Loosening tie downs for off road TC'ing
In recent thread, a neat video was posted showing our truck camper members leaving their camping area and routing back out to the main roads. Gotta say I just love these "action" videos the members po...
Forum Discussion
I disagree with loosening the tie downs when off-roading. This is especially true if you are using spring loaded tie downs like Tork Lift Fastguns.
While the truck frame will flex and you will notice an angle difference between the cab and the bed, the bed itself does not flex much. This is especially true when loaded with a stiff large object like a truck camper. I have never noticed the gap between the camper and the bed rails change as I've flexed the truck to max.
One thing that may help me is I do not pre-tension my fastguns as recommended by Torklift. My camper is much lighter, so I only pre-tension to the edge of the hole (instead of 1/2) which probably on puts about 50-75# of tension. This allows more travel in the tie down normal.
If you do loosen the tie downs, you should make sure to use a bungie or zip tie to make sure the tie down cannot become disconnected.
While the truck frame will flex and you will notice an angle difference between the cab and the bed, the bed itself does not flex much. This is especially true when loaded with a stiff large object like a truck camper. I have never noticed the gap between the camper and the bed rails change as I've flexed the truck to max.
One thing that may help me is I do not pre-tension my fastguns as recommended by Torklift. My camper is much lighter, so I only pre-tension to the edge of the hole (instead of 1/2) which probably on puts about 50-75# of tension. This allows more travel in the tie down normal.
If you do loosen the tie downs, you should make sure to use a bungie or zip tie to make sure the tie down cannot become disconnected.
