Maiden Voyage now some newbie questions...

[ericboutin]

Hey all, Since we finished the rebuild of our 70'ish TC we were able to take our maiden voyage of about 450 miles round trip. 90% of it was interstate. As you can see in my sig we have had a couple diff varieties of campers. The TC definitely gives a different feeling in my butt-o-meter than the long TT did but overall not anything crazy. Mostly the top heavy feeling more than the weight feeling. My questions are do you ever get used the the feeling that you are going to tip over at any moment??!! Lol...especially on corners? Geez always gives me a pucker factor. Second question is on turnbuckle tension....I've read and read but I can't get a handle on exactly what folks do. I know I know and I will upgrade my tie-down system eventually but for now I'm using a Brophy style stake pocket tiedown system. I've read that they should not be to tight but one guy says he knows he has it right when he can hear the turnbuckles rattling behind him...lol....should they really be that loose. What I did for this trip is tightened them (hand tight) and then released the turnbuckle a turn ...turn and a half until it was just jiggling. It seems to have worked but I'm still a newbie to the whole TC scene and would like some reassurance. Sometimes on a corner I swear the TC is gonna roll right out of the truck!! I know that is prob just my newbie-ness and I probably need to stop driving in my rear view but anyway is that the correct way to handle the turnbuckles? Anything I've ever hauled I've cinched right down so it kinda goes against the grain not cinching the TC....Thanks for all the suggestions and help. This place has been wonderful in all the years I've been a member!

[AnEv942]

Most tiedowns are in the 250#-300# range when tightened to mfg spec. HOWEVER these are using spring loaded tiedowns. Even then I err to the light side. So when frame flexes or suspension maxes there is some forgiveness in the tiedown tension. It 'sounds' like your using simple turnbuckles, so numbers dont apply. Yes you can rip eyes out of camper or bend your bed, doesnt mean you will but the potential is there and greater with fixed or overly tightend tie downs. Good news is it will only happen once. We are mostly 'locating' our campers.


Hmm I shouldnt add anything but..
Twangggg...deleted unessesary unrelated comment.

[HMS_Beagle]

wintersun wrote:

Anti-sway bars are most effective on the trucks that have the most frame flex, like the Ford pickups and pre 2013 Ram and pre 2011 GM heavy duty trucks.

There are plenty of factors involved in particular situations, but in theory at least, anti-sway bars should be most effective on trucks with the least frame flex. If the frame is a noodle, the anti-roll forces cannot be effectively transferred from the axle to the load. But perhaps it is the trucks with the most frame flex that need the most help to begin with.

[Sir_Douglas]

I have a 70's era 10 footer on a f250 and had similar feelings the first couple times out. You'll get used to it.

As for the stake bed tie down that's what I use. My are actually homemade. My camper is 3000 lbs loaded and ready to camp. I tighten the turn buckets as tight as I can get them by hand and put a turn or two with the a wrench, but my stake pocket tie down flexes a little on the "arm" portion. Are you concerned that the eyes are going to rip out of the camper?

Also I see no need to upgrade your tie downs like some will tell you, unless you are doing serious off roading. I have logged 1000's of miles with mine and never bent or damaged the bed as some will warn you about.

[ericboutin]

Lol...yes mkirsch I am definitely having a hysterical reaction to the sensation! LOL...like I said earlier it was more of a tongue in cheek...rhetorical....wasn't really expecting answers to that comment/question, I was more looking for information on the turnbuckles. I will keep that in mind on future posts that my goofy sense of humor is not always understood especially on screen as opposed to in person. I am doing research now on what I want to do for front tie downs etc.

[mkirsch]

"Tip over at any moment?" No.

Granted I don't have a high camper like others here, but IMHO you should not feel like that especially with a relatively lightweight '70s era camper on a DRW truck.

So the question begs, and don't take offense here: Are you having a hysterical reaction to a slightly different sensation, or are you really about to tip over?

Probably the best way to see is to have someone follow you and take video while you drive around the neighborhood a bit. Review the tape. If the truck looks like it's leaning as you take corners, you may have a valid concern.

