Using truck camper once unloaded

Buzzcut1 wrote:

serpa4 wrote:
"Lance specifically states in the owner guide not to store the camper on jacks."
And I'll never own a lance then. Imagine a failure and the mfg saying, sorry you stored it without supporting the bottom.
That is silly.

He is saying Lance recommends that you only use the OEM Atwood jack and its frame mounted location . They say don't use other jack supports on the camper bottom.

Thanks for the clarification Buzzcut1. I still don't understand the logic behind Lance's thinking if done correctly though. I do understand not to use a stand as a single point for the load but spread across the frame of the bottom shouldn't it work the same as any other camper?

Is there something different about the support structure on the bottom of a Lance camper? Surely if it can sit in the back of a camper it can sit on some cross members and jack-stands as a means of motion reduction? As I stated above a lot of motion stress is put on the jacks and mounting corners from all the wobble. Guess I might steer clear of Lance's in the future as well if I can't support it like my other campers.

I know AF sits on 1" thick plywood basement walls, yes even the 2010 AF 1150 aluminum framed silver fox has wood frame basement walls. The aluminum superstructure ends at the top of the white insulation (just under the interior floor) in the next picture. There are 2 vertical aluminum studs at the front right and left basement corners but they don't even connect to each other at the bottom.

This is a 2010 basement, I have no idea if AF continued this design into current production models.







Yep all wood except for these aluminum cross braces screwed to the wood walls that held up the tanks and basement storage tray.



I was surprised the aluminum superstructure of my silverfox didn't extend to the basement but it did a fine job supporting the 5000+ camper in the truck with 3.5' of camper hanging/leveraging unsupported off the back of the truck going down some rough roads. It also did fine sitting on jack stands for stabilization.

Just out of curiosity does anyone know how Lance's are made differently that they can't handle a jack stand?

wintersun wrote:
Lance specifically states in the owner guide not to store the camper on jacks. I asked someone at Lance and they said that the camper was designed to have its weight supported on the 4 jack stands. Makes sense as the framing is going to be stronger and cradle the weight. A jack stand is going to push up against a small area of the base of the camper unlike a truck bed that sports the floor 100% uniformly.

Once lowered to within 18" of the ground the jack stands are very stable. We added Wobl-stopprs but it was not really necessary.

Space is at a premium with a truck camper rig. No point in using it up needlessly with a bunch of jack stands that add no needed support and have the potential to actually cause damage to the camper.

wintersun, can you clarify what you (and Lance) mean. Your use of "jack stand" was used in two different context's to describe the camper jack's that bolt to the camper and also the stands that some of us put under our campers for added stability when off the truck. This may lead to some confusion as to what Lance intended. I understood it that Lance meant not to use jack stands under the basement or floor to store it but then serpa4 wrote:

serpa4 wrote:
"Lance specifically states in the owner guide not to store the camper on jacks."
And I'll never own a lance then. Imagine a failure and the mfg saying, sorry you stored it without supporting the bottom.
That is silly.

In my experience with owning two brands of camper jacks (Reico-titan & Happijac) and also setting foot in campers with Atwoods they all have inherent play in their design that leads to some movement, especially if you run dually brackets as I do. Windy days and extra people moving around inside the camper can really get it rocking. I can't imagine all that wobbling around is good for the jacks or the mounting point of the jack bracket on the corners of the camper over time.

So by placing 4 jack stands under a pair of board spanning the bottom of the camper (seen on page 1 of this thread) I have had good results in stabilizing much of this wobble. It doesn't completely eliminate it but it is far better than without. I don't think anyone is using these little stands as the sole support for the camper and I believe this is what Lance is talking about, using these as the support for holding up the weight of the camper. If they are, they're asking for the problems you describe.

As far as taking up space, yes they do and to some campers every square inch counts but mine stack together and fit easily in my basement. Everything you see here fits in the basement space & tray of my current NL TC with much room left over for a lot of other items like a full size shovel, several fishing poles, 50' water hose, gold sluice box, two air pumps, awning tool, raft oars, collapsible water jug, etc.

