Regcabguy
Oil eater.
My Northstar rarely comes off.
On the yearly servicing, removal is quick. Mounting it...takes a few runs.
Unloading/ Loading a truck camper....
- Thread starter acarter92
- Start date
My Northstar rarely comes off.
On the yearly servicing, removal is quick. Mounting it...takes a few runs.
popup
we always leave our popup on.dont even know its there .
goes up and down in less than two minutes.we turn on the fantastic fan to pull the fabric sides in when taking it down.
i cut the end of a manual crank and careful ground crank to fit in a cordless drill
sure makes jacking a lot easier.
jm2c
kp
we always leave our popup on.dont even know its there .
goes up and down in less than two minutes.we turn on the fantastic fan to pull the fabric sides in when taking it down.
i cut the end of a manual crank and careful ground crank to fit in a cordless drill
sure makes jacking a lot easier.
jm2c
kp
Redline
Likes to Drive and Ride
X2 on this, I don't like traveling with the corner jacks ON.
Having owned two FWCs and now a Hallmark popup (and many other outfits over the years), lowering or raising the roof to break or make camp is much easier and faster that unloading and loading IMO.
goodtimes
Expedition Poseur
One of the previous owners of my FWC left the jacks on while traveling. At some point, it appears that he backed into a rock/stump/post with the right rear jack, resulting in a broken camper frame. Repairing that required removing the siding - which wasn't a fun job.
I don't even like driving across town with the jacks on - certainly wouldn't want to leave them on when traveling around the back country.
To the OP:
Unlike what everyone else here has stated, removing your camper is relatively easy and I do it occassionally. I do agree with the majority sentiment, putting the camper up or down is relatively quick and easy. However, I camp with friends and my wife and sometimes it is nice to take the camper off for a base camp while I go exploring or fishing with the truck. Most recently, I met up with a few friends to fish one section of water, but I wanted to leave the camper at camp so I could haul everyone's dogs and fishing gear in the bed. It probably takes me about the same time to unload and load my camper at camp as it does most people to pack up their tent/awning/chairs/etc.
It takes me about 30-45 minutes at home to fully load my camper. That includes jacking it up with 4 manual corner jacks, backing my truck under it, dropping it down, and securing the four tie-downs in the bed. At this point, I can do it by myself without anyone helping me back up, but for the first couple of tries I recommend practicing at home on a flat driveway. When I camping, it might take a bit longer if the ground is uneven, but it is not hard. Now, what about the fact that campers aren't designed to work off the truck? The main part that isn't designed to work off of the truck is the floor, which isn't supported. To make it easy, I bought two of these: http://www.homedepot.com/p/TOUGHBUILT-47-in-Folding-Sawhorse-TB-C550/205068379. These are great, each sawhorese can support 1100 lbs, which is plenty for a pop-up camper. They fold up and I throw them in the camper. When I get to camp, I set the camper on a relatively level spot, slide the sawhorses under, and drop it down. I keep the jacks down to for side support, but the weight rests on the horses. My buddy and I camped this way recently and it was fine, not one problem. The sawhorses also allow you to use scissor steps if your camper has them. Also, truck campers are designed so that you can sleep in the upper bed off the truck, if you go to an rv show they will have campers off of vehicles that are not tied down to anything and they don't tip over (pop-up campers at least, big hardside models are a different story).
As for the jacks, I haven't had one problem driving into some tight spots with my jacks on. My jacks don't stick out past my side view mirrors, so if I can fit my mirrors through, my jacks will fit.
Good luck! One word of advice is to stay away from the Palomino Broncos if you are interested in long term durability. I would look at Northstars and if you are looking for used the Sunlites and Starcrafts are similar campers with better durability. The Sunlite/Apaches are no longer made but they seem like they hold up pretty well if they are maintained.
Unlike what everyone else here has stated, removing your camper is relatively easy and I do it occassionally. I do agree with the majority sentiment, putting the camper up or down is relatively quick and easy. However, I camp with friends and my wife and sometimes it is nice to take the camper off for a base camp while I go exploring or fishing with the truck. Most recently, I met up with a few friends to fish one section of water, but I wanted to leave the camper at camp so I could haul everyone's dogs and fishing gear in the bed. It probably takes me about the same time to unload and load my camper at camp as it does most people to pack up their tent/awning/chairs/etc.
