Right now, my truck camper is stored on some home made saw horses when it's off of the truck. They came from the previous owner with the camper, and he happened to have the same truck that I have to haul the camper. Meaning, that my truck is the same height as his was. I don't at all like the saw horses and think that buying eight or so cinder blocks and getting this thing down closer to the ground for storage would be better.Problem with this is that I was mentioning this to a buddy, who has about as much experience with truck campers as I do. He mentioned to me that I may need to figure out how many strokes my hydraulic jacks can go before I would need to reset them to jack the camper up higher. Like, once the jacks are on the ground and have pressure on them, is there a certain length it'll jack up, or can I just keep cranking them the whole length?I always assumed that you could jack these things the full length without a problem. So, the question is, is it true that I may have to reset my jacks once I reach a certain point? Like 14 strokes of the handle or something like that? They are manual, or hydraulic, or however you describe them. Also, being new to this, I haven't really figured out a way yet to properly load the camper. I kind of assume you just start off with giving the front two jacks around 10 strokes each and then move to the rear with five or so on each side and keep moving around the camper making sure everything is coming up safely with the front a bit higher. Can you experienced truck camper loaders give me some insight on this as well?I took this thing off the truck today and it just seemed like there may have been a safety issue the whole time.

Never have heard about having to reset hydraulic jacks. You have the right idea about loading as long as the number of strokes you mention keeps it about level but front higher. I keep my camper at unload height. Had been using a utility trailer for years but just switched to homemade saw horses. I like the saw horses much better.

Someone could probably answer your jack question better if you could provide the brand and model of jacks you are using. They don't all necessarily work the same way.Then again if your friend knows it all, maybe he can explain himself better? It irritates me to no end when "friends" start spouting off about things they don't know anything about. I'm sure some people say that about me, so I'm probably being a hypocrite...Anyway, when unloading just jack the camper up as evenly as possible. X pumps/cranks, then move on to the next jack has always worked for me. Having the camper slightly higher in front is only for storage. This gives the roof extra slope so the rain runs off. It is not relevant/useful in the loading and unloading process. What's important there is the camper clears the truck, and it really could be leaning slightly in any direction at that point.

I always liked to unload on even flat ground, I have plastic round camper disks (got from rv place for non paved ground) jack the camper keeping it level, front up just a bit, front 2 then back 2,about 8 to 10 pumps each my wife helped me so we would jack them up together. My jacks would go to a certain height then stop, there was a line on the legs when to stop, make sure u r high enough and back under the TC slowly checking the clearance height and side to side, I always used someone else to watch the side clearance to make sure the TC is centered. Bring it to the bump stops and stop, I always left a 1" gap at the front as lowering it always would wind up tight, start at the back then move forward on jack lowering, 2"-3" back 2"-3" front till back down on truck bed pretty simple. Now have a new camper love the electric jacks

There is a pucker factor the first number of times you raise the camper high enough to load the camper. That does subside a bit after you've done it a while. My preference with jacks is to put some kind of raised pads under the feet so that the jack doesn't need to be raise as high to get the camper to the desired height for loading.

Beware that campers are not advised to be in storage without front floor support, where the water tank usually is. Some manufacturers make the support a requirement. My camper will stand with one of the rear jacks in the air, so if yours will do the same -that will be easy way to measure how much the jack will retract.

Quick jack question | Good Sam Community

mkirsch
Nomad II
Dec 01, 2015
getpower1 wrote:
Two things that were pointed out that are particularly interesting to me. 1)the fact that one jack may be off the ground altogether when lowering. I have experienced this and thought "well that can't be good, but how would I avoid it?" It's good to know that this may be unavoidable.

Not only unavoidable, but a non-issue. As long as you correct the situation in a reasonable timeframe, and don't walk away and leave the camper resting on 3 legs.

With manual jacks it's very easy to keep ahead of this because you are jacking each corner in turn. After you've gotten some practice at it you will even develop a feel for how many extra pumps/cranks to give the "short" jack when it happens so it's not constantly off the ground as you raise the camper.

For releasing the valve, if it is like a typical bottle jack, a pair of vise grips on the handle will give you much finer control of the valve if/when it is overtightened.
getpower1
Explorer
Dec 01, 2015
Oops, a typo (senior moment) should have been "must".

I am not seeing your signature. In your preferences, you can set it to show your signature. You can also click on "Append Signature" when you make a post. However, if I am not mistaken, your signature will only show once for each thread you post in.

Wayne

EDIT: When I go to your profile, it does show your signature, which has the typical info. I did not see it below your post.

EDIT: I guess I am not only getting old, but blind as well. Now I do see your signature in the first post of this thread. Sorry about that.

No problem, lol. I just wanted to be sure that everything was getting through. I've been doing all of this on my iPhone, so I've been limited on some of the things that I can make work.
Reddog1
Explorer II
Dec 01, 2015
getpower1 wrote:
Reddog1 wrote:
... Your truck setup is almost a bust, as is your TC description. The signatures of jmcgsd, and Fisher Bill are good examples. The photos are optional, but can be helpful. My signature might also serve as an example. ...

