Hey Griff-
I think that we are getting a little off topic here and I would normally correspond via email except that I am about to leave town until after New years. So here goes:
I originally installed the Happijac system(including stabilizer bar) so that I could run out and purchase a new slide-in camper and immediately bring it home. I don't want to put down any brands, so I will just say that after much research I ended up purchasing a Bigfoot 3000. This is as heavy as they come as it is a "true" four-season camper (double pane glass and rated to -40 degrees C). The Bigfoot weighs in at about 3500-lbs. It has an internal aluminum frame which eliminates the typical water damage prone to the wood frames but makes it extremely stiff. Because of this, you must tie it entirely to the bed of the truck or entirely to the frame. If you mix the two, as with the Happijac (they tie to the front of the bed and the rear bumper which is essentially the frame) you can do serious damage to the truck bed and/or camper. The truck bed is designed to flex independently from the frame. Damage to the camper will be seen as cracks in the fiberglass. Damage to the truck will show up as bent bumpers, bending of the front bed, and cracking of the welds underneath the bed. Having both systems on my truck, I am convinced the Tork-Lift is by far the superior mounting method. I have heard that the wood-framed campers (i. e. Lance, etc. ) do have enough flex so that these problems don't arise (however, if it is a heavy camper, I would still go with the Tork-Lift). Tork-Lift makes both a rigid mount and a spring loaded mount (both very $$). Apparently, the best combination is to get the "cheaper" rigid mounts but use the Happijac spring loaded turnbuckles. The drawbacks of the Tork-Lifts are that they hang down at frame level when you are toting a camper, but the extensions can be easily removed with a single pin when you are not. Sorry for the long and off topic post.
Happy Holidays to all.
Sources of info:
1)
http://www.torklift.com/
2)
http://www.superhitch.com/
3)
http://duedall.fit.edu/yellow/
4)
http://www.happycampers.net/index. cgi
5) floods of email whenever this topic is brought up.
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David Dressler
2001 Driftwood 3500 Quad Cab 4x4, 155 inch WB, HO Cummins (ETH), 6-Speed (DEE), SLT+, 3. 54 LSD, Camper Special, Trailer Tow, Heated Leather, Sliding Window, Jacob's E-Brake, Rhino Liner, VDO Vision (pyro, boost, engine + diff. temp. ), Weather Guard Diamond Plate Saddle Box, Tork Lift camper tie-downs, Mag-Hytec, Mopar Tow Hooks, AND functional Halo light!
Bigfoot 3000 10. 11 Slide-in Camper.