new truck I am trying to find a steel canopy that can double as a lumber rack. I’ll probably make a boat winch hoist that attaches to the racks to lift it off.
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