Please clarify for me what you mean as my setup and truck are a bust? Meaning your not seeing it, or is there some specific information that you'd like to see? Cause if you do see it, it's as descriptive as what you have in your signature. Let me know. I want to help you help me.
Oops, a typo (senior moment) should have been "must".

I am not seeing your signature. In your preferences, you can set it to show your signature. You can also click on "Append Signature" when you make a post. However, if I am not mistaken, your signature will only show once for each thread you post in.

Wayne

EDIT: When I go to your profile, it does show your signature, which has the typical info. I did not see it below your post.

EDIT: I guess I am not only getting old, but blind as well. Now I do see your signature in the first post of this thread. Sorry about that.
Downwindtracke1
Explorer
Nov 30, 2015
I have HiJackers, they are a hydraulic. To get them to go down, I had to open and do a single stroke.
Reddog1
Explorer II
Nov 30, 2015
getpower1 wrote:
... not familiar with lowering the camper cracking the valve all the way open and it going down to fast, and too far. I'm a very patient person and I wouldn't yell about something like that. It doesn't seem worth it and it's not like things can't be fixed. It would've sucked if something worse had happened, but we got through it.
It is not extremely important if one jack of the three goes down too fast. However, if for example the rear of the TC is 6-inches lower than the front with one of the rear jack not carrying weight, and you quickly lower a front jack on the non-weight jack side of the TC, you run the risk of that side being too low. If excessive it could fold a jack on the low side or break the jack mounting. Don't be overly concerned with this possibility, just be aware it could happen.

Wayne
getpower1
Explorer
Nov 30, 2015
Reddog1 wrote:
getpower1 - Look at the Profiles and signatures of several members. Most will give you an idea as to what you need. Do not list your phone number, physical address, or email address. City and state are no issue and can be very helpful. Your truck setup is almost a bust, as is your TC description. The signatures of jmcgsd, and Fisher Bill are good examples. The photos are optional, but can be helpful. My signature might also serve as an example.

Fisher Bill - I am in agreement with you. I made my sawhorses out of steel. Even using the Syable Lift, I prefer to store my TC on the horses, with 4xs to minimize the raising and lowering of the TC.

Wayne

Please clarify for me what you mean as my setup and truck are a bust? Meaning your not seeing it, or is there some specific information that you'd like to see? Cause if you do see it, it's as descriptive as what you have in your signature. Let me know. I want to help you help me.
getpower1
Explorer
Nov 30, 2015
I will look into that thread right now.

Two things that were pointed out that are particularly interesting to me. 1)the fact that one jack may be off the ground altogether when lowering. I have experienced this and thought "well that can't be good, but how would I avoid it?" It's good to know that this may be unavoidable.

And 2) the other person not familiar with lowering the camper cracking the valve all the way open and it going down to fast, and too far. I'm a very patient person and I wouldn't yell about something like that. It doesn't seem worth it and it's not like things can't be fixed. It would've sucked if something worse had happened, but we got through it.
jmcgsd
Explorer
Nov 30, 2015
Getpower,
Since you asked about advice for loading the camper check this classic thread from 2005:

Marital Bliss

It's still my favorite RV.net thread of all time.
Reddog1
Explorer II
Nov 30, 2015
getpower1 wrote:
I would not mind some info on lowering the camper into the truck as well. More information for me is better. ...
As pointed out, if you minimize how much you raise and lower the TC, the easier (and safer) it is. Especially with manual (crank or hydraulic) jacks.

With hydraulic jacks, you have to open the valves. As a newbie, the tendency is to close them exceptionally tight when jacking them up. When they are opened to let the jack down, so much force is required it opens the valve much too far, and the jack quickly goes down. I have found it best to barely open the valve, and lower the TC slowly. You have much more control. I typically barely open the valves to allow all to lower at the same time, to prevent running around the TC. Keep in mind, as previously stated I usually only have to lower 2 to 4 inches, with 6-inches the maximum. If you have a second person, especially one not experienced with the hydraulic jacks, they tend to open the valve too much, then panic allowing the TC to drop. Raising the TC with two people is okay, and makes it easier. Lowering, I want no help.

I think it is important to understand, the camper jacks typically have one that is not carrying weight when raising or lowering. The only exception is is two jacks are being raised or lowered at the same time. Much easier to operate two elec jacks at the same time than manual jacks.

Bottom line, store your TC at the height that minimizes raising and/or lowering to accommodate your truck. Avoid raising or lowering in windy conditions if you can. Never store your TC on the jacks only.

Wayne
Reddog1
Explorer II
Nov 30, 2015
getpower1 - Look at the Profiles and signatures of several members. Most will give you an idea as to what you need. Do not list your phone number, physical address, or email address. City and state are no issue and can be very helpful. Your truck setup is almost a must, as is your TC description. The signatures of jmcgsd, and Fisher Bill are good examples. The photos are optional, but can be helpful. My signature might also serve as an example.

Fisher Bill - I am in agreement with you. I made my sawhorses out of steel. Even using the Syable Lift, I prefer to store my TC on the horses, with 4xs to minimize the raising and lowering of the TC.

Wayne

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