Camper jacks on large casters

[huasnaian]

This popped up during a craigslist search and got me thinking.

What do you guys think about wheels/casters on the bottom of the jacks? Does anyone have this on their rig?

I am assuming you would lock the wheels during loading? Or leave them unlocked so the camper can move if it bumps a wheel well?

[macdale4]

Don't do it. The rear jacks would be ok but there is too much wobble in the front. I tried to move mine using auto wheel dollies and almost lost the camper when the dolly got stuck and the camper literally jumped off of the dolly and landed about a foot away. Scared the heck out of me.

[Notakwanon]

I've got a set of casters with 8" diam solid rubber wheels that can be bolted onto the footpads of the Happijacs on my Outfitter Apex. They work fine in the garage where the concrete is smooth. I can push the camper to the back by myself, and when ready to load, back the truck close and push the camper into alignment. The two front Happijacs DID splay outwards, so I installed a stainless steel rod across to tie them together. But my driveway up to the garage is sloped, which is a huge pain particularly when trying to load the camper, so I haven't used the wheels recently for that reason.

[d3500ram]

Casters/ wheels under jacks is a disaster waiting to happen... even on the smooooothest of floors.

The force needed to push even a light weight camper will come to a sudden stop if there is a pebble in the way ...and that force applied to a lever (the jacks themselves) will act on the weakest point (the point where the jacks fasten to the camper carcass) and you do not want that type of force applied there, they are not designed to resist it.

[wnjj]

stevenal wrote:
Jack pads on the ground add lateral stability. Castors put all that pressure on the lags holding the jack brackets to the camper. Think of a cartoon animal on ice.

Agreed. I wouldn’t do it. Think of the chattering chair legs do when you slide them across a floor. The slightest resistance on a caster will load the jacks in the horizontal direction.

[stevenal]

Jack pads on the ground add lateral stability. Castors put all that pressure on the lags holding the jack brackets to the camper. Think of a cartoon animal on ice.

[JimK-NY]

For those of us with extremely tight clearances, this might be a solution for easily loading the camper. I would like to know where to get sturdy casters and how to attach them.

[SidecarFlip]

Reason why I use a used boat trailer is because while my garage floor is slick as a baby's behind, the apron and pad in front of the garage is broom finish so small wheels won't work well. That and the fact that I leave the camper on the trailer and move it around the yard as necessary. I left the long boat trailer tongue in place so I don't bang my head on the cab over when using the quad to move it. I did however, cut the tongue off and slipped in a length of square tubing with pins so I can remove the tongue when the camper is garaged.

Nothing worse than busting your shins on the tongue sticking out. That only took one painful time and it got removed.

[cewillis]

Slightly different plan. Better in my humble opinion.

[Lwiddis]

What's the stress of moving it to the legs?

[SidecarFlip]

Probably be fine on a power trowled concrete floor but that is about it. My TC sits on a modified boat trailer in the off season and I move it around with my quad. Fits in the garage quite nicely. Old boat trailers can be had pretty cheap.