It takes me about 30-45 minutes at home to fully load my camper. That includes jacking it up with 4 manual corner jacks, backing my truck under it, dropping it down, and securing the four tie-downs in the bed. At this point, I can do it by myself without anyone helping me back up, but for the first couple of tries I recommend practicing at home on a flat driveway. When I camping, it might take a bit longer if the ground is uneven, but it is not hard. Now, what about the fact that campers aren't designed to work off the truck? The main part that isn't designed to work off of the truck is the floor, which isn't supported. To make it easy, I bought two of these: http://www.homedepot.com/p/TOUGHBUILT-47-in-Folding-Sawhorse-TB-C550/205068379. These are great, each sawhorese can support 1100 lbs, which is plenty for a pop-up camper. They fold up and I throw them in the camper. When I get to camp, I set the camper on a relatively level spot, slide the sawhorses under, and drop it down. I keep the jacks down to for side support, but the weight rests on the horses. My buddy and I camped this way recently and it was fine, not one problem. The sawhorses also allow you to use scissor steps if your camper has them. Also, truck campers are designed so that you can sleep in the upper bed off the truck, if you go to an rv show they will have campers off of vehicles that are not tied down to anything and they don't tip over (pop-up campers at least, big hardside models are a different story).
As for the jacks, I haven't had one problem driving into some tight spots with my jacks on. My jacks don't stick out past my side view mirrors, so if I can fit my mirrors through, my jacks will fit.
Good luck! One word of advice is to stay away from the Palomino Broncos if you are interested in long term durability. I would look at Northstars and if you are looking for used the Sunlites and Starcrafts are similar campers with better durability. The Sunlite/Apaches are no longer made but they seem like they hold up pretty well if they are maintained.
pmoyle
New member
When I take my camper off the truck I use a set of the leveling screw jacks to support the floor. They work good and are easy to store when not in use. When I leave the camper on the truck I use the corner camper jacks to stabilize the camper. The only time I take the jacks off is if I'm going on some narrow trails that could rip one off.
I never leave the jacks on when traveling. They weigh close to 100 lbs and I don't want the extra weight, secondly they hang down and are just looking to hit something and get torn off.
As far as stabilizing the truck, sounds like it could work. However you would need to be careful to avoid lifting the entire truck/camper combo when lowering the jacks. They are clearly not designed for that much weight.
I've recently upgraded from a Sunlite to an Outfitter TC. The Outfitter's previous owner said he'd never camped with it in the truck, and had always offloaded it...which seemed completely bizarre to me. My Sunlite wasn't strong enough to permit off-truck use.
Last month, I spent a week in the desert. The winds were really bad the first night, and with the top popped, and two friends using my galley for cooking, it felt like we were in a boat in choppy water. I dropped the jacks for the first time ever, just to stabilize it, and it worked great.
The next day I thought I'd pull it off the truck and see how it did...it felt very stable. My biggest concern was power needs, but my small (100w) solar panel kept the batteries fully charged for 6 days off the truck. It even survived a strong windstorm our last night there, with no issues.
I ended up pulling it off for my next 2 night trip in Wyoming as well, since I needed to use the truck to drive places, and I didn't necessarily want to drive the full rig into town every day. I'm sold.
Last month, I spent a week in the desert. The winds were really bad the first night, and with the top popped, and two friends using my galley for cooking, it felt like we were in a boat in choppy water. I dropped the jacks for the first time ever, just to stabilize it, and it worked great.
The next day I thought I'd pull it off the truck and see how it did...it felt very stable. My biggest concern was power needs, but my small (100w) solar panel kept the batteries fully charged for 6 days off the truck. It even survived a strong windstorm our last night there, with no issues.
I ended up pulling it off for my next 2 night trip in Wyoming as well, since I needed to use the truck to drive places, and I didn't necessarily want to drive the full rig into town every day. I'm sold.