happy jack vs torklift

[poriggity]

I was very impressed with how easy my happijac mounts were to install. I went with happijacs due to price, and friend and family recommendations. Happijac would NOT continue to sell their product if it was not adequate for hauling a camper. Torklifts are nice, but the $$ for them is a bit ridiculous IMHO.

Scott

 

[wcj]

I have a very similar 2004 chevy with hapijac mounts and a 8 foot Alaskan. Works great would not change, don't have any ground clearance to spare. My friends with hard sided heavy campers prefer the torklift. With the lower travel center of gravity on the Alaskan it works well, I have no personal experience with your style camper.

 

[cnynrat]

I was very impressed with how easy my happijac mounts were to install. I went with happijacs due to price, and friend and family recommendations. Happijac would NOT continue to sell their product if it was not adequate for hauling a camper. Torklifts are nice, but the $$ for them is a bit ridiculous IMHO.

Scott

As someone who has actually used both, I can say unequivocally that the Torklifts do a much better job of controlling a big camper. Definitely worth the money for that application. I could see where with a lighter camper they may be overkill.

I ended up with Happijacs in the first place because it's the easy and standard solution for camper dealers to install. I suspect that is how most Happijacs get installed.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Thanks guys! I appreciate all the knowledge this thread has shared.

Some of you will when i say this, but im going to go with the happyjack system and fastguns for the following reasons,

Its still a relatively light camper

they are cheap (yes you get what you pay for)

In less then a year I will build a flatbed for it anyway and if i need can always fab up some frame mounts, or prob steel brackets through the flat bed enforced with direct square steel mounts direct through the frame, so i can get the best of both worlds.

And Im betting here before to long i will Take off my rear bumper and either fab one up or place some reinforced square tubing inside, like 2 inch.

I will make sure and keep this thread updated with the results i see.

Thanks everyone I think this is a good thread to keep going

 

[TCcruzn]

It seems the only people who complain about Torklift are the ones who don't have them. I have not heard of a Torklift owner changing out for happi jac, but i sure have read about Happijac owners upgrading to Torklift. If you need a hitch extension the Torklift system makes even more sense since the rear mounting points are built right into the Superhitch.

 

[Regcabguy]

My friend's using a Happijac framemount on his '05 w/9.5' Sixpac. He's taken that package on to some pretty rough/off camber roads in the Eastern Sierra and Anza Borrego that give me puckerbutt. That being said,I think I'd still trust a Torqlift system on that camper. I would think without centering guides you would get a little movement of camper though.

Happijac has worked great for me and the Northstar. I only used the ears on my '99 up front and it worked super on 33 Baja trips. That was on typical service roads. I can't comment on how it would have held up going east way into San Juanico. Sheet metal was heavier on the 2nd gens.

On the '07 and same camper,the Happijac framemount with supplied centering guides is working well. I get a little movement on the rear,which I minimize with side blocks. We're talking 3/8" or so.

 

[Shake-n-bake]

I have a 2005 GMC 2500HD with the full size bed. I recently purchased a Northstar TC 800 slide in/pop up truck camper. I looked at the Happijac and the TorkLift tiedowns. Hands down if you are looking at price would be the Happijac system. The Torklift is more costly by hundreds of dollars. I ended up purchasing the Torklift system from etrailer.com, front and rear set me back around $690. In comparison, the Happijac would have been under $400. I needed to install by myself and in a hurry. After looking at both systems, I chose Torklift. Took me about 1.5 hours to get installed. Their instructions are not the best and most youtube videos show installation on Ford trucks, not much out there for Chevy/GMC. Still managed to get it figured out. Drove from NC to OH to pick up the camper, drove to KY and camped the first night and GSMNP the second. Lots of curvy roads, lots of bumps etc and the camper is rock solid. I do use the Happijac Fastguns and they are great. Good luck, you can't go wrong with either one but I do like the fact that if my camper is not on the truck, I can remove the connection points and you would never know that the tie downs were installed.

 

[orangeTJ]

This is a 6 year old thread, but I will add to it...

TORKLIFT!

I have Torklift and Fastguns on my rig and won't settle for anything less.

 

[orangeTJ]

...I do use the Happijac Fastguns and they are great...

Happijac doesn't make Fastguns, Torklift does. Happijac may have something similar, but the product name is something other than Fastgun

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Wow, I failed at updating. I completely went the other direction, Just did not want the extra height on the WolfCreek I like the 840 floor plan though, and did not like the width. Decided I liked the popup versions best, and shortly after that placed a flatbed on her. Put a alert notification for craigslist in the tri state area on a Northstar 850sc. And we wait.

