slidein tie down question

[Cobra]

Don't want to beat this topic to death but...

I am under the impression that the shear weight of the slidein would keep it in the truck. Mine is 3,000 lbs and sits on a rubber mat. IMO the tie downs are just for safety purposes and I have been told that they should be left somewhat loose. Am I wrong?

 

[bkaiser]

I have had two different slide ins in my current truck with very different results:



My first slide in was circa 1973 and weighed about 2900#. It had a metal bottom and seemed to 'stick' pretty well to the bed. I tied this camper to the four corners of the bed and never had a problem.



My current slide in is a 1996, weighs 3100# wet and probably has another 400# of food/clothes/junk along for the ride. It has some kind of slippery engineering fabric on the bottom. I tie the front tight to the frame and the rear snug to the box. With two rubber 'Welcome' mats between the box and the camper it still moves all over the place. I have had a few near panic stops where the force of the camper trying to move forward has actually deformed the front wall of the bed.



I intend to use a full bed mat on the new truck and I also bought some steel flat stock to reinforce the front wall of the bed.



I don't the style of your camper, but I would lean toward overkill instead of winding up with a real problem while traveling.

 

[dewdo]

I assume you are saying that you do not need tie downs for the rear of the camper, so based on that assumption I will GMHO about rear tie downs.



Rear tied downs are a necessary item if you plan to drive more than a few miles per hour and never go into a curve. The camper rear will slide around and the rear tie downs should be snug. Don't over tighten them.



Frame mounts are the best way to go. Tork Lift makes the best system for securing the camper. Or you can contact "Stable Lift" and purchase their system for securing the camper and loading?off loading. Also be sure to place a rubber mat from a feed store or live stock dealer in the bed of the truck to aid in keeping the camper in place.



That's me $0. 02



Dewdo in the other Washington

 

[RADdodge]

Scary Experience....

I have the Happy Jack set-up but after reading the posts on the frame mounted tie downs, I will be converting to the Tork Lift before the next major trip. I have a 4,000 lbs. Lance and it does move around back there. No damage to the bed yet, but I don't think I'll wait until it's too late. I need a bed mat too.



BTW, several friends of mine were driving across the desert in a pick-up camper rig in 40-50 mph winds. The front tie downs broke and the camper lifted up about 45 degrees in the bed. Unfortunately, one of the guys was in the camper. After the camper landed back in the bed of the truck, it took him about 3 seconds to dive through the boot into the cab. I think they had to clean him up before they cleaned up the mess in the camper. LOL.

 

[Cobra]

slidein tei downs

Dewdo,

No, I am not saying that the rear tie downs are not needed. I have them. Mine (rear) are tied to the bumper, which some say is not good because the bumper will bend. I was only saying that from what I have been told, the tie downs should not stress the bumper enough to do that. I am also stating that I don't know enough about it personally. Just going on info received from others. Perhaps I have been lucky and would be better off changing to a frame mount in the rear. I have a frame mount in front and thought that would be sufficient.

 

[jnlncn59]

camper tie downs

Cobra - I have had a camper (2) on 6 trucks since 79. I have lived in the one on my 2001 since 91, it has made 4 summers in Alaska, and most of the US and Canada. I have tried happy jacks and other tie downs/ belly-bars. IMHO the set up I now have is the best I have found. I have two 2" box steel pieces welded to the mounting brackets on the frame that the truck box mounts to, the ends of which come out right under where the tie downs attach to the camper. I have galvanized 3/8 chains and turn buckles attached to the box steel and the camper. The ends of the box steel flex somewhat, so there is some give. My camper is mounted on 2"blue board styrofoam on top of the full bed H/D rubber DC mat in the bed of the truck. I also have a 4X4 stack (3 of them sitting on the bed of the truck between the camper and the fromt of the truck bed. My camper weighs about 3500, with all my belongings in there. It occasionally moves slightly but generally does not. Tieing it to the frame this way makes the frame the box and the camper all one and eliminates a lot of sway. Hope this helps.

 

[dewdo]

I have seen several rigs that have the rear tie downs going to the rear bumper and most of them have deformed bumpers. The bumpers on late model trucks are made of such flimsy metal they shouldn't even be called bumpers. I expect the manufacturers will probably go to plastic rear bumpers like many have done on front bumpers already. IMHO, the frame tie downs are the second best way to go. The best, but most expensive is the "Stable Lift" system which I intend to put on in a week or so.



Dewdo in the other Washington

 

[dresslered]

I would be interested in hearing more about the Stable Lift system, however, I'm not quit sure what the additional advantages would be. The disadvantages that I see are:



1. Largest model cannot accomidate my 4000-lb camper.

2. Slide out campers cannot be used.

3. The Stable Lift has got to weigh a bit in itself adding to the overall payload.

4. Will a dually fit under the Stable Lift?



Please, correct me if I am wrong. How does it fasten the camper to the truck, via the bed or the frame?

 

[dewdo]

Dave:

The advantage of the "Stable Lift" system is as follows:



1: you don't need any tiedowns since it cinches up to the bottom of your frame,



2: It is many times safer to load and unload than using the jacks.



3: You can take your camper jacks off and sell them



4: Your spouse will love you since she won't be needed anymnore when you load and unload.



5: It only takes four or five minutes at most to load and unload the camper.



As for the type of rig they can be installed on:



Two years ago they couldn't put them on a unit with a slide. That problem has been solved.



I just talked with a fellow in Olympia this morning that has the same rig I do and he installed it himself, and has made two or three trips to try it out. Says it works great.



My truck is a 2000 Ram 3500 dualie and the camper is a 11. 5 Arctic Fox with the large slide, generator, air conditioner etc. It is heavy, but "Stable Lift" claims weight is no problem.



They have a web site and a toll free number you can call and they will send you a video of their system showing how it works. They are located in Kalispell, MT.



I will be driving over probably in the next two weeks to have them install the system on my truck. It isn't cheap by any means, but the peace of mind is worth it. I think mine will run about $2,200. 00 installed with the three motors.



Good luck.





Dewdo in the other Washington

 

[dresslered]

Thanks for the good info. I had been at their site but the pictures left some unanswered questions. Sounds like a great system!