Turnbuckles and Furnace (New Member)

[Old Man Grumpus]

Hello Everyone,

These threads have been very helpful for initiating me to my new Hawk.

Stan has usually been quick to respond to my questions but he must be busy now so I thought I would post to the group.

I have a dorky question about the turnbuckles.

It seems like every time I go to tighten or loosen them, I have to do something different than what I did before. It is confusing. The standard "righty-tighty lefty-loosey" rule does not seem to apply to these things. It is more like trial and error every time. I sat and studied them for a while but I just can't figure it out. Each end of the turnbuckle is the same so it doesn't seem like there is a "right" direction for when you attach them. Can you tell me please, what is the secret to knowing which way to turn the turnbuckles, the first time, every time??

About the furnace. How much battery power will the thermostat and furnace use overnight? I have been turning off all power when I go to sleep but that won't fly when my wife is with me. Also, where is the on/off switch for the thermostat? I guess I am confused about how to get the blower and heat working and the manual didn't help much.

Thanks,

Old Man Grumpus
Seattle Area

 

[silverstriketim]

Turnbuckes

I also have a Hawk mine stays on the truck pretty much all the time but I also take it of if I need to haul something, I always seem to turn the turnbuckle the wrong way first so I have taken to hooking the top first then pulling down on the lower end, then I can tell if it is being turned in the wrong direction. As for the furnace the wife and I often camp in cold weather and run the heater all night long but have never had it drain the battery all the way down, I have had the power on for a couple of days without starting the truck to recharge too! The thermostat when you push it all the way to the left clicks, that is the off position.

Tim
2007 Hawk
1998 GMC Sierra
$4.00 a gallon for gas won't stop me!

 

[Old Man Grumpus]

Turnbuckle Meltdowns

Thanks Tim - you phrased the problem much more simply than I did. I always turn the wrong way first. But I don't understand what you are saying for your solution. Pull down on the lower end? How would that help? Especially when they are already attached?

If Tim is away, does anybody else have any mnemonic tricks for tightening or loosening the turnbuckles? I have literally had different results from one corner to the next corner.

Old Man Grumpus

 

[DLN]

Grumpus,

Welcome to the forum. I've always had the same problem with the turnbuckles, always seem to start in the wrong direction. Trial and error gets them right eventually. As to the heater and battery drain, last year we camped in cold weather for two nights and drained the battery enough to set off the low charge indicator on the CO detector in the early morning, so I start the engine now every morning to top off the battery.

 

[Old Man Grumpus]

Turnbuckle Overtightening

Thank you DLN and Tim -- it sounds like trial and error is the consensus so far.

I only became concerned because one time a buckle was quite tight, and I had to reef on it both ways to finally determine whether I was loosening or further tightening it.

The reason this worried me was there were several posts that warned against overtightening; and one said something to the effect "if you are one of those types who can bench press 250#, only a half turn [past hand tight] is needed." Well, that would be me, and I have been known more than once to accidentally break things, as my missus can attest.

Old Man Grumpus
Seattle Area

 

[simimike]

Welcome to the forum,OMG

Over the years I have found a method of removing the turn buckles that works for me. This may not be the best way for everyone.

First you have to appease the turn buckle gods. Through trial and error I found that chicken wings and beer work best for me. At least two days before you plan on removing or tightening the turn buckles do the sacrifice. The ritual can be done right up to the time of turn buckle turning. This is not as hard as one might think as the turn buckle gods are conveniently located in the stomach. This may vary by regions, say in the North West you can substitute grilled salmon for the chicken wings.

Now go to the right front turn buckle and turn it in either direction. Now stop. This is the most important part. Pull your hand out of the access port and adjust your posture and the items in the camper so they are no longer poking you in the ribs, back or leg. Now reach back into the access port and turn the turn buckle the other way. This most likely will be the correct direction. Try not to cuss or curse to loudly as this can upset the turn buckle gods and they may need re-appeasement. Repeat at the other three corners re-appeasing as necessary. Just a reminder that excessive appeasement can prolong the procedure. Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[brett13]

Welcome to the forum,OMG

Over the years I have found a method of removing the turn buckles that works for me. This may not be the best way for everyone.

