Stable-lift ?

[jornvango]

We are considering having a stable-lift system installed on our 2014 Livin Lite 8.6 truck camper. Since we love to boondock on public lands, we are looking for a solution that will allow us to easily remove the truck camper while we are camping on uneven/unstable ground. The 4 wobbly jacks on our TC are too scary for us to use in these circumstances, but we do love to have the truck available for exploring while boondocking. We are currently considering trading in the TC for a travel trailer for this very reason. Obviously, installing a stable-lift will be cheaper than the money we would lose on trading in the TC and buying a travel trailer.

Does anyone have the Stable-lift system and if yes, how is the performance on uneven ground?
How about taking it off on forest land, desert ... does it sink in case of heavy rains?

Regarding potential negatives of the product: I'm aware of the difficulty to install (while reading up on the product); I would find a shop to install them. I'm also aware of the reduced ground clearance.

Thanks,

Jorn

[notsobigjoe]

Reddog1 wrote:

hedge wrote:
A couple questions.

1. can you control the individual jack motors individually?
2. why 2 motors on 1 side and 1 on the other? I guess I like congruency

1 You can control each motor individually. There are three toggle switches.

2 Only three motors are required. I see a couple of reasons.

a Depending on which motor the are using, typically it will handle over 3000 lbs. One motor easily lifts one side of the TC and it saves the expense of the second motor.

b With one jack (motor) on one side the TC balances on that jack. The two jacks on the opposite side of the TC tilts (levels) the TC front to rear. All three jacks raise or lower the TC. You can raise or lower the single jack to level side to side or you can raise or lower both of the two jacks to level side to side.

c With one jack, on the driverside it can make it easier to access the fuel filler.

Wayne

Wayne, do you have a problem with your jacks locking up? My have been a little iffy lately.
Joe

[Reddog1]

hedge wrote:
A couple questions.

1. can you control the individual jack motors individually?
2. why 2 motors on 1 side and 1 on the other? I guess I like congruency

1 You can control each motor individually. There are three toggle switches.

2 Only three motors are required. I see a couple of reasons.

a Depending on which motor the are using, typically it will handle over 3000 lbs. One motor easily lifts one side of the TC and it saves the expense of the second motor.

b With one jack (motor) on one side the TC balances on that jack. The two jacks on the opposite side of the TC tilts (levels) the TC front to rear. All three jacks raise or lower the TC. You can raise or lower the single jack to level side to side or you can raise or lower both of the two jacks to level side to side.

c With one jack, on the driverside it can make it easier to access the fuel filler.

Wayne

[Reddog1]

SidecarFlip wrote:
Wayne... Astute observation. A big potato with 4 toothpicks... Of course they wobble, part of the 'TC experience'....lol

With the Stable Lift, you will loose the wobble experience, change your looks from a big potato with 4 toothpicks to a TC dragging a Swing set. :B

SidecarFlip wrote:
Why I park mine in the 'L' shaped corner between the garage and the shop. I can leave it at load height without fear of it 'blowing over' in the wind.

If you use the struts provided with the lift, you can bring it out of the corner and leave it at load height. It will not sway with the wind.

SidecarFlip wrote:
Back to reality..

I know that Lance states that you can occupy (use) the camper off the truck (states that in the owners manual), at least I think it did in as much as I no longer own the Lance, I seem to remember that but...

Does that apply to all makes of truck campers? Not sure about that.

From my forum experience through the years, some TCs can be used off the truck on the jacks and some cannot. Some can be stored off the truck on the jacks but not walked in while on the jacks. It is about how the TC is constructed. A given manufacturer may have models with different requirements.

My 1500 series (non basement) Bigfoot is not recommended for use on jacks off the truck due to potential cracks in the floor gel coat. I understand the 2500 series (basement) Bigfoot may be used on jacks off the truck.

SidecarFlip wrote:
I seem to remember Kayteg posting a picture of his Fleetwood (I think) off the truck and it showed a gap between the floor and the cabinets where the floor was bowing down, from, I presume the pressure of the jacks exerted on the sides, causing the floor to bow. Wouldn't occupying a camper that does that amplify the issue?