 

[WYCamper]

When I got a used Hallmark Ute the Hallmark folks recommended the Happijac for the front and TorkLifts for the rear. Works great. I put both on the truck in 2016 and have been off road but not severe 4x4 trails. Holds camper where it needs to be.

WYCamper

 

[topofpalomar]

I just sold my '06 Chevy 2500 with a utility bed and popup camper to my neighbor and bought a new '18 Ford F-350. I'm picking up a 2012 Hallmark Cuchara this coming Friday. The Cuchara came with the Happijacs off a 2010 F-350 but they won't fit the new Ford. I considered using the Happijacs on the front tie downs and maybe using Tork Lifts on the rear. I thought it would look better without the long Fast guns hanging down on the front to reach the Tork Lift bracket and possibly blocking the gas filler door so I called Happijac. Their website doesn't show the new Fords and Happijacs customer service couldn't give me a reason they don't offer their system for any Ford after the 2016 model year. I suspect the new aluminum beds on the '17 and later Fords are the reason, but I'm not absolutely sure. So it looks like I'm going to use Tork Lift and Fast guns all the way around.

BTW, I used Happijacs on previous popup campers over the last 30-odd years and I never had a problem with 'em.

 

[80t0ylc]

I've used the Happy Jack tie downs on 2 different 11' campers on 2 different Ford trucks. An '89 Western Wildnerness Alpine on a '90 F250 & my current '06 Lance 1055 on a '97 F350. I agree, the stock bumper needs reinforcement to be secure, but other than that, IMHO the Happy Jack is totally adequate with bumper reinforced. I've seen the Torklift and yes, they look stout, but also overkill. No disrespect indended, but a little ridiculous if you run the truck with the camper removed. I can appreciate the effort for safety, but think about it....if you have enough force to overstress either system, from nature or an accident, that camper is coming apart anyway. Slide in campers are most likely constructed with wood and aluminum or fiberglass and not made to withstand much g-forces or shock. Either should do the job of securing your camper to your rig in most circumstances. I like the idea though, of running Torklifts on the rear if you leave the camper on the rig most of the time and don't need the ground clearance.

 

[Bayou Boy]

I've used the Happy Jack tie downs on 2 different 11' campers on 2 different Ford trucks. An '89 Western Wildnerness Alpine on a '90 F250 & my current '06 Lance 1055 on a '97 F350. I agree, the stock bumper needs reinforcement to be secure, but other than that, IMHO the Happy Jack is totally adequate with bumper reinforced. I've seen the Torklift and yes, they look stout, but also overkill. No disrespect indended, but a little ridiculous if you run the truck with the camper removed. I can appreciate the effort for safety, but think about it....if you have enough force to overstress either system, from nature or an accident, that camper is coming apart anyway. Slide in campers are most likely constructed with wood and aluminum or fiberglass and not made to withstand much g-forces or shock. Either should do the job of securing your camper to your rig in most circumstances. I like the idea though, of running Torklifts on the rear if you leave the camper on the rig most of the time and don't need the ground clearance.

I have Torquelifts on my Ram and with the inserts out they are almost unnoticeable on the truck. The rear brackets are also tucked up enough that they do not affect the departure angle at all. The Torquelift system, in my opinion, is so far superior on a modern truck that the Happijacs shouldn't even be considered. Zero drilling, 100% frame mounted, and virtually invisible when the camper is off the truck. Unlike the Happijacs that require drilling in to the truck and have tabs hanging out all of the time. I'm sure they work great, but the mounting system just doesn't belong on a new truck.

 

[deserteagle56]

I have Torquelifts on my Ram and with the inserts out they are almost unnoticeable on the truck. The rear brackets are also tucked up enough that they do not affect the departure angle at all. The Torquelift system, in my opinion, is so far superior on a modern truck that the Happijacs shouldn't even be considered. Zero drilling, 100% frame mounted, and virtually invisible when the camper is off the truck. Unlike the Happijacs that require drilling in to the truck and have tabs hanging out all of the time. I'm sure they work great, but the mounting system just doesn't belong on a new truck.

^ This. Have to bend over and look really hard to see the Torklift brackets when the camper is not on my dually. I use the truck off road for wood gathering and have yet to encounter a problem with them.