Front Frame Mount Tie Downs Not Working!

Built in some new towers, bolted to the frame and bed. Put the bed floating on rubber spacers at the top of the towers.

It’s been a lot of work but the bed is now level, which should stop the TC from sliding to the passenger side and leaning that way also. It was tilting to the passenger side because that tower was crushed.

Driver’s side tower is in ok shape, but I’m removing some of it and putting in my custom heavy duty tower and rubber bumpers there too.

After that, I’ll fix the geometry of the TL mounts so they can’t break anymore. No more sheer forces on the tower/bed interface bolts from the diagonal support. I’m going to make it so the TL support is vertical. That will remove sheer stresses and change them to compression forces.

Since we're talking about TL and their geometry, I was on here a couple years ago trying to solve RAM dually fender clearance and my Bigfoot. I got a message from TL to talk to them. They told me to drill a hole in the extensions 1" farther inboard to gain some clearance. I questioned that affecting strength. TL said the strength comes from the corners of the square extensions being twisted within the TL frame mounts. That is assuming the Fastguns have some fore and aft angle on them. I also talked to Bigfoot about using shouldered machinery eyebolt to move their hold down points farther out. Then TL asked me if I wanted a free TL hold down relocation bar. Heck yeah I'll take that.
All this to say that TL will work with you to get safe and happy. Good people.

OP is using tie downs to hold his bed as original truck towers are gone.
I did hit bumps with my 6000 lb camper couple of times.
Once to the degree that I had impression I could see nose in drivers line of sight.
Front mounts hold just fine, but since rear bounced up - the rear the-downs bend.

I struggle with the idea that the OP's TL product is to blame as well.

Why? Because I hit a HUGE pothole while going about 70mph on the Alaska Highway near Destruction Bay in the Yukon. I was heavily loaded in the camper and the truck. A rear wheel bearing was cracked from that hit.

One thing that was NOT damaged by that HUGE pothole (when my truck and camper went up in the air a bit and came down hard) was my TL tiedowns. I don't have Fastguns just standard turnbuckles, chains, and the spring-loaded eyelets on the tiedowns.

My 2 cents.

^ deltabravo, nice summary of the events, but refer to my post above. Crazy I tell ya, just crazy...lol

HadEnough wrote:
I’m going to make it strong, so the only way this can fail now is for it to bend the cross beam of the bed, bend the square tubing of the Torklift mount, or rip the bolts out of the frame.

Sounds like the above should happen in short order since your camper seems to go sideways in the bed (shifting 11" to the passenger side at the front), or "go to space" as you said earlier.

I've still never heard of a Torklift mount failing.

HadEnough wrote:
It’s bumps sending it into space, I’m sure.

If you are hitting bumps that cause the truck camper to launch to space (lift off the bed) enough that it shifts 11" to the passenger side at the front, SLOW DOWN.

The items below that you said still baffle us:

HadEnough wrote:
Yes, I have a rubber mat in the bed to keep the TC gripping and in place. Trouble is, there isn’t enough downward pressure to hold it on the mat since both frame mounts are now broken.

How can a 3500lb camper not exert enough downward pressure to keep it from moving, unless you apply more "pressure" with the tiedowns?

HadEnough wrote:
It doesn’t move until the frame mounts fall apart leaving it floating.

Explain this "floating".

HadEnough wrote:
I took some measurements. The back of the camper hasn’t really moved. The front has moved 11 inches off center to the passenger side.

Also explain how the front can shift 11" to one side. My 811 fits in my truck bed such that I only have 2.75" of clearance between the camper and the side of the truck bed. There's only about 1" or less at the back, at the tailgate opening.


I've had my truck and 811 since fall of 2009. The truck hit 68k miles this summer. It's not my daily driver.
A conservative estimate is that 40k miles have been with the camper on the truck, while towing one of several cargo trailers I have / have had. The camper has NEVER shifted in the bed. I run Fastguns, and have them adjust a little on the loose side. Even then, the camper has never moved in 10 years of traveling.

I remember that thread from last year!
What makes anyone think torklift is going to go to bat for a guy with a messed up truck.
This thread was like the blind leading the dumb!
Uhhh, I blasted a speed bump that launched my camper, ripped the bottom out of my truck bed and the stupid camper mount broke! Stupid camper mount.....(in my best Homer Simpson voice).

Kayteg1 wrote:

Bert the Welder wrote:

wnjj wrote:

jimh425 wrote:
OP needs to find out why he has so much upward pressure.

It could have been the 2 different occasions where he hit large speed bumps, with “frame damage” from one of them. Somehow this didn’t make the “tie downs not working” thread.

https://forums.trailerlife.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29976845.cfm

Well that's interesting...

I'd call it extremely interesting.
People who create problems very often spend the time pointing fingers and checking who they could sue.
Unfortunately that is how our society grows.

Karma will take care of anyone.

Bringing this thread to a conclusion.

I’m going to install a 100% vertical upright support where the angled bar stock is (was) welded to the frame mount.

The vertical upright will terminate right on the cross beam of the bed, locking everything in place for good.

Instead of using a flimsy weld and bar stock, I’m going to use 1/4” wall square tubing that will slip over the frame mount tubing and over the truck bed cross beam.



It’ll replace the uppermost piece of the mount in this pic. The part that’s gone on both of my mounts.

Honestly, I do think this product is junk. It’s cheap. It’s not strong.

I’m going to make it strong, so the only way this can fail now is for it to bend the cross beam of the bed, bend the square tubing of the Torklift mount, or rip the bolts out of the frame.

No other modes of failure possible.

That’s how Torklift should have been building these things. They’re cheaply done and the geometry is all wrong. The stock design Creates excessive shear forces when it only needs to be an upright in compression taking the load. Bad design.

Bert the Welder wrote:

wnjj wrote:

jimh425 wrote:
OP needs to find out why he has so much upward pressure.

It could have been the 2 different occasions where he hit large speed bumps, with “frame damage” from one of them. Somehow this didn’t make the “tie downs not working” thread.

https://forums.trailerlife.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29976845.cfm

Well that's interesting...

I'd call it extremely interesting.
People who create problems very often spend the time pointing fingers and checking who they could sue.
Unfortunately that is how our society grows.