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Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: Happijack or Torklift tie downs??
TL's have only one advantage and that is no drilling. The disadvantages are cost, extended tie length, compromised angle and possible interference with fuel filler door. Not to mention they look kind of ridiculous.
The bed of your truck was designed to carry the rated load so there is no problem tying the camper to the bed. Any camper tie down, regardless of it's imposing appearance, is no stronger than the 3/8 inch eye-bolt screwed into your camper's frame.
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kcabpilot
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11/12/12 12:30am |
Truck Campers
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RE: TC Pickups with service or utility beds
Another issue is that with TC's that have bathrooms, at least on my Lance, the left rear section occupies the left rear quarter behind the wheel well. So it wouldn't fit a standard utility bed even if the sidewall height were short enough because the bed would be 4 ft wide all the way to the tailgate.
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kcabpilot
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11/11/12 02:00am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Power Control Center - PD4000 - Battery Charging
I don't have a PD charger either but any of the smart chargers such as the WFCO, the Battery Tender or PD are controlled by a logic section and part of the equation is time so they theoretically should be incapable of overcharging the battery like that. I remember reading that the PD units had some sort of optional "Wizard" controller that allowed you to force it into boost mode. I never was able to understand why you would need a "wizard" that any dolt human could push a button on to override the decisions of their "smart" controller but you might want to check into that.
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kcabpilot
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11/10/12 09:45pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: TC Pickups with service or utility beds
I've been thinking about it for years but have come to the conclusion that it would involve a good bit of custom work. So if you're willing to pay for that no problem but if you're thinking of salvaging a utility bed off of a donor truck most all of them have sidewalls that are too high to accommodate a TC. They're pretty standard in that regard from what I've seen.
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kcabpilot
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11/10/12 09:29pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Horizontal Propane tanks
Here's a link to a reference of the 2001 rule change that exempts horizontal tanks manufactured prior to 1998.
NFPA
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kcabpilot
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10/19/12 10:10pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Restoring anodized aluminum
The anodized layer is breaking down, there is no way to restore it since it is an electrolytic process. The only real option is to clean and seal the areas of corrosion and paint the whole thing. If you wanted it to look original you'd have to find some sort of dye to match what was applied when it was produced and then possibly clear coat it.
I suppose, with enough elbow grease you could remove the anodized layer completely and let the bare aluminum self-passivate (form it's own natural oxide layer) at which point it would be protected.
Or you could polish it (a lot of work) I have a polished airplane but it stays in a hangar and still requires periodic refurbishment.
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kcabpilot
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10/18/12 01:06am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Slick Ride
pointless - the idea of a truck camper is you have a pickup truck, this guy doesn't have a pickup truck, he's got a cramped motorhome. Looks like the cabover bunk is a single.
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kcabpilot
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10/14/12 10:34pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Best way to keep batteries charged during off season?
I've got a WFCO converter, leave it plugged in all the time going on 4 years now and no problems.
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kcabpilot
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10/10/12 08:01pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Help!!! Ideas to get camper front jack legs to fit dually
Kcabpilot stole my pix. 6" channel iron. But, I think he needs more bolts per side to stabilize the jacks. I too remove the jacks altogether when traveling. If you have hard wired electric jacks, just cut the wires and splice in quick disconnects. These are used for my wide rear wheels/tires, 4" narrower than a set of duals:
regards, as always, jefe
jefe - ha,ha YOU stole my idea! I'm okay with two bolts, my I-Beam is pretty thick stuff and I always use the sawhorses to assist with support. I keep the camper at load height when it's off the truck because it makes it very easy to load and I can walk under the cabover section without having to duck.
The rig looks a lot cleaner without hauling those front jacks around eh?
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kcabpilot
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10/08/12 02:18am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Dually flat tire ?
To be honest I think you could but I'm pretty sure you'd have to carry the flat (not mount it to one of the dual sets) because it might get pretty hot or come apart on you which could damage your fender.
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kcabpilot
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10/06/12 07:09pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Horizontal LP tanks
I'd say just carry a copy of the NPFA exemption and shop around. Most places where you get propane it's just some kid who doesn't know or care anything about the rules anyway.
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kcabpilot
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10/06/12 10:30am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Horizontal LP tanks
That is a great label except where it states the tank contains more than 40 lbs . Most TC tanks are less than that .
