Tie downs for my $100 camper

BCHauler

Adventurer
Hi. This spring I purchased my very first truck camper. It was only $100 and I promise to post some pics once it is on the truck. I drive an 01 f250 super duty crewcab / shortbed. The camper is an older 8' and it extends to halfway on the tailgate. I used big ratchet straps to get it home. The truck handled it great and there was no discernible swaying or movement. That being said, I do want a proper tie down system for the truck so that a) I'm not creating diamonds in my shorts while travelling, and b) the setup doesn't look so hillybilly.

My question for you experienced truck campers is: will the Happijac system work ok or is Torklift the only way to go? Keeping in line with my $100 purchase price, I've been looking for a Craigslist set of tie downs, as new Torklifts are north of $400 just for the fronts here in Vancouver.

Thanks for any feedback.
 

arktrekker

Adventurer
The happijac system has worked for many people for a long time. I wouldn't feel comfortable using the happijacc setup with some of the really large campers. That being said, I picked up a $200 camper a couple of weeks ago. Just happened to find a set of the camper tiedowns that go into my stake pockets at a neighbors yard sale the morning I was headed to grab the camper. Those came in super handy getting the camper home but after looking at the torklifts I have decided to just build my own.

The front torklifts are basically a plate that bolts to the frame with a tube welded onto it at a 90 degree angle with another tube welded onto that that meets the bottom of the bed under the front bed frame crossmember with a piece of angle iron. The main tube is like a receiver and has a second tube going into it that has a bracket on the end for the camper tiedown to attach to. I weld and fab for a living and feel pretty confident building my own. For the rear I am just going to use the happijac's that go into the rear bumper.

I would feel pretty confident that you could take a picture of the torklift front brackets into any welding shop if you aren't into welding/fabricating along with your truck for measurements and walk out with a finished product for $200 or less. I will be starting a thread on here when I build my brackets in a week and a half.
 

TCcruzn

Observer
Torklift is the way to go. They are no drill install so buying the real thing is worth it. Try website for radauto.
 

BCHauler

Adventurer
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I ended up finding a full set of tie downs on CL from an 05 f350 that was being parted out. They aren't Torklifts or Happijacs but are made for a local hitch company and seem to be Torklift-style knockoffs. Hopefully I'll get them cleaned up and mounted this weekend. I also picked up a stock class V hitch from the same truck that has the slide in tie downs for the rear. So I'll pull off the Reese Tow Beast class V hitch that is on the truck now and sell it for what I paid for the stock hitch and tie downs.
 

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