That has nothing to do with the jacks. That is how the camper is constructed, the floor structure and its attachment to the sides. Totally unrelated to the jacks or Stable Lift.

SidecarFlip wrote:
My P'up don't do that but I remember his picture a while ago. My owners manual does not state one way or another about occupying the unit off truck, something I'll check out with Palomino next time I visit the factory which will be this fall as I need to pick up some upgrades I want to install.

Only the manufacture knows for sure.

Wayne

[hedge]

A couple questions.

1. can you control the individual jack motors individually?
2. why 2 motors on 1 side and 1 on the other? I guess I like congruency

[Reddog1]

notsobigjoe wrote:

burningman wrote:

walkeraw wrote:
I didn't need to install the saddle brackets, since I have running boards installed.

Wait, what?? What have running boards got to do with it?
I've got running boards, they're no substitute for the brackets.

Yea, I was curious about this to. Can you explain a little more?

walkeraw's situation may be the same as mine. On my '96 Dodge SRW, the running boards hang low enough they were the controlling factor on how much ground clearence my lift had. As I recall, without the running boards I could have had an additional 1 to 2 inches clearence. I decided to leave it, and it never became an issue.

When I install the lift for my DRW, I will again have to consider the running boards.

Wayne

[SidecarFlip]

Wayne... Astute observation. A big potato with 4 toothpicks... Of course they wobble, part of the 'TC experience'....lol

Why I park mine in the 'L' shaped corner between the garage and the shop. I can leave it at load height without fear of it 'blowing over' in the wind.

Back to reality..

I know that Lance states that you can occupy (use) the camper off the truck (states that in the owners manual), at least I think it did in as much as I no longer own the Lance, I seem to remember that but...

Does that apply to all makes of truck campers? Not sure about that.

I seem to remember Kayteg posting a picture of his Fleetwood (I think) off the truck and it showed a gap between the floor and the cabinets where the floor was bowing down, from, I presume the pressure of the jacks exerted on the sides, causing the floor to bow. Wouldn't occupying a camper that does that amplify the issue?

My P'up don't do that but I remember his picture a while ago. My owners manual does not state one way or another about occupying the unit off truck, something I'll check out with Palomino next time I visit the factory which will be this fall as I need to pick up some upgrades I want to install.

[Reddog1]

Freep wrote:

Reddog1 wrote:
I also said I never would go back to "corner peg-legs", but I have. Went from my SRW 2WD to my new to me DRW 4x4. I had to remove the lift for the DRW. I have every intention to modify my lift from the SRW to DRW this winter.

Wayne

Please post plenty of pictures when you do this modification. I'm trying to convince my wife to go with the stable-lift but she thinks it's ugly.

I'm the one who gets to do the loading and unloading. Maybe I should get her to do it a couple of times and see if that changes her mind.

Sharing thoughts on what is and what is not ugly can really cause hurt feelings. For example could you imagine being in a public place and telling someone they had an ugly baby and it was so ugly you would not have it? :B I think when you have a Stable Lift and you don't like the looks it is like one of your kids, you get used to it. Some people just do not like the looks of the lift. I personally do not like the white lifts on all colors of trucks. When I bought mine I had to pay $250 extra for black. Just my preference.

I don't like most of the decals on TC, to me most look tacky and overtime they fail and look awful.

You may be the one who loads and unloads the TC, but there is a way to impress her. With your TC loaded, during strong gusty wind raise the TC off the bed with the wife standing beside you. Watch the TC sway. You can can bump it up by doing the same thing on moist/wet ground, and watch the jacks slowly sink in the ground. I suggest this test with the TC on the truck simply because it is so unsafe with the standard four jack system. There are time you will be camping with the TC unloaded when the wind comes up, what do you do? I have never had a problem loading or unloading in windy conditions with my Stable Lift. Fact is, when my wife watched me load my TC in the rain Nd strong wind, she demanded I buy the ugly lift.

TCs with four jacks look pretty ugly to me when they are off the truck. Mine is no exception. They look like a big potato with four toothpicks sticking out of it. :R I have never seen any that did not wobble, the more they are extended, the more they wobble.

