Drop your camper at the campground?
I've got an AF1150, so if I drop it from the truck, it's got to be held off the ground a minimum of ~14" to clear drains & lines. The owners manual states to never leave the camper on the jacks for...
Forum Discussion
3/4" hardwood plywood is $60 a sheet here, so I gave my little brother a call to discuss possibilities. He's a structural engineer. When I told him about the plywood idea he laughed. When he was done laughing...he walked me through the loadbearing capabilities of plywood on end, and we both agreed it'd be a pretty poor choice for a 4K lb camper.
I still think the idea has merit, and he went ahead and figured out that a 2x2 framed and boxed structure made with the same concept of an X, with a sheet of 3/4" plywood laid flat on top...would be capable of holding the weight. It'd still have to be 100% sealed against rot from moisture incursion though.
I decided to purchase 4 collapsible steel sawhorses. I've also purchase 2, 10' lengths of pressure treated 2x6 to cut and attach to the tops of the saw horses. I'll cut those for a 1" overhang on both sides. Those should have a 2250 lb support rating. That'll hold the bottom in with the holding tanks, I'll still be using the jacks to help support some of the weight. It'll work for this trip, and perhaps others as well. A bit more weight than I'd prefer to carry all the time though. I like this sawhorses, as they collapse down to a 22" height...allowing me to get the camper nice and low to the ground. I need a minimum of 16" to clear my pipes.
I think the plywood X would work with marine grade structural plywood, but that's over $100 a sheet here and hard to find. There's still a huge problem with delam on the plys as well. Decent solution for indoor storage I think. I've got 3, 4x6 yard timbers I use on cinder blocks for over winter storage though. I tried looking for some scissor jacks or jack stands to rig up with the timbers...but couldn't find anything suitable locally. If the saw horses don't hold up....I may buy some online. I love the idea of scissor jacks attached to timbers with some means of keeping them from tipping....
I'll snag some pics when I get them setup, and let you guys know how they work.
I still think the idea has merit, and he went ahead and figured out that a 2x2 framed and boxed structure made with the same concept of an X, with a sheet of 3/4" plywood laid flat on top...would be capable of holding the weight. It'd still have to be 100% sealed against rot from moisture incursion though.
I decided to purchase 4 collapsible steel sawhorses. I've also purchase 2, 10' lengths of pressure treated 2x6 to cut and attach to the tops of the saw horses. I'll cut those for a 1" overhang on both sides. Those should have a 2250 lb support rating. That'll hold the bottom in with the holding tanks, I'll still be using the jacks to help support some of the weight. It'll work for this trip, and perhaps others as well. A bit more weight than I'd prefer to carry all the time though. I like this sawhorses, as they collapse down to a 22" height...allowing me to get the camper nice and low to the ground. I need a minimum of 16" to clear my pipes.
I think the plywood X would work with marine grade structural plywood, but that's over $100 a sheet here and hard to find. There's still a huge problem with delam on the plys as well. Decent solution for indoor storage I think. I've got 3, 4x6 yard timbers I use on cinder blocks for over winter storage though. I tried looking for some scissor jacks or jack stands to rig up with the timbers...but couldn't find anything suitable locally. If the saw horses don't hold up....I may buy some online. I love the idea of scissor jacks attached to timbers with some means of keeping them from tipping....
I'll snag some pics when I get them setup, and let you guys know how they work.
