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TacoFeliz
Nomad
Posts: 265
Registered: 7-22-2005
Location: Here
Member Is Offline
Mood: Exploratory
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Used bronze turnbuckles were $10 each from Minneys. Size: 5/16 shaft, adjustable from about 7" to about 12". Stainless shackles to make quick
connects or lengthen reach are available there too, or any boat place like West Marine.
http://www.minneysyachtsurplus.com/
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Neal Johns
Super Nomad
Posts: 1687
Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: Lytle Creek, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: In love!
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Ignore all the advice above and take the advice of an Old Navy Chief:
Get a Locker Stick.
It should be made of any available well sanded wood, about one and a half inches in diameter and three feet long. Directions for use: After traveling
on two tracks roads in Baja, insert stick into camper, stir contents in a clockwise direction, and when the desired article comes to the top, grab
it.
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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surfer jim
Super Nomad
Posts: 1891
Registered: 8-29-2003
Location: high desert
Member Is Offline
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I will be going out to check things in a while....the turnbuckles are aluminum like TACO has said.....and will need some sort of method to stop them
from unscrewing....I had planned to go surfing at SAN CARLOS this coming weekend with this new rig....but may just use old truck until I get this
"more ready".....
now I must also recenter the camper somehow as it moved side -to -side....and that alone should be fun....
and NEIL ....you are killing me with the "stir stick " idea...
[Edited on 6-12-2006 by surfer jim]
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surfer jim
Super Nomad
Posts: 1891
Registered: 8-29-2003
Location: high desert
Member Is Offline
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Afternoon update .....been working on finding way to tie down surfboards to racks and have something in mind that should work....
next up was turnbuckles....find out that you can stop them from tightning...but not from coming loose !!....I can put stop nuts on the ouside to lock
them from moving TIGHTER....but no way to put nuts inside them to stop from coming LOOSE......(guess that is way marine version has carter pin...)
thinking about red locktight and silicone or duct tape to stop the inside from moving.....I know it's " crude"....but effective!!
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4729
Registered: 11-15-2004
Member Is Offline
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Just add a caribiner-type locking ring from the center of the turnbuckle to the chain above. This will minimize loosening to 1 turn at most. Or use my
method above for no movement at all.
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marek
Junior Nomad
Posts: 53
Registered: 6-6-2003
Member Is Offline
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I battled with those turnbuckles for many years. I finally got them tight enough where they didn't loosen up, only to find that they started pulling
right out of the camper.
I like the idea of drilling them and putting in a pin to keep from loosening.
For surfboards, we installed Yakima tracks on the roof and just padded the crossbars.
To keep the fridge from opening, a little piece of cardboard rolled up fits nicely underneath the latch and keeps it from opening.
I also installed some fastek buckles on the bench seat to that it wouldn't bounce loose, but then was easy to fold down for sleeping.
We got pretty good at packing the camper so that things didn't break or cause a yardsale in the back of the camper.
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pappy
Senior Nomad
Posts: 679
Registered: 12-10-2003
Member Is Offline
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i think the locker stick is the way to go!!!! after all, all you need is just one!
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surfer jim
Super Nomad
Posts: 1891
Registered: 8-29-2003
Location: high desert
Member Is Offline
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Getting lots of recomendations for "the stick"...it must be the way to go....
Off to COSTCO soon to get supplies for this weekend...and maybe the dvd player.....
will use rachet straps for the surfboards on the yackima racks.....have put some velcro strips in place for drawers....
I tightened the turnbuckles and put locktight on them for now but out of time to do much else.....
(note to self..do not forget the RUM).......I guess I am "ready".....
Plan is to leave Friday or Saturday morning and return Tuesday or Wednesday night.....
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Tomas Tierra
Super Nomad
Posts: 1281
Registered: 3-23-2005
Location: oxnard, ca
Member Is Offline
Mood: Tengo Flojera
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If that road doesn't bust anything loose you should be OK!
3 weeks and counting for me and my pop top
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oladulce
Super Nomad
Posts: 1625
Registered: 5-30-2005
Location: bcs
Member Is Offline
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Sounds like you're leaving soon, but here's some camper ideas for the future.
My husband puts 4 large bolts thru the floor of our campers that secure them to the bed of the truck, in addition to using camper tiedowns. He
started this with our 4wheel, then our Skamper, and still does it on our current Lance. The Campers never budge in the bed .
I'm sure that securing a camper extends it's life. Unfortunately, we eventually broke the camper frames on both the 4wheel and Skamper pop-ups from
off-road Baja driving but we probably got a few more years out of them than we would have !
I haven't been around so I missed the description of your rig if you gave one and don't know if this will help.
Storage:
I think it was the 4Wheel that had the platform bed with storage underneath the entire bed. This was such a great idea, that we've built a plywood
platform for the beds that raise it up 4-5"on all our campers since. All our clothes for a month long trip fit easily under the bed.
The other suggestion is a biggie, but it has had the biggest impact on our enjoyment of our campers, and that's a utility/service bed for your truck.
No more moving the toolboxes, icechests, Rubbermaid containers, milkcrates, etc, etc, off the floor of the camper every time you stop or just pull
over for lunch. Water containers, fuel cans, high pressure tire pump, kayak paddles and all kinds of other goodies go outside in the compartments. A
utility bed made a world of difference when we had pop-ups and can't imagine being without one even now.
Fans: I use these Hella 12 volt fans in our camper and don't mess with cheapies anymore. They're quiet, small, move alot of air and use only 200mA of
power. They usually about $70 but West Marine has them on sale for $60 right now.
