Camper Tie Downs?

[Northrunner]

Anyone have the frame mount camper tie-downs made by Tork Lift in Kent, WA? I've installed one of their "Super Hitches" and plan on using their "Hitch Extention" after I buy a slide-in camper so I can tow my boat. How does their frame mount tie-downs perform? Camper will be an 11' Alpenlite, 3,300 lbs. dry.

Anyone have a used Alpenlite "Silverton" for sale?

 

[Bill Stockard]

Northrunner,



I have the Tork-Lift tiedowns on our Lance 1140. I have had Happijac tiedowns before and really like the Tork-Lifts much better. The installation is very easy, and since you already have the Super-Hitch, the hard part is done, which is drilling holes in the equalizer hitch side plates.



I have used the Tork-Lifts on about 10,000 miles of hauling our Lance campers and no problems. When you take the camper off the truck and remove the mounting arms(remove 1 pin) there is nothing showing under the truck. I also use a cheap full length rubber bed mat between the camper and the truck bed and so far nothing has moved and we have been on some very rough roads.



I have the Lance camper guides mounted in the bed which helps set the camper in the same place everytime it's loaded and they make it easy to have the camper "square" with the truck bed.



Bill

 

[dresslered]

I had the Happijac tiedowns for all of 50-miles. Threw them in the garbage and got the Tork-Lifts. Fantastic!!!



I'm not going to bring up an old topic again, but the Happijac system when used with a large, stiff camper, can cause serious damage to the truck's bed and/or the camper.

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Happyjac v. Tork-Lifts

Originally posted by dresslered

the Happijac system when used with a large, stiff camper, can cause serious damage to the truck's bed and/or the camper.

David, any chance of a posting a few pictures of the mounts as per your truck and camper combination please just for comparison purposes?

 

[RobG]

I had the HappiJacks on my '96, and when I got the '01, I got the Torklifts. MUCH better design, they fit well and work well. They're pricey, but worth it.



I also have the Superhitch and their 48" extension, which works like a charm.



Rob

 

[dresslered]

Hi John-



I originally took a bunch of pictures of my Tork-lifts because I would like to get some running boards or nerf bars and am concerned about interference problems that I might have. Unfortunately, the pictures do not show well. While I was surfing the net trying to find a picture of a red truck for you, I did come across the following in which I swiped. They will give you a good idea of how the Tork-lifts mount. When they are not being used, simply remove a single pin and you can remove the extension bar. After a bit of research, I found that the best set-up that you can have is the "rigid" (cheaper) Tork-Lifts (as apposed to the spring loaded) and install with the Happi-Jak sping loaded turnbuckles (do not use sping loaded turnbuckles with spring loaded Tork-lifts). Here goes:

 

[dresslered]

Here's the rear:

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Originally posted by RobG

I had the HappiJacks on my '96, and when I got the '01, I got the Torklifts. MUCH better design, they fit well and work well. They're pricey, but worth it.



I also have the Superhitch and their 48" extension, which works like a charm.



Rob

Rob G/ Dresslered



Guys, the embedded pictures are geat - thanks. I can now (almost!) visualise the differences in the two configurations... . Is there any significance in the (apparent) absence of any forward stablisers in the Torqlift configuration - In Happijack mode, they connect from the lower side of the cab-over section to the base of the front windshield on both sides? I'm going to conduct a little more research ..... is there a Torqlift website please?

 

[Bill Stockard]

David,



I use the Happijac turnbuckles on my Tork-Lifts too; however, not like in those photos. I have the turnbuckles at the top tied into the camper with the chain below the turnbuckles to the extension arm. The turnbuckles are futher up and out of the road slush if driving in the rain. If you use the Happijac turnbuckles, be sure to use the spring loaded ones(the longer) on the front and use the rigid on the rear. Yes, you are right, don't use both the Happijac and Tork-Lift spring loaded tiedowns.



I would run out and get a photo, but the camper isn't on the truck right now. I'm cleaning 3,000 miles of busted bugs off it and the truck!!



I have some Happijac front mounting plates and rear bumper bolts in the scrap metal pile that would go real cheap to anyone who needed them.



By the way, I have Westin Nerf Bars on my truck and the Tork-Lifts don't cause any interference problems.



Bill

 

[Bill Stockard]

John Mc,



The cabover stabilizers are a Lance item. They are available from Lance. Tork-Lift only has the tiedowns.



I have the cabover stabilizers on my truck/camper with the Tork-Lifts. A great combination for a smooth ride--well worth the $$. Without the stabilizers, my wife won't ride with me. The "weenie dog" complains too.



Tork-Lift website: http://www.torklift.com/loadit.html



Bill

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Thanks Bill!

A future consideration... . Cheers Bill!



JMc

 

[dresslered]

Good point Bill. I too mount my turnbuckles at the camper and run the chains below (free from road slush). Like I said, I bootlegged the pictures since I didn't currently have my own on the hard drive. Also, thanks for correcting my statement: I use the "spring-loaded" Hapi-Jak Turnbuckles (stiff ones in the rear).



John-

The Bigfoot camper does not use stabilizers since it is already so stiff, but I wouldn't think that this has anything to do with the way the camper is mounted. The stabilizers just prevent the front from bouncing. Don't want to upset the "weenie dog".