One thing I would definitely get rid of are the stake pocket tiedowns. Those may actually be contributing to your sensation, as they just bend your truck box and don't actually hold the camper in place.

[wintersun]

My truck's shocks worked a lot better after I added a leaf spring on each side to better support the camper load. In a turn the outer side gets more than 50% of the camper load and with tight right turns on mountain roads and such there is more than 50% of the camper's weight on the right side - for example. With less spring travel the shocks were more effective and should last longer.

As was mentioned tire pressure is important to minimize sidewall flexing. I keep mine at their maximum PSI at the rear. I also upgraded my 3195 rated tires for ones rated at 3750@80 PSI and this helped with the ride.

Anti-sway bars are most effective on the trucks that have the most frame flex, like the Ford pickups and pre 2013 Ram and pre 2011 GM heavy duty trucks. But these are not a substitute for having enough leaf springs and tires supporting the load in the bed.

Pickup trucks as a whole are seldom driven with anything approaching a full load in the bed and the people who buy them are in large part influenced by how the truck rides when they take it for a test spin and there is nothing in the box. The manufacturers all tend to under spring the trucks to make for a more pleasant test drive but fortunately this is something that is neither difficult or terribly difficult to correct.

[Farmerjon]

look at your shocks if there are signs that they have leaked any oil out it's time to replace them. take one off or even just off at one end it should be hard to compress it.
on lighter vehicles you can do the bounce and rebound check but on 3/4 or 1 ton you really need to take it off to test it.
I keep 80lbs in our tires while the camper is on, it does make a difference.
Also if you have the overload springs are they being engaged. I found extending the overload bumper really helped.
Good luck and have fun. remember only about 1 in 3 campers roll over while driving down the road. LOL
Jon

[ericboutin]

Some interesting suggestions besides just seat time which I'm sure is going to be the major factor in getting used to the new feeling. Like I said a lot of it is made up in my small brain as my wife and daughters don't feel or see what I "think" I do. lol
I've got brand new Michelins load range E as it's a dually and I went to 72 in the rear and 70 up front before this trip. Maybe I will go a bit higher and ride around and see. Shocks are also a good idea, I actually can't remember when I replaced them last...lol. They are some great coil overs that I really liked...might be time to get new. The truck is only used to haul our campers around so it unfortunately doesn't see as many miles as I would like. That also means it doesn't see the maintenance like it should either lol...ie not remembering when I did the shocks... I have been researching tie down systems but I must admit that I can't really complain with the Brophy style...heck when my camper was new that was all that was available..lol.
I would think that turnbuckle tension would be fairly generic to any system. What do ya'll do for that?

[realter]

How long do original shocks supposed to last. Mine have about 25,000 miles.

[whizbang]

I had a motor home that wanted to roll over while cornering. It turns out the shocks were bad. Handling was great with new shocks.

I see your truck is 23 years old. When were the shocks replaced last?

[realter]

Finally another person who admits it. I agree with you 100%. My anti-sway bar did nothing but set me back $700. Probably the best thing was to air up the back tires to 80# and the front 70#. That and take those turns super slow, especially around town. Previously mostly driven small cars. Hard to get used to 2300 # riding on rear axle

[monkey44]

I agree with the above -- a different tie-down is a good idea. Also, anti-sway bar will help, as mentioned. And as stated, tires make a difference, and aired-up when the TC is loaded ...

It's takes a while to get comfortable with a TT, 5'er, or a TC... it makes your truck feel different on the road. Take some short trips, get the feel for the truck, invest in a few upgrades as you decide you need them. Each one will change the feel of the seat-factor ...

[mark_be]

Can you find torklift stable loads for your truck? This will help a lot in cornering feelings.

While you're at the torklift website, have a look at the fastguns. Pretty sure you'll love them once you've used them a few times.

[Buzzcut1]

things to start with:

What load range tires are you running and what is their max load capacity?

do you have front and rear anti sway bars/

These two items directly relate to sway.

Not many folks here would touch a set of Brophys

Its almost exclusively Torklift or Happijack mounts with more and more folks going to Torklift