Have fun.
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surfer jim
Super Nomad
Posts: 1891
Registered: 8-29-2003
Location: high desert
Member Is Offline
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Four wheel pop up....only the basics....but it will be good for me and what I do.....new things...shower. dvd player, cd/outside stereo, built in
lights !
can you say "Uptown".....
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wilderone
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3779
Registered: 2-9-2004
Member Is Offline
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A camping friend of mine has a cabover truck, and used to live on a large sailboat; he's a great carpenter and has applied those marine cabinetry
techniques to the inside of his cabover quarters. He made some boat-type cabinets and drawers for the inside of his "camper", with small racks on the
inside of the cabinet doors to hold salt/pepper, plastic dishes; pull out drawers hold several plastic containers - all the same size - which hold
food items, coffee, creamer, etc. A large water barrel is strapped in one corner with a gravity hose (with on/off spiggot); another locked cabinet
holds his laptop, books, valuables. Another section holds larger plastic containers and is also left available for shoes, grocery sacks,
miscellaneous - it has a front and is sectioned so that things don't roll around and fall out. The cabinetry allows an area where he's put his
coleman propane stove and propane cannister. On the inside back door of his cab, he's installed a counter which also flips up to add even more counter
space. The cabinet doors have latches which keep them from swinging open. He has shipped this car to Europe and spent over a year living in this
setup. There is ample space in the middle for a sleeping pad.
You could buy ready-made cabinets and customize the inside of them with racks, shelves, straps, etc. to hold a maximum number of items. Go look at
boats for sale and study the cabinetry in them for ideas.
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vgabndo
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3461
Registered: 12-8-2003
Location: Mt. Shasta, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Checking-off my bucket list.
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I'm becoming a believer in spring loaded turn buckles...
When I set up my Lance in the "new" Dodge CTD, I wanted to avoid the tendency of the camper to rip the bed off the frame. I couldn't afford the best
frame mounted tie down system so I went with the HappiJack system. The bed is fairly well attached to the frame at the point of connection with the
tie-downs. As reported above, and as I learned with my make-shift bed to frame connections on my old F-250, if the connection is TOO tight, something
has to give, and it will usually be the camper. The spring loaded turn buckles provide a little "give" and seem to have kept my outfit pretty well
together for the last dozen years. They have NEVER loosened.
There have been lots of good suggestions for keeping the goods in good shape. I have found that if it stays in the cupboard, it will probably be OK.
It is the projectile possessions which must be swept up.
Here's a tip: Make sure that the water pump is turned off while you are rolling. In one case, in freezing weather, a coupling cracked, on another
occasion a tubing connection came apart. In both cases, the pump was on and joyfully emptied the entire contents of the water tank into the camper.
In both freezing Reno, and humid Belize City, it was a nasty mess I didn't need.
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9006
Registered: 3-13-2004
Location: Sonora
Member Is Offline
Mood: Inquisitive
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Another vote for the HappiJack system
I was wondering why I have never had a problem with loosening turnbuckles on my Lance. Must be the spring loading. But in really radical off-hwy stuff
(like the La Vibora Grade), they can come completely unattached if the truck bed comes "up" on one side while the other is "down". Its a quck
re-attachment IF you see it's off in time. It's always been hanging from the top eye and it would take something radical to dislodge it from there.
The other thing that the HappiJack system gives you are "spacers" that you mount into the inside walls of your truck bed. These are intended to
contain the front-back and side-side shifting of the camper in the bed. They are large rubber "posts" that are mounted just outside the "footprint" of
your camper in the bed. The system also comes with a truss that strengthens front wall of the truck bed in case the camper is forced towards the cab
(as in a panic stop). Necessary for heavier units like the non-popups but maybe not necessary for a popup.
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surfer jim
Super Nomad
Posts: 1891
Registered: 8-29-2003
Location: high desert
Member Is Offline
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Thanks for the tips...just returned from my first trip....400 miles each way...total of 80 on dirt...nothing spilled and camper still on !!....road was in good shape this time but still a fair test....I will be upgradeing
the mounting and adding some braceing also...also like the idea of adding maybe 4 more mounting points....I had added some velcro strips to doors and
they held....
Just spent 4 hours cleaning truck and camper today.....guess that is the price you pay for "comfort"...but ready to go back...
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Frigatebird
Nomad
Posts: 215
Registered: 9-12-2004
Location: L.A. County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Soaring
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Hey Jim,
Any pics of your trip?...your rig?
Avatar courtesy of Herb
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surfer jim
Super Nomad
Posts: 1891
Registered: 8-29-2003
Location: high desert
Member Is Offline
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Photos are on friends camera...I need my own camera and need to learn how to post....so for now ...nothing.....
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Tomas Tierra
Super Nomad
Posts: 1281
Registered: 3-23-2005
Location: oxnard, ca
Member Is Offline
Mood: Tengo Flojera
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How was the moon dust Amigo?? I'm going in a coupla weeks, just wondering..
and the surf was???ok?
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surfer jim
Super Nomad
Posts: 1891
Registered: 8-29-2003
Location: high desert
Member Is Offline
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No silt....road was graded in Feb. or March from what we heard and is in very good condition....saw trailers and even a motorhome come in this
time...on a scale of 1-10 it gets a "2" ...any vehicle could get in....
some of the side roads ARE silty (and not graded) but main road is great....
Big surf as expected....8-10-12 peaks.....not the biggest waves but solid swell.....
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