Wayne

[notsobigjoe]

Freep wrote:

Reddog1 wrote:
I also said I never would go back to "corner peg-legs", but I have. Went from my SRW 2WD to my new to me DRW 4x4. I had to remove the lift for the DRW. I have every intention to modify my lift from the SRW to DRW this winter.

Wayne

Please post plenty of pictures when you do this modification. I'm trying to convince my wife to go with the stable-lift but she thinks it's ugly.

I'm the one who gets to do the loading and unloading. Maybe I should get her to do it a couple of times and see if that changes her mind.

The only other info I have is my install. It is about the most detailed thing I have ever done on the web. Unfortunately you have to be a member of LOA to see it.
The link is here... http://lanceowners.hoop.la/topic/lance-1181-and-stable-lift
I will try to see if the moderator will put it on the free side for a couple of weeks. otherwise that's it. Thanks for looking and good luck with your decision OP!

[SidecarFlip]

Reddog1 wrote:

SidecarFlip wrote:
Wayne.. You need to tell your 'wheeling' buds that your short wheelbase makes up for ground clearance. I've never seen a Sam high centered in anything....

You kinda help me make my point, I'm not trying to be rude or cute but how do you respond to "poor ground clearance"? It is a legit question. Best I can do is 3 inches less than what you have or about 18 inches relative to jack travel.

SidecarFlip wrote:
Engine wise is another story.....lol

Know you are getting personal. Ground clearance and big rocks don't need big engines. :B

Remember, that is from experience, we had 2 of them and this winter when I go through the stuff in the attic for Flea-Bay, you'll get the Suzuki Factory shop manuals.

[Freep]

Reddog1 wrote:
I also said I never would go back to "corner peg-legs", but I have. Went from my SRW 2WD to my new to me DRW 4x4. I had to remove the lift for the DRW. I have every intention to modify my lift from the SRW to DRW this winter.

Wayne

Please post plenty of pictures when you do this modification. I'm trying to convince my wife to go with the stable-lift but she thinks it's ugly.

I'm the one who gets to do the loading and unloading. Maybe I should get her to do it a couple of times and see if that changes her mind.

[notsobigjoe]

This is what it looks like when it is raised off the truck. Maybe not to you but to me this is much sturdier than four corner jacks. The bottom photo are of the cross members that supply the stability. It took about three minute to take this off the truck. I don't leave it like this but my friend has a smaller unit and he does leave it just like this until he uses it again.

[notsobigjoe]

burningman wrote:

walkeraw wrote:
I didn't need to install the saddle brackets, since I have running boards installed.

Wait, what?? What have running boards got to do with it?
I've got running boards, they're no substitute for the brackets.

Yea, I was curious about this to. Can you explain a little more?

[burningman]

walkeraw wrote:
I didn't need to install the saddle brackets, since I have running boards installed.

Wait, what?? What have running boards got to do with it?
I've got running boards, they're no substitute for the brackets.

[Reddog1]

SidecarFlip wrote:
Wayne.. You need to tell your 'wheeling' buds that your short wheelbase makes up for ground clearance. I've never seen a Sam high centered in anything....

You kinda help me make my point, I'm not trying to be rude or cute but how do you respond to "poor ground clearance"? It is a legit question. Best I can do is 3 inches less than what you have or about 18 inches relative to jack travel.

SidecarFlip wrote:
Engine wise is another story.....lol

Know you are getting personal. Ground clearance and big rocks don't need big engines. :B

[SidecarFlip]

......."Sidecar, I hear you! For the first seventeen years of my life my dad used to drag me up to hunting camp in the Catskills... I liked it at first when I was young but then it became less of a hunting trip and more of a beer drinking trip with his buds from the army. By the time I was seventeen I absolutely despised it!!! As far as the OP's question, I just wouldn't know."......

Not an issue with us, Neither my wife, nor I consume alcohol and most of the family don't either. I sure like the peace and tranquility of the woods though, probably just as much as you like the water and your boat.

Actually what makes what we do interesting. Different people enjoying their leisure time in different ways. Myself, I enjoy getting there as much as being there. While I camp in the same place a lot, I always vary my route getting there because I like seeing new things and going different ways.