3D Printing Success Story
The jack covers on our 2014 Lance 865 had gotten very brittle and I broke one of them when I was washing the camper. After an exhaustive search, I was not able to find any OEM replacement covers for the Atwood jacks. I found someone on Etsy that offered 3d printing services and I was able to have him print/create an entire set of new jack covers for not much more than one OEM replacement cover. OEM: 3D printed: There is a crack in the bottom part of the 3D part. I tried to stretch it around the jack when it was very cold, I am certain if I had warmed up the plastic it would not have split.
Do NOT use Flex Seal on your camper roof!
Figured I’d post this since I had a troubling conversation with my repair guy a couple weeks back when I picked up my camper after it was repaired following a minor collision last fall. We were discussing my long battle with a skylight leak in the bathroom and I mentioned that at one point I used flex seal spray as an emergency measure until I could do a proper repair with new butyl tape and Dicor and eternabond. He got all exited and told me that the “flex seal is great stuff! That’s the way to go!” And he used it on his parents’ leaky shed roof and its holding just fine. I nodded and told him it’s great for an emergency but from my firsthand experience, it becomes brittle, cracks, and eventually peels off when it’s been exposed to ultraviolet light for more than a few weeks. He apparently wasn’t aware of that. Ive been thinking about that conversation for a few weeks now and figured I’d post a thread about it to inform others who might be tempted to use flex seal as a permanent solution on camper roofs. DON’T! Even though the tv commercial shows a guy sealing a skylight, Even though your repair guy or dealer might tell you it’s great, Even though a website or blog extols it’s virtues, It is NOT a permanent solution!!!!! Emergency patch? Sure. But it WILL become brittle, crack, and peel off in a few weeks under UV light (sunlight). So please, PLEASE, don’t even think about using this stuff I place of lap sealant or eternabond. This has been a public service announcement. We now return to your regularly scheduled program.
Happijac lubrication
Thanks to the new Chrome extension, the pics are back! You must view in Chrome with the extention. Here is the link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/photobucket-embedded-imag/ogipgokcopooepeipngiikdkpmcpkaon?hl=en .. It has been a misconception even on my part, that adding machine oil to the crank socket lubricates the jack itself. This is UNTRUE! I now have a complete tear down with pics to show everyone what goes on inside and how to disassemble and lube the working parts if need be. This is a little lengthy but most will find the education worth the read. This is a model 4150. First you have to make a little tool like this. An old hanger works good. This will serve two purposes, explanations following. Remove the two screws that hold on the motor. Pull the motor off the jack. Pull out the spring loaded socket. Remove the lever and pin...a pair of flush wire cutters works well. Wedge them underneath and they pop right out. Remove the internal plastic manual mechanism...note how this is installed. one side has a round hole and the other an oval shape where the lever goes. There is a "C" clip here, you need to remove it with the little tool you made. Just put it in from the side and pull back. It will pop right out. Once you get the clip off then pull out the manual socket. This is the hole in the socket that is to be oiled, but as you can see in the next few pics, the only thing that is being lubed is the socket itself. Once you pull out the socket, remove the manual gear. Now as you can see the oil really goes nowhere. There is actually a lot of grease here. What your going to do next is pull this gear off that shaft straight towards you. Use that tool again to hook the gear from behind and pull it. You may have to do it a few times, the shaft gets a little burr on it but if it gets stuck ,just push it down and keep yanking, it will come off! Once the gear comes off, this is what the back looks like. It has two slots. The slot that has the closed ends is what holds the pin in place. IT IS IMPORTANT YOU PUT THIS BACK TOGETHER THE WAY IT COMES APART! Rotate the shaft so the pin is facing towards the corner and pull it out. Now pull the leg assembly out of the jack housing. Get ready to inspect and re lube. Pull this cinch spring off and inspect this bearing. Use an air ratchet or drill to turn the worm screw all the way out, inspect and re lube. Re-assembly is just the opposite of the tear down. I found that even though this jack was sticking on me, it was still pretty well lubed, but maybe not enough.....Hope this dispels any unknown facts as to how these things work. One other note is that if the worm drive of the leg was to wear out...seems like you should be able to replace it rather than the whole jack. MMMMMM...haven't got to that yet but I wonder if they sell it seperatly? Does any one know?Wolf Creek 850 roll over story