Shown here is all I use for stabilizing when off the truck. 4 screw type jack-stands, (2) 2"x6"x5' boards and (4) 2"x8"x20" boards for between the stand and the ground. The 4 stands take up just a bit more space than 1 does alone when stacked



With my last camper I stored the boards bolted to the inside of the bed. Easy access to them when the camper came off to need them.



In my NL those same 2"x6"x5' boards are seen here in my basement tray.



My jack-stands and boards are just one of those must have's in my camping set-up. They really do add needed support and help to take motion stress off the camper jacks by providing a nice firm un-wobbly base for the camper when it's off the truck. The way I use mine there is no potential for damage to the camper, but I can't speak for everyone else's use. I don't set the camper down on my jack stands, I screw the stand up into the support board until all the play is out of the system. It doesn't lift any weight off the camper jacks and the board spreads the point load of the stand over a larger surface area under the camper.

serpa4 wrote:
"Lance specifically states in the owner guide not to store the camper on jacks."
And I'll never own a lance then. Imagine a failure and the mfg saying, sorry you stored it without supporting the bottom.
That is silly.

He is saying Lance recommends that you only use the OEM Atwood jack and its frame mounted location . They say don't use other jack supports on the camper bottom.

"Lance specifically states in the owner guide not to store the camper on jacks."
And I'll never own a lance then. Imagine a failure and the mfg saying, sorry you stored it without supporting the bottom.
That is silly.

wintersun, using the 4 camper jacks + just a little belly support = rock solid. Even with jacks lowered as close to the ground as possible, there is still a little movement.

Mello Mike wrote:

kerry4951 wrote:
We host at a state park in Georgia from time to time. Last time we stayed about 2 months. We live in and out of our unloaded AF 1140. I made up a portable support system that I can easily take with me when we are moving. A couple 2X4s and a few aluminum screw jacks work well. I also incorporated an RV stabilizer for the front.

That's a great little setup you created there, Kerry!

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Thanks Mike........it only makes sense that a few 2X4s under the belly will tend to give extra support and reduce wobbling. Most of the TC weight is still on the 4 main jacks, but atleast the belly of the beast isn't just hanging in mid air. AF even recommends supporting the front, muiddle, and rear of the belly during long term storage, so it sure cant hurt while its off the truck. Throw some fluid into those holding tanks and you get a pile of unsupported weight. Makes sense to me. Others can do what they want.

Lance specifically states in the owner guide not to store the camper on jacks. I asked someone at Lance and they said that the camper was designed to have its weight supported on the 4 jack stands. Makes sense as the framing is going to be stronger and cradle the weight. A jack stand is going to push up against a small area of the base of the camper unlike a truck bed that sports the floor 100% uniformly.

Once lowered to within 18" of the ground the jack stands are very stable. We added Wobl-stopprs but it was not really necessary.

Space is at a premium with a truck camper rig. No point in using it up needlessly with a bunch of jack stands that add no needed support and have the potential to actually cause damage to the camper.

kerry4951 wrote:
We host at a state park in Georgia from time to time. Last time we stayed about 2 months. We live in and out of our unloaded AF 1140. I made up a portable support system that I can easily take with me when we are moving. A couple 2X4s and a few aluminum screw jacks work well. I also incorporated an RV stabilizer for the front.

That's a great little setup you created there, Kerry!

serpa4 wrote:
Don't support my Host 9.5 at all. Never have; just lower it down.
Used my AF150 the same way. I did 6 months of daily living without support.
If you couldn't use it off the truck, I'd never have even considered a TC. Taking it off and using it makes different than a class-C, IMHO. If you don't take it off, get a class-c.

1. You can still take it off at home and not use it but have a truck.
2. You can have 4x4.
3. You have safe, comfortable seating for 5-6 when on the road.

Taking a TC off at your destination is only one of many benefits over a class C.

Here is what we did when we were at Galveston Island State Park for several days. I have since switched to screw type jack stands. We don't really need the stands they just provide some stability. What park are you hosting at? Not that many of us truck campers here in Texas.