18 replies to this topic

[scheefdog]

I just purchased an 87' Fleet for my 02 Tundra and I'm really excited to put it to use. I have a couple of questions to get things started. What is the best way to secure the camper to the truck bed? Also where is the best place to locate the tie downs on the camper? Pics would be awesome.

The camper came with 3 portable jacks and plates mounted on the camper. I'm not all that excited about this system. The side of the camper with only one plate seems to be collapsing a little where the plate is mounted. I would like to mount four semi-permanent jacks on the camper. Has anyone done this on an old camper? Where is the most solid place to mount plates?

I am thinking of using these as they are cheap and I'll figure out a way to mount and extend the length on them. http://www.harborfre...-jack-3961.html

I'm open to any other advice on how to fix up my camper so please give me some input.

Thanks!

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[natjwest]

Are these pics your camper and truck currently mounted?

[scheefdog]

Are these pics your camper and truck currently mounted?

Yes, that is my truck and camper. I picked up the camper yesterday and just used cam-straps to tie it in.

[pods8]

Lots of posts about the tie downs in the past. Easiest way to confirm location though is calling the factory. Could consider bolting through as well since you said you're camper doesn't have tie downs currently?

Jack plates are mounted in the corners and screwed into the aluminum framing on new campers. You'll need to fab something up if using the HF jack. (as you mentioned you'll need to extend to the length on them. I have one in my garage right now, they are 52" from bottom plate to the very top when fully extended).

[LuckyDan]

Another option you may want to consider is turning your "tripod" system system into a four corner system. From your photos I'm fairly confident you have Rieco jacks. They should be available as an "each" in addition to being sold as a "system". Thus buy a forth jack, move the third to the corner, and bingo a four corner system. Doing that should get your third jack mount to the aluminum framing on the corner and fix your "sinking" issue.

I have seen these same jacks on swivel mounts, much like a swing up tongue jack on a trailer. The beauty of that is you can swing them up and out of the way when traveling which eliminates the need to remove the jacks like many do prior to wandering the west. Somewhere on here are photos that show jacks mounted and swung up on a couple of campers. I don't know if Rieco still makes a swivel plate mount or not but may be worth looking into.

Below is the mfgs link for your jacks if I'm correct in my assumption of their origin:

http://www.riecotita...amperjacks.html

Either way, enjoy your Fleet.

[scheefdog]

Pods- Could you possibly take a picture of the HF jack fully extended and post it for me? Does it crank about the same speed as the Rieco ones(assuming you have a set). That would help me decide if I could make those work.

The jacks that came with my camper look like the Rieco ones but seem really heavy to me, something lighter would be nice. I think my three jacks weigh around 100 lbs. Buying another one to make four seems like a good idea though.

As far as tie downs, can I just use turn buckles to the existing cargo loops in my bed? They seem like they are at least as strong as mounting an eye bolt through the bed with big washers on it. I think I'm going to make custom brackets out of angle iron to mount on the camper to have something to strap to.

[pods8]

Pods- Could you possibly take a picture of the HF jack fully extended and post it for me? Does it crank about the same speed as the Rieco ones(assuming you have a set). That would help me decide if I could make those work.

The jacks that came with my camper look like the Rieco ones but seem really heavy to me, something lighter would be nice. I think my three jacks weigh around 100 lbs. Buying another one to make four seems like a good idea though.

As far as tie downs, can I just use turn buckles to the existing cargo loops in my bed? They seem like they are at least as strong as mounting an eye bolt through the bed with big washers on it. I think I'm going to make custom brackets out of angle iron to mount on the camper to have something to strap to.

I could either today or tomorrow if you want but it looks just like the picture on HF. (The drop leg jack has a few peg holes in it and the extending tube is smooth walled). I don't have Rieco mechanical jacks but my impression of the harbor freight jacks were that they were pretty slow cranking (I'd assume similar though). Downside is the handle on the HF jack isn't removable without some machine work thus you can't use a drill on them easily. There is no way I'd consider using them very often without modifying them though.

You can make your one tie down choices but I wouldn't. The load gets out of the vertical plane doing that.

[Sam]

I would be leery of using the Harbor Freight jacks. Adding extensions will put a lot of stress on the jacks that they were never intended for. I would be skeptical of using that jack in it's intended application (you get what you pay for) let alone seriously modified. My vote would be to get a fourth jack. There is a reason the jacks you have are so heavy.

[pods8]

I forgot about the pic, you still wanting it?

[scheefdog]

I forgot about the pic, you still wanting it?

I'm thinking that by the time I modify the Harbor Freight jacks to work I'm better off just using a set that are designed for a camper. That said, I have been looking around at jacks and it looks like I can buy the Atwood corner jacks for about $430 for all four. They look very similar to the Rieco, are they about the same quality? I'd love to find a used set of four corner jacks for my camper, but I'm guessing they don't come up used very often? Then I could just sell my tripod setup.


I made some tie down points out of angle iron to mount on my camper that are way more bomber than eye-bolts and help hold the plywood frame together. Still haven't decided if I want to put eye-bolts into my truck bed. I don't understand why hooking to the cargo loops in the bed would be bad. Can someone explain? The turnbuckles would be at about 60 degrees coming off the camper.

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