One man camper loading... using casters on jack stands.

[trump]

I wouldn't normally recommend buying from them... but:

http://www.harborfreight.com/3000-l...-with-automatic-load-holding-brake-68145.html

 

[xdbx]

You could do it by hand with a set of pulley blocks and some strong synthetic rope. Buy a set with more pulleys than you think you need and try it. I bet you could do it with one hand if you wound 4 runs, and you could terminate the run at the camper so you can watch the wheels as you pull.

 

[bahbilama]

And if you want it to be a temporary setup, get a hitch adapter like http://www.warn.com/utility/accessories/hitch_adaptor.shtml so you only have the winch on you truck when you want it

 

[slooowr6]

Looks like Superwinch Winch-In-A-Bag is a good option too.

 

[laker]

I am looking to buy a pop up camper.Love the idea of the casters. Casters would work great on concrete and ashphalt, but on gravel...not so good. Wonder how a rated small pneumatic tire would work. I know on my boat trailer it is much easier to roll around with an air filled tire.

 

[dfrank]

I was really bummed when I went to put the wheels off my scaffold under there and with my Titans, they have a little crimped part that prevented the otherwise proper diameter to slip right in.

Also if someone finds a (cheap) pneumatic option for this application, it would work for my dirt spot. Actually only one of my wheels would need to go to dirt.

Dave

 

[dfrank]

i have the same wheels as the original poster, and spent an hour with a 7
" grinder to make them fit in my titan jacks. After all that work, it did not inspire enough confidence to actually use! I lifted the front corner with some trepidation, then started lifting the side that has one in the middle. It looked like the wheel was just going to roll off to the side and take the jack with it. I felt lucky to put it back down with out dropping the whole thing on myself.

I'd watch out trying this on an older camper.

Mine is an '88 100s from Skamper, and I suppose there may be some tender wood at the middle jack.

Be safe.

Dave

 

[Prybry]

4 post system is better than 3 post for casters....

dfrank,

It sounds like your camper has only a 3 post jack system... I would be very careful using the caster idea on that since the side load on the three legs is much higher than on a 4 jack system.
On 4 jacks, with the casters, I can only raise each jack 3" to 4" before moving on to the next jack to even out the lift. any more than that and I have had the odd leg hanging in the air.:Wow1:

I'm guessing that your center post always has a lot of side load, which can quickly go out of control when adding a caster to the bottom. I would certainly be sure that the brake is set on all the wheels on a 3 post system. On my 4 post I don't even have the brakes set when raising or lowering the camper, I try to lift it that evenly. The forth leg keeps the lift from losing control, should one of the legs start to go.

This will make me think twice about posting some of my ideas in the future
Please, no one try this without applying some common sense.... use at your own risk.
dfrank, I'm sorry for the time you spent trying to get this to work.

Prybry