 

[dresslered]

old post

Here's an old post that I did awhile ago and I thought that I would reprint it for you John. It discusses the deficiencies that I found with the Happi-Jak system. The stabilizer bar mentioned in this case is a bar designed to stiffen the front of the bed (a Happi-Jak patch!). I have personally seen truck beds that are completely cracked due to this design:







The Happi-Jak tie-down system is a VERY poor design! The front of the camper gets tied to the bed while the rear is tied to the bumper (which is essentially frame mounted). All that the stabilizer bar will do is stiffen the front of the bed. It will not help with the design deficiencies. I had originally installed the Happi-Jak system with the stabilizer bar so that I could pick up my new camper and I soon noticed the deficiencies for myself! I then immediately switched to the Tork-Lift frame mounted system with superb results. I use the "rigid" Tork-Lift tie-downs and have retained the Happi-Jak spring-loaded turnbuckles (do not use with the spring version of the Tork-Lifts). I wasted good money on the Happi-Jak's and now store the stabilizer bar in my garage.



Another poor design is with the stabilizer bar itself. It does not allow you to lift the camper straight up. Doing so, will cause the camper "bumpers" to hit the stabilizer bar. If you have a very large or stiff camper (aluminum frame or rigid siding), you MUST either tie the entire camper to the bed ONLY or tie the camper to the frame ONLY. As you probably realize, the bed can move independently from the frame (on the order of several inches). As a result, this flexing can damage the camper AND/OR bed. Tying the camper to the bed only still allows for bed movement, while tying the camper to the frame forces the bed to move with the frame. The Happi-Jak system ties the front of the camper to the bed and the rear of the camper to the frame (bumper) which forces twisting. I strongly recommend the Tork-Lift Camper tie-downs. My Big Foot owner's manual also strongly cautions against the above insufficient tie-down methods.



Some have said that the wood framed campers are able to flex accordingly using the Happi-Jak system. Do you really want your camper to do this?

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

No brainer!

Thanks David and everyone else for the input and explanations. I'll phone the guys at Torqlift and make the necessary arrangements in due course





BTW David, "our" Avatar is now working on both platforms ; do you have a small C logo which meets the TDR specification, for further analysis?





JMc

 

[dresslered]

Send me the one you want or a red truck and I'll size it for you.

 

[Northrunner]

Thanks for your advice

Thanks for the input guys. I thought the TorkLift products looked like strong products and you've confirmed that.



Dresslered,

How come your suggestion to use the non-spring TorkLift set-up and the Happi-jac spring turnbuckle as opposed to the TorkLift spring version?

Also, how are things in Felton? I lived up the river in Boulder Creek for a while. We had moved there the year after they had the bad winter with all the mudslide damage. That was about 1981 or so as I remember.

 

[LMautone]

happijac

I know for every product out there, there is someone who loves it and someone who hates it. The happijac vs. Tork-lift is no different. I hear pro's and cons on both but by far members of the TDR are in the majority for the Tork-lift system, or at least the tork-lift crew is most vocal. I plan to purchase a camper this winter and I must say that the type of tie down is my biggest dilema. So here's my question: Why does Lance, the #1 camper sold and used in America only reccomend the Happijac system?

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Re: Happijac

Originally posted by LMautone

Why does Lance, the #1 camper sold and used in America only reccomend the Happijac system?

Actually, I asked that very same question to my Lance dealer by email yesterday and when I have their response, I'll post it here on this thread... .

 

[dresslered]

Northrunner-

We love it out in Felton although the commute is tough. I work in the Silicon Valley and this allows me to get out of the big city. Boulder Creek is also a lovely town although the winters can be tough!



I found what I felt was a very honest salesperson in Oregon (the local Lance dealer sold Tork-Lift and Happi-Jak but didn't want to give me the time of day unless I was buying his camper as well). When you buy a camper, they usually throw in the price of the tie-downs as well. They definitely don't want to throw in the price of the Tork-Lifts as well as the extra installation time. The guy in Oregon sold both the Tork-Lift systems and felt that the cheaper non-sprung version used with the Happi-Jak spring-loaded turnbuckles gave a superior performance. I have not compared them myself, but seeing that he was actually recommending the cheaper version made me go along with what he was saying. I am very pleased with the result. I use only the Rhino Liner with the tiedowns and have a system that is extremely stable.



LMautone-

I have both the Tork-lifts and the Happi-Jak systems on my truck. I have personally tried both and am absolutely convinced that the Tork-lift is a better system. The drawback with the Tork-lift is that they are very expensive. I can't imagine that Lance would recommend the Happi-Jak OVER the Tork-lift, however, they might say that the Happi-Jaks are perfectly acceptable. A wooden framed camper has a great deal of flex over an aluminum framed camper. My owners manual for the Bigfoot specifically states that I CANNOT use a system that attaches to the front of the bed and rear bumper. The best advise that I can say to you is to compare the two set-ups for yourself. Yes, many more people use the Happi-Jaks than the Tork-lifts, but I would imagine it is due to availability and price rather than by design. I already mentioned that I have seen examples of broken beds due to the Happi-Jak systems. In fact there is a member on this board and his brother that are in talks with DC and Happi-Jak over both their broken truck beds and they both carry Lances. You spend a lot of money on a camper. Why skimp on the tie-downs. Just an opinion.



P. S. Where you have a 2500, you will most likely be carrying a much lighter camper than I. The Happi-Jaks might suit your means just fine.

 

[wrk2mtch]

How come nobody uses the old stake-pocket type tie downs?