Slide-in camper hold-downs

[xamarud]

I have a 9 1/2 foot Jayco camper that i hauled in `76 chevy 3/4 ton, used the Brophy super heavy duty hold-downs, that bolt to the bed sides. Will these work in my 2002 2500 HD DA?. Brophy says they will, but have not really tested on one yet. Thin bed rails have me wondering. Camper weight is around #3000 loaded. The frame rail tie downs don't look like they will work because frame rail goes up high under the bed. thanks for any suggestions....

[SHOPMAN426]

xamarud,

I personally wouldn't mount any thing to these bed rails. They are way to thin. I have heard of a few guy's on this page that have bent them by just pulling them selves up and over the rails. I ran Happi Jack mounts on my last truck, which was a '89 Ford. They would flex quite a bit. The best way is go to the frame. Torklift makes a frame mount tie down for campers, a few people here have them and are very satisfied. I found them to be a little pricey. I ended up making my own mounts out of some 1/4" flat plate steel and 1 5/8" square tubing. I made removable arms so you don't see them when the camper is off the truck. The front mounts, bolt onto the frame just behind the bed mounts and the rears re-use the two bolts that hold the angle brackets for the rear bumper. I have less than $50.00 into these mounts, but I am using my old turn-buckles from my Happi Jacks.

Goodluck, SHOPMAN426

Mike.

http://www.torklift.com

[ 04-08-2002: Message edited by: SHOPMAN426 ]

[ 04-08-2002: Message edited by: SHOPMAN426 ]</p>

[wizkid]

DO NOT USE ANY HOLD DOWNS THAT ARE NOT CONNECTED TO THE FRAME!!!!!

These trucks have really thin sheet metal in the beds. You may be able to buy, or your hold downs may have parts to extend to the frame. If not, DON'T USE THEM. The ones I have for mine bolt to the bed, and then there's an extra kit that adds support to the bed, and has straps that bolt to the frame. If you want, I can dig up the info on the tie down kit I got.

[wizkid]

Shopman Juggled my Jumbled Memory. I have happi-jack mounts on my rig, and there working fine. My memory is going -- To much Tequilla in Mexico last week :D :D :D

[slapshot44]

I did a huge amount of research before settling on which tie-downs to use. To sum up my opinions between the two leaders in tie-down systems:

Happi-jacs:

Pros:
1) established company with a good reputation

Cons:
1) not really a true frame mount system, the bed corners still take almost all of the strain of the front mounts.
2) the rear mounts still use the old bumper pin method, the bumper takes all the strain as a twisting force.
3) the assortment of braces and brackets of the front tie-downs are forever visible in the bed of your truck.
4) the camper manufacturer representative that I talked to that recommended Happijacs also said that cab-over struts were required (to help save the rear bumper from being twisted.)

Torklifts:

Pros:
1) both front and rear mounts are solidly mounted to the truck frame.
2) when you are not using the tie-downs, you can't see the mounting system unless you look for it.
3) you can purchase a massive tow hitch with an extension (SuperHitch) that is integrated into the tie-down system. Most people I know who use a slide-in camper do so because they still need to tow something behind the truck when using the camper.
4) the camper manufacturer that I ended up buying from recommends Torklifts. No cab-over struts needed (not recommended in their case.)

Cons:
1) The only negative I've heard about Torklifts is that some people don't like the looks of the tie-down chains. Spring-loaded turnbuckles can be substituted in this case.

The cost of either system is more than some people like (the same thing is said about our choice of trucks.) If I remember right, the Torklifts were less than the Happijacs, even without the additional cost of the cab-over struts.

Hope it helps,
Denny

[ 04-10-2002: Message edited by: slapshot44 ]</p>

[Road Kill]

I went with Tork-Lift and have been pleased with them. I have a set of Happy Jacks that came with the used camper I bought that I did not use because I wanted a frame mounted set up. Go Tork-Lift you won't be sorry. :D

[wizkid]

I to a big boat. Although I don't want to change at this point, I think I'm going to check out torq-lifts, and see what this integrated towing system is.

Although I agree that it's not totally a frame mount system, the braces do have straps to the frame, and it looks plenty heavy enough to keep from ripping the bed apart under bad circumstances.

[xamarud]

Thanks for all the information guys, sounds like Brophy needs to do some testing for sure. Sure nice to have a place to get such GOOD info. I will post on what I finally do.

[moisheh]

If you go to www.irv2.infofpop.net and go to slide in campers ther is quite a discussion on this matter. Personally I like frame mounts. A lot of guys think they are too ridgid and prefer happi Jac. I think that happi jac are useless for a heavy unit. BTW. Be very cautious in loading you camper on one of our HD trucks. The front of the box is very weak. My camper bent the top front rail. I plan on doing some reinforcement. The Brophy setup is in my opinion DANGEROUS!!