Right, the label is for folks who have ASME tanks. The NFPA sec 58 rule is for the rest.
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kcabpilot
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10/05/12 11:23am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Horizontal LP tanks
Might help to print out a copy of this page from the NFPA where it states:
The 2001 edition of NFPA 58 modified requirements to exempt horizontal cylinders manufactured before October 1, 1998, from requiring OPDs. Also exempt are cylinders used for industrial trucks, industrial welding and cutting gases (these cylinders must be labeled with their use).
Also go HERE and print out stickers for your tanks.
Works for me.
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kcabpilot
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10/04/12 10:47pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Onan Gen.s
Since it is onboard I think some people have problems with noise transfer to the interior. I did my own installation (the Lance was already pre-wired and configured) and made very certain to properly mount and isolate everything from the exhaust to the electrical conduit and fuel line (I installed a gasoline fueled model) There is a special flex coupler and hanger bracket for the exhaust. It only takes a single contact point to transfer noise to the camper frame but if done right it's very quiet inside.
I agree that I would not want to give up the push button convenience. Our style of camping always involves travelling so it is very rarely that I would run the generator just to recharge the batteries. It's almost always to run the A/C or provide AC power for something else like the toaster. It seems that many owners of those quiet little Honda's to like to leave them idling needlessly all day long, never quite understood the logic in that.
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kcabpilot
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10/04/12 10:33pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Help!!! Ideas to get camper front jack legs to fit dually
Not relevant to the OP since he has already purchased swing outs but similar to the above I just made a couple of spacers from 4 inch I-Beam. It was originally supposed to be temporary but 4 years later I've found it is easier to just undo the two bolts and remove the jack with the extender once the camper is loaded. I just leave them at home since there is no use for them on the road. Makes the rig look much cleaner and saves a bit of unnecessary weight.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6NIvZ-WLVUc/UGyFeYIyaEI/AAAAAAAAAyY/VdjhVCOnZAM/s1152/DSCN5366%255B1%255D.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Hj8_WE63cSQ/UGyD34_N41I/AAAAAAAAAyQ/3-M9k6W2N-4/s1152/DSCN5367%255B1%255D.jpg
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kcabpilot
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10/03/12 12:33pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Passthru Window...Is it worth it?
The pass-through harks back to the days when most people had kids and standard cab pickups so the bigger kids rode in the camper :E and the smaller one was able to pester everyone by crawling back and forth through it about every 7 or 8 minutes. I doubt anyone does that nowadays considering the constant state of fear we live in :R So I'd say NO, it's not worth the expense. We still use ours for access to stuff stored in the back of the cab but I wouldn't spend the money to have a rear window replaced just for that.
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kcabpilot
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10/03/12 12:21pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Dodge 5500 Long Hauler Concept vehicle could see production
Show of hands: who here needs a 1700 mile range? If the price of gas dropped a nickle the day after you filled this thing up you'd probably shoot yourself.
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kcabpilot
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09/23/12 01:01pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Really...This cant ride well.
Due to the shallow departure angle I don't think he's gonna be able to get it out of that driveway without ripping his rear jacks off! :h
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kcabpilot
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09/17/12 12:25pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Cons of owning a Truck Camper?
Based on your situation I'd say there are two main cons and they may have already been mentioned.
Depending on your age, climbing up into the cabover might be an issue. The units with slide-outs are much better but you still have to negotiate the climb in and out which is much higher. Some of them have long scissor steps that frankly, look frighteningly dangerous.
The second con is that, for a decent sized camper you're going to end up with a truck that will be overkill as a daily driver, not as efficient as you might want it to be considering fuel prices and all.
Class B or C motorhomes means dealing with an entire second vehicle and trailers well, you have to tow them and that's something you can grow to hate depending on how much and what sort of traveling you intend to do.
So, any way you go there are gonna be compromises.
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kcabpilot
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09/17/12 12:19pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Truck camper or class B
Class B unless you own and need a pickup truck. I say "need" because if you own a pickup and intend to leave the camper on it all the time you don't "need" it, may as well go motorhome. The whole idea of a truck camper is because you already own (and need) the truck.
Granted, with campers these days you're probably gonna have about twice as much pickup as you actually "need" but the idea still works.
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kcabpilot
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09/15/12 03:54am |
Truck Campers
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