I posted this in my build thread but thought I would make a seperate post here. I've been asked a couple times how difficult it is to remove and install the Swift camper with the internal tie downs. We swapped the camper over to my fathers truck yesterday and I had a chance to snap some pictures of the process.
Although access is limited to the turn buckles there is plenty of room to get the job done. The biggest tip is to attach the front two turn buckets to the mounts with a snap tie before you load the camper...pics below.
Attaching the jacks.
We fabricated some stand off brackets from some plate steel so the front jacks will clear the fenders of the truck when we drop the camper and pull forward.
The passenger side rear jack mount needed a quick mod to allow the jack to function, when we added the stainless mount to the OEM bracket to support the Shadow awning it caused a slight interference issue when mounting the jack. We fabbed up a quick stand off plate to allow the jack to bolt on with the awning brace in place (Short a couple bolts in these pics).
This adapter allows you to use a drill to run the jacks up and down instead of having to use the hand cranks. Very handy!
Jacks going down, turn buckles removed and camper coming off the truck.
These are the bed bars and camper attach points for the 5' Tacoma trucks, the bars attach to the bed using the factory bed hold down bolts. Tip: To make install easy use a snap tie to attach the front turn buckets to the mounting bar before you install the camper, once the camper is on the truck you can lift up the turn buckle and attach it to the camper without having to fish for the lower tie point. Position the front turn buckles exactly as in this picture before loading the camper, process is quick and easy with this method.
Camper installed on my fathers truck, tire pressures set and air bags inflated...here we are watching some aviation videos and my father and uncle are swapping flying stories
And back outside. We swapped my fathers canopy over to my truck.
Bammmm....they look totally different now lol.
Hodakaguy
Although access is limited to the turn buckles there is plenty of room to get the job done. The biggest tip is to attach the front two turn buckets to the mounts with a snap tie before you load the camper...pics below.
Attaching the jacks.
We fabricated some stand off brackets from some plate steel so the front jacks will clear the fenders of the truck when we drop the camper and pull forward.
The passenger side rear jack mount needed a quick mod to allow the jack to function, when we added the stainless mount to the OEM bracket to support the Shadow awning it caused a slight interference issue when mounting the jack. We fabbed up a quick stand off plate to allow the jack to bolt on with the awning brace in place (Short a couple bolts in these pics).
This adapter allows you to use a drill to run the jacks up and down instead of having to use the hand cranks. Very handy!
Jacks going down, turn buckles removed and camper coming off the truck.
These are the bed bars and camper attach points for the 5' Tacoma trucks, the bars attach to the bed using the factory bed hold down bolts. Tip: To make install easy use a snap tie to attach the front turn buckets to the mounting bar before you install the camper, once the camper is on the truck you can lift up the turn buckle and attach it to the camper without having to fish for the lower tie point. Position the front turn buckles exactly as in this picture before loading the camper, process is quick and easy with this method.
Camper installed on my fathers truck, tire pressures set and air bags inflated...here we are watching some aviation videos and my father and uncle are swapping flying stories
And back outside. We swapped my fathers canopy over to my truck.
Bammmm....they look totally different now lol.
Hodakaguy