Well, Since I opened this can of worms here is the entire story. First let me say I have been a long time truck camper owner and I am no rookie. I have gone trough several truck campers. I recently had an article published in truckcampermagazine.com about me and my family Here is some more background on who I am and how long I have been truck camping. http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/camper-lifestyle/four-season-truck-camping-in-southern-california If you read the article you can see in the pictures I used the same tie down system with both the Northstar Laredo and Eagle Cap 800. The week before Christmas I was driving home from a great camping trip in the anza borrego desert (trip report here http://www.anzaborrego.net/anzaborrego/Forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=694 and was traveling on BLM land road named EC085. I was traveling at approx 25 mph on a straight section of the road, when a strong gust of wind came up and caused the camper to become separated from my truck and rolled over the truck bed rail! The road was also a bit bumpy but not too bad. I had my 6 year old son Brett and 8 year old daughter Brenna in the truck with me. It is a miracle we are all okay. The crazy part of the situation is I did not really feel the truck do a huge sway or anything. It was my daughter in the backseat who said "dad the camper just fell off". Upon further inspection I noticed the cause of the camper becoming separated from the truck was my Wolf Creek was manufactured with a spliced in piece of plywood where the front passenger anchors are installed and this spliced plywood separated from the skirt. When the front tie down became separated I noticed my bumper was tweaked a bit upward and believe the rear tie down became separated by pulling up on my bumper. Before starting to travel on EC085 I called my wife to tell her we were going to stay one more night. Knowing I was about to be driving about 20 miles on a dirt road I specifically checked all my spring loaded turnbuckles to make sure they were nice and hand tight snug. I am fully aware of keeping the turnbuckles hand tight and not using a tool to tighten them down. Here are some pics from the incident The spot where I called my wife took a pic and checked the tie downs The spot where the camper rolled out My wolf creek in the middle of the desert. Notice the turnbuckle still attached closer look at splice My truck The torn off jack Underside separation Nose cap damage rescued by Dickerson Towing Moderator edit: Please note, maximum photo width=640.
2024 Northern California Truck Camper Rally
It's hard to believe but it is that time of year to start planning for our 2024 Northern California Truck Camper rally. We had a great time last year and hope to build on it this year. This year I am going to try to put a little more structure into the planning. Check the signup form for details but basically we will have a planned Saturday afternoon outing somewhere and a potluck Saturday dinner. All of the information about the rally is in the signup form linked below. The dates will be April 5th to 7th but early arrivals and late departures are welcome. Note... Feel free to share this with other friends who you think might be interested in attending. Sign Up Form If you want to see a video of last year's event, check out this link: 2023 Truck Camper Rally Here are a few pictures as well.Truck Camper Adventure Rally.. speakers
Mike is looking for speakers at the upcoming 2024 TCA Rally, if you have great knowledge or being a expert in any of the open spots please contact Mellow Mike through his website. Check at this link for open speaker spots... TCA Rally Please leave this post in the TC forum, don't move it.
Pop up truck camper canvas metal trim
I've killed the internet looking for the trim pieces that hold the bottom of the canvas to the camper, I'm replacing the canvas on our Northstar and Northstar has been worthless, I figure it's universal but there isn't anything out the like what I took off. HELP!
Short box dually?
I know my sig is out of date. I bought a 2019 Arctic Fox 811 for short box. I've come to the conclusion it really needs a dually. Been looking at 2016 Rams. They have the Megacab and short box. They look just wrong!! Looks like the weight is too far back possibly causing handling problems? Any real world experience on here? Thanks.