[JEFSHP]

I have the Torklift and Superhitch combination. Great combination. Also glad to hear they cost a lot because mine were thrown in along with air bags on the camper purchase. Camper price was a show special too. With all the competition in one location they really make deals.

Couple hints. The shop guys told me to be aware that the removable bars can be removed by thieves.

And then from my own experience; Maus your open turnbuckle hooks. I wasn't 10 miles from the dealer when a bad road bump caused the hook to jump out from its slot. Heavy rush hour freeway traffic prevented me from recovering the spring loaded turnbuckle. I stopped off and bought a nylon tensioner to replace the missing turnbuckle.

I see maus is not in the dictionary, it's an old ship term (German origin) where the open hooks (non safety hooks) were wraped with sailing twin to close the hook and keep it from jumping its load. That's the purpose of the little eye you may have seen on some hooks.

I used electrical tape but will buy some white tape to match the camper, wife says black tape doesn't match.

Dealer said that was the first time one of the hooks ever jumped out. The're sending me a replacement.

John

[wangotango]

Torklift in Kent, WA.(800-246-8132) recently quoted me following numbers for install on my 2001 ex cab LB:

$275 standard kit

$100 installed by their mechanics

$30 for minor alteration due to my wheel-to- wheel step tubes

about $441 out the door

no welding involved

Other than alter for steps I would have put them on myself

The shop is close and the warranty is valuable.
I'll be doing it in a couple weeks

do not attach to bed

good luck,have fun

w/t

[BobNelson]

Had happijack on my 2500. Bent the bed. (big camper) I was not happy...

Tork lift on my 3500... now vrrry happy.... will not go back.

Will elim the very ugly tork lift turn buckles/ chains and move back to the chrome ones from happi. You can order the torklift now without their tensioners.

Good luck in your decision....

[wizkid]

Bob,

Did you have the frame straps installed when you bent the bed???

I have the frame straps on mine and haven't had a problem to this point. I want to make sure it stays that way! :eek:

[SHOPMAN426]

Hey Bob Nelson,

I was just wondering, what is the gauge size of the arms on the Tork-Lift? I went with 1 1/4" square, 1/4" thick side wall. I know it sounds a little overkill, but it gave me a good v-groove for welding beening my arms have a drop in them.


Thanks, SHOPMAN426.

Mike. smile.gif

[BobNelson]

wiz.... frame straps? ???? not sure what they are. I think happi-jack has made some improvements recently.

Had the system installed on my 99 2500. Plate on inside of bed with a square cross tube. For the most part, I liked the style and system. I think there were a couple of issues. Camper to big for the 2500 and it would rock a lot. This rocking pulled the left side back and crunched the metal... It was only about $1500 to repair.. I guess if I stayed on the main road, it would have been ok.... but then I just had to use the 4WD//

Shopman. Will check the guage in the morning and respond back. Every thing is stock so what ever that is, is what I have.

Hope to see every one on BC in May.

[56Nomad]

Hi All,

I had the Happy Jack on my 3/4 ton
"old body style" pick up with a Lance
Camper (9 1/2 ft)

It bent my bed!!

So I decided to go with a combination
when I bought my new truck. I kept my
Happi jack turnbuckles..... they look
great! But I bought the Super Hitch
and the Torklift frame mounted hardware.

No question...... this is the best set up.
The Happi Jack frame mounted system is
a very poor set up.

[8.1PWR]

This is my second set of Tork Lift camper tie downs. I really like them the first thing I noticed the first time I used them is how much less sway I had. With the happi jaks you get the movement of the bed. When you use the Tork Lift system you must use the spring loaded turn buckles or you can bend things. I have a 3000lb Lance camper.

[wizkid]

Hey Bob,
I think campers like yours forced happijack to make a mod. They now have optional straps that go down and bolt to the frame.

When I talked to the camper place about hold-downs for my truck, they told me that if I didn't get them, I'd probably bend/rip my truck bed.

I've looked at torqlifts's web site, and thier hold-downs look really good. I think if I were to do it over, I'd seriously consider them over happijack's system.

[BobNelson]

The guilty part was the black extention that you hook to on the outside. It pulled back and creased the bed. Both sides. Not sure if a frame tie down would have corrected this. Hit a rut going into a parking area in Northern BC 2 yrs ago. Camper rocked so much I thought we were were going over. Had an extra wine that night.

I think at least one Happi member will be at the BC gathering, so will look at his.

Just put the camper on this afternoon and getting stuff ready for the BC trip.. First time on the Timbren load system. Will know how that works next weekend.

This 3500 DRW is just perfect for my size camper. Love it. Even the home boss is comfortable driving it.