Photomike
Southern Alberta or where the camper is parked!
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Joined: 04/26/2008
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WOW!!!!!!!!! I have been in 110kmph (68mph) crosswinds and add to that the fact when they hit I was doing 100kmph (60mph) and I thought for sure this would happen to me.
Not excusing the mounting of the tie down but given the right circumstances and the winds could easily of exerted a force a lot stronger than the tie downs could have held even if done correctly, add to that the poor plywood / joining and you see what happens. To have the camper lifted out of the bed like that you can see how the gust must have caught the TCer. What amazes me is the relative lack of damage to the truck and camper.
Glad nobody was hurt!
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jmtandem
western nevada
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Quote:Since we are on the subject of tie downs... My camper will be kept on my truck with (old technology I assume?) belly bars. Two of them. One front and one in the back. (there is no bumper on my truck due to the size of the camper) These bars are tied into the frame (so to speak) and I am using turn buckels attached to each of the four jacks that are permanently attached to the camper (1976 Amerigo) What do you think of this setup as far as safety goes?
Bellybars tied into the frame front and back are probably as safe/strong as Torklifts. What I think we are seeing in the pics here is that once something started to fail, other failures occured and it took out the whole camper. It might have happened fast but it probably was a chain reaction. Maybe it was the 'perfect storm' combination of wind, wind direction, and truck speed coupled with tie downs in the camper that were overpowered. But we were not there and are only arm chair quarterbacks. It is very surprising that the camper came off the truck. That must have been one heck of a gust catching the camper at just the right time and angle.
If I recall from several years ago a few AF owners had some issues with tie downs pulling through plywood. And this from a company that prides itself with Northwood Quality, 30 folks on the roof at a time with no issues, massive frames on FW and TT's etc.
In one pic we can see the aluminum tubing. I thought Northwood inserted wood into the aluminum tubing for the screws to tighten into. There appears to be no wood inside that tubing.
* This post was
edited 01/13/14 12:17pm by jmtandem *
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Rbertalotto
Massachusetts
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Joined: 06/02/2005
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Quote:Since we are on the subject of tie downs... My camper will be kept on my truck with (old technology I assume?) belly bars. Two of them. One front and one in the back. (there is no bumper on my truck due to the size of the camper) These bars are tied into the frame (so to speak) and I am using turn buckels attached to each of the four jacks that are permanently attached to the camper (1976 Amerigo) What do you think of this setup as far as safety goes?
Is there any type of shock absorbers in your system? I'm always concerned about the constant pulling on the camper by the twisting of the trucks frame.
I used heavy duty springs on my camper and have had no issues.
![[image]](http://images56.fotki.com/v124/photos/2/36012/11443342/P1030924-vi.jpg)
On my camper, the tie downs attach to the jack attachment points. I had to greatly reinforce this area as the whole camper was falling apart at the four jack mounts.
![[image]](http://images49.fotki.com/v1511/photos/2/36012/11443342/P1030567-vi.jpg)
These are stainless steel plates that are attached to the bottom and the side of the camper. Spreading the weight and tying the sides into the bottom. Solid as a rock now!
![[image]](http://images14.fotki.com/v218/photos/2/36012/11443342/P1030568-vi.jpg)
And in the front I added aluminum angle iron to the jack mounts
![[image]](http://images60.fotki.com/v367/photos/2/36012/11443342/P1040211-vi.jpg)
![[image]](http://images107.fotki.com/v780/photos/2/36012/11443342/P1040213-vi.jpg)
RoyB
Dartmouth, MA
2021 RAM 2500 4X4 6.4L
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anutami
Ramona
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Joined: 12/15/2012
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I will be going with Torklift Tie downs from here on out,
In defense to happi jac here is their email response when I contacted them. They also said the most extreme situation they encountered was a truck and camper getting sucked up and tossed by a tornado and the truck and camper were still attached. If anyone wants the engineer report PM me and I can email it to you.
"My name is Gary Scothern. I am the Warranty & Technical Support Manager for Happijac (LCI). I have been with Happijac for 27 years and have been directly involved in the development of the Happijac tie down system. I am writing to you to refute some very erroneous information you’ve received from the folks at Northwood Mfg. It is obvious from the pictures you supplied that the failure rests solely with the anchor point on the camper. In the photos you can see the turnbuckle still clearly attached.
We have been manufacturing and selling the Happijac tie down and turnbuckle systems since the mid 1970’s and they have been used at one point or another by about every camper manufacturer that has ever come and gone over that time. I would challenge anyone to find another such failure involving Happijac tie downs. Lance, one of the largest and most enduring camper manufacturer has always endorsed Happijac as being the best and safest tie down system.
I have attached an engineering report explaining the premises upon which the Happijac system was developed, and the advantages of the system.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further I would certainly welcome a call."
2001 Ford F350 LB Diesel 4x4 CrewCab Stick
2015 Wolf Creek 850 Thermal Pane Windows, Oven, Reinforced Anchor Bolts, 200w Solar, Torklift Tie Downs, Fastguns, Stableloads
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Reddog1
El Dorado, CA
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Joined: 03/09/2004
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Is there anyone that think there would have been a better outcome if the TC would have stayed attached to the Truck? Think about it, the truck would have been on its side, kids and all.
