I had a stable lift installed in September-$2795 out the door at Kalispell Mt. There was a $580 installation fee but stable lift will waive this if you are a member of NATCOA(north american truck camper owners association-$24 a year dues-I believe). My Lance came with Atwood elecric jacks w/remote-I just looked on the sticker to find a price for them but they weren't listed. Since I bought the Lance at sirpilla rv, which is part of camping world I had them go ahead and install the torklift tie down system with fastguns.. Looking at the bill it is itemized as follows: rear tiedown $229 + $71.10 labor, front tiedown $259 + $71.10 labor, fastguns $378, fastgun lockset $26.95, shipping $86, plus tax. This is the first time I had really gone over the bill-I knew camping world was an expensive place to buy but WOW! Oh well good thing I'm rich. I bought the Lance, a 2005 model this Feb. as a brand new left over unit and hadn't planned on getting the stablelift, but DW bumped the camper with the rollbar on the lawn tractor, and bent the bracket on one of the jacks, so I decided just to go for it, head out to Montana for a couple weeks and have it installed. So I have a set of atwood jacks and torklift for sale for a good price LOL (just kidding, they are NOT for sale and I will not respond to anyone asking to buy them!!). We also looked at an Artic Fox and looking at the sticker that they gave us Happijacs were listed at $975. But I think the atwoods are more expensive-a lot heavier. The Stablelift is just like the name implies, stable. I feeel a lot more secure loading and unloading, and using the TC while it is off the truck than I did with the jacks. Hope this helps some. You can PM me if you have any other questions. Since I've had both of them maybe I can answer some questions you might have. AGAIN, the jacks and torklifts are NOT!! for sale as I am thinking about trying to build a small TC for my S10 and am planning to use them on it. Gary
Thanks for the reply. Using the info you posted it sounds like about another grand vs the traditional jacks/tie downs. Can you advise me as to whether you would do it again, and any other comments good/bad about the system?
I have had mine for a little over 3 years and like it.
Don and Sarah
'03 F350 6.0 auto DRW 4X4
2003 A990S Arctic Fox
Stablelift, superhitch to tow toys.
Jeeps (one or the other, 1957 CJ6, 1983 CJ8, 2006 LJ Rubicon) on a trailer.
Here is something else to consider when choosing between the two. Keep in mind the loop hangs down this low all the way around.
Also that price difference could be more since you would easily save $142 by installing the Torklifts yourself (easy bolt in for fronts and rears simply slide into the ends of the receiver tube). Also since you will get turnbuckles with the camper, by adding HJ Quickloads to them for $99 you can get 90% of the functionality of the Fastguns while saving another $281. So with tax (say 6%) that is $448 you can take off the price of the traditional set-up.
Also if the electric jacks are standard on your desired camper then (unless you can some how get the dealer to remove and credit you) you will be out the price difference between what you paid for them and what you might eventually be able to sell them for, which would probably be another couple hundred dollars at least (remember they will be used with no warranty and probably minus your still installed mounting brackets). So that loss needs to be figured added into the total cost of the StableLift system as well.
2007 F350,SC,LB,4x4,6.0/Auto,35" tires,16.5 Warn,Buckstop bumpers
2007 Outfitter Apex9.5,270W solar,SolarBoost2000e,2 H2K's,2KW inverter,2 20lb LP on slide out tray,4 Lifeline AGM bats,Tundra fridge
95 Bounder 28' ClassA sold
91 Jamboree 21' ClassC sold
Thanks for the reply. Using the info you posted it sounds like about another grand vs the traditional jacks/tie downs. Can you advise me as to whether you would do it again, and any other comments good/bad about the system?
Still on the fence about that question. The drawbacks so far on the stablelift are that they are ugly as all get out, and as steve wrote the ground clearance could be an issue(if you take it offroad-I don't, so it is not a problem), they're not cheap. Plusses-when loading or unloading it is much more 'stable' than with the jacks. I was always a little nervous when the TC was that high in the air, now I'm not concerned a bit. When we use the TC off of the truck there is virtually no movement. As the Stablelift website says "load or unload in 3-5 minutes" this is no joke. There are 3 toggle switches, flip them down until the TC is clear of the truck and pull out. Loading just the opposite. 3-5 minutes or less. With a larger TC say @3000lbs, yes I think I would rather have the stablelift. With one of the smaller ones I would go with the jacks. Now to open a can of worm-while shopping for the TC at the dealer there was the Lance I bought and an Artic Fox beside it. Lance had atwood jacks-AF had happijacs. Both TCs were about the same weight. The Lance was WAY, Way more stable than the AF which really wobbled and shook while in the camper. I hope this doesn't turn into an Atwood vs Happijac debate-but this is what I saw side by side and was very instrumental in my decision to purchase. But then again if you don't take the TC off of your truck it's a nonissue. If we lived closer you could come on over and take a look. Again PM me if you want-send me your phone # and I could call you-a lot easier that way than writing all this. Gary
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LOL (just kidding, they are NOT for sale and I will not respond to anyone asking to buy them!!). We also looked at an Artic Fox and looking at the sticker that they gave us Happijacs were listed at $975. But I think the atwoods are more expensive-a lot heavier. The Stablelift is just like the name implies, stable. I feeel a lot more secure loading and unloading, and using the TC while it is off the truck than I did with the jacks. Hope this helps some. You can PM me if you have any other questions. Since I've had both of them maybe I can answer some questions you might have. AGAIN, the jacks and torklifts are NOT!! for sale as I am thinking about trying to build a small TC for my S10 and am planning to use them on it. Gary
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