First you have to appease the turn buckle gods. Through trial and error I found that chicken wings and beer work best for me. At least two days before you plan on removing or tightening the turn buckles do the sacrifice. The ritual can be done right up to the time of turn buckle turning. This is not as hard as one might think as the turn buckle gods are conveniently located in the stomach. This may vary by regions, say in the North West you can substitute grilled salmon for the chicken wings.

Now go to the right front turn buckle and turn it in either direction. Now stop. This is the most important part. Pull your hand out of the access port and adjust your posture and the items in the camper so they are no longer poking you in the ribs, back or leg. Now reach back into the access port and turn the turn buckle the other way. This most likely will be the correct direction. Try not to cuss or curse to loudly as this can upset the turn buckle gods and they may need re-appeasement. Repeat at the other three corners re-appeasing as necessary. Just a reminder that excessive appeasement can prolong the procedure. Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Mike


Hysterical!

I find that good BBQ can also help and it pads the ribs, so things poking you in the camper don't hurt as much.

Here is what I did (took me 9 months of tinkering to figure out):

1. Hold a turnbuckle in your hand and play with it until you figure out which way tightens it and which way opens it. I did this by having my wife hold the loops and me turning the "frame".

2. Once you know which way is which, position the turnbuckle so that when you turn the "frame" clockwise, it tightens. That would be like "righty, tighty".

3. Mark the frame with a sharpie with an arrow pointing up.

Now, when you put the turnbuckles on the truck, put the arrow pointing up. In that config, a clockwise turn will tighten.

Does this make sense to anyone, or have I been getting lucky?

 

[simimike]

Brett, your method makes perfect sense. I am going to try it on my camper. The only draw back that I can see is there may not be a sufficient amount of appeasement. But I think one can adjust to this.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[SunMan]

Makes perfect sense, but that would be too easy and take all the fun out of it!

In all seriousness, i'll prolly give that method a go. Good idea.

 

[brett13]

The only draw back that I can see is there may not be a sufficient amount of appeasement.

Ahh, but I still have to appease the camper gods so I don't do anything else really stupid when rolling the camper out of the garage down my hilly driveway. Many sacrifices are required to ensure safe mounting of the camper. There are toes in the way, heads to bump, trucks to dent, campers to topple- so much to worry about!

 

[Sam]

2nd Bret13's method. Once you figure out which way is up and always put the turn buckles on in the same direction, it will always be righty tighty.

 

[Old Man Grumpus]

Hallelujah!

THANK YOU Brett13 and all the other contributors!! That is brilliant. Just this afternoon I was putting the camper on again for the weekend, and there were three clockwise and one counterclockwise. I thought, what the hell? How can that be? Now I know why.

It must now be time to appease the turnbuckle gods in a show of gratitude!

Old Man Grumpus
In the rainy Northwest

 

[Tomas Tierra]

Welcome OMG.Good question

The system i inhereted from Jay/Chanlisle had all turnbuckles marked top and bottom, front and rear.never knew why they were marked, just always followed the system....now I know why...

 

[Hayduke]

I was gonna say, I marked mine years ago with an indelible marker (aka permanent marker). RF means right front, LR means left rear. and I marked "top" on the top. Then drew an arrow on the flat surface to indicate tighten direction. Never had any doubts since.
Good luck

 

[chnlisle]

I use the Tequila Breezer method. 2 oz TQ in a tall glass with ice. Now add equal parts OJ and lemonade Crystal Light. Repeat as needed.

 

[EdoHart]

One more suggestion

A standard right hand nut will work on one end of the turnbuckle. I place the nut outboard of the turnbuckle frame. When I put on the turnbuckles, I put the end with the nut on the camper's eye bolt. Then I know to turn the turnbuckle frame counterclockwise to tighten. I know this sounds upside down, but that allows me the strongest tightening grip with my bare right hand. Once the turnbuckles are tight, I jam the nut against the turnbuckle frame to lock it in position.