I do offer a disclaimer, I have a stable lift. By design, the lower hoop sandwiches the truck bed and frame between the lower hoop and TC. Tie-downs other than the Stable-Lift are not used, although they could be. I do not have a Wolf Creek TC. I have owned numerous TCs, since about 1972. My point is, I have nothing to defend, gain or loose in this discussion.
Wayne
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JumboJet
Tontitown ARKANSAW
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Joined: 01/31/2007
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anutami wrote:I will be going with Torklift Tie downs from here on out.
Unless the anchors pull loose from my camper, I could not imagine the force that it would take to destroy the front and rear frame mounted Torklift tie downs or Torklift Fastguns.
The things I do not like about the Happijac system - the holes through the bed; the ears that stick out between the cab and bed; and the button mounts on the bumper.
I could see enough flex from one mounting point giving way that then would allow enough leverage and wrenching of the other mounting points to be torn loose.
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Rbertalotto
Massachusetts
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I don't believe anyone is questioning the various attachment point on the trucks. Usually we are talking steel to steel and welded or bolted fix points.
The issue is the camper fixment. Steel to plywood and wood screws......Wood screws and plywood are going to lose everytime!
I have to believe that for all concerned, the camper should stay with the truck no matter the condition. I'd hate to have a camper fall out of a truck in front of me on the highway. Or worse, the truck going one out of control direction and the camper in another. Now I have two "targets" to avoid.
One other engineering point, once you lose one side of the campers tiedowns, the other side is trying to pull the camper over, especially if there is lots of tension on the tie-down on that side and the attachment points are some distance from the camper's moment arm.
Here is my synopsis....The truck hit a big bump, the rear turnbuckle detached as the camper shifted up and down. (I've seen this happen many times with tie down straps that have "open hooks" holding motorcycles down on a trailer)
Once the rear tie down was compromised, the front tie down took all the force and the camper failed.
But I would thing that these campers should be engineered for any one tie down to hold the entire camper secure.
If the rear tie down was a solid turnbuckle, without benefit of chain, when the truck flexed it would be very easy for the "hook" to unhook. A piece of chain in the system might have alleviated this. With motorcycle straps we always wire tie the hooks to the hold down points so they never dis-connect.
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1mtnman
Colorado
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Joined: 01/18/2004
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Rbertalotto wrote:I don't believe anyone is questioning the various attachment point on the trucks. Usually we are talking steel to steel and welded or bolted fix points.
The issue is the camper fixment. Steel to plywood and wood screws......Wood screws and plywood are going to lose everytime!
I have to believe that for all concerned, the camper should stay with the truck no matter the condition. I'd hate to have a camper fall out of a truck in front of me on the highway. Or worse, the truck going one out of control direction and the camper in another. Now I have two "targets" to avoid.
One other engineering point, once you lose one side of the campers tiedowns, the other side is trying to pull the camper over, especially if there is lots of tension on the tie-down on that side and the attachment points are some distance from the camper's moment arm.
Here is my synopsis....The truck hit a big bump, the rear turnbuckle detached as the camper shifted up and down. (I've seen this happen many times with tie down straps that have "open hooks" holding motorcycles down on a trailer)
Once the rear tie down was compromised, the front tie down took all the force and the camper failed.
But I would thing that these campers should be engineered for any one tie down to hold the entire camper secure.
If the rear tie down was a solid turnbuckle, without benefit of chain, when the truck flexed it would be very easy for the "hook" to unhook. A piece of chain in the system might have alleviated this. With motorcycle straps we always wire tie the hooks to the hold down points so they never dis-connect.
I totally agree with this concept regarding the chain of events principal.
I recently went from the Torklift Basic Springload and turnbuckle system Springload to the Happijac Quickload tiedown system. In order to make this system work with the Torklift tiedowns I had to use a coupler to add more threaded bolt to the Happijack system to accommodate the front Torklift tiedown point. I was told by Happijac not to use any chain in the system. At this point I am not certain I have as good of tiedown system as I would have had with the Fastgun system.
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Francesca Knowles
Port Hadlock, Washington
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Joined: 02/23/2011
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The more you guys-in-the-know talk about this, the more I wonder if the O.P. shouldn't make a report of this incident to the NHTSA.
Link to " File a Complaint" page
This sure looks like a manufacturing defect, and one that could have had much more serious consequences had it happened on a busy highway or if there'd been passengers in the camper.
There are presently hundreds of RV's under recall orders simply because of a lockset that could jam, trapping folks inside their rigs. It seems to me that what amounts to an "unsecured load" issue like this deserves the same kind of alert-to-owners.
" Not every mind that wanders is lost. " With apologies to J.R.R. Tolkien
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Rbertalotto
Massachusetts
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BTW....One of the strongest point on these TC are the camper jack attachment points. These four point mounts usually have a piece of steel running up the corner of the camper tying the side into the front and the back panel.
Any reason why you can attach the tiedown to these points?
![[image]](http://home.comcast.net/~netboy/CamperJackRepair02.jpg)
![[image]](http://home.comcast.net/~netboy/CamperJackRepair01.jpg)
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