Not sure if it had been mentioned in the comments yet but I highly suggest marking leveling jacks once you have the correct height for your truck. That way when he’s using the drill to raise it up he can just go until he gets to the marked line and know that he’ll have it high enough! Hope that helps
Thanks for posting. Might make it a bit easier if your drill has a screw in handle for some extra leverage. Since you have to rotate among the four jacks, it might save time if you marked your stop positions. Your jack movement is in four-inch increments so you could mark each jack at those intervals and lift or lower to each mark. Thanks for the tips and tricks!
One more trick, take a rule tape to measure and record the support legs length when you take the camper off the truck. If the campsite is not level or uneven on a side this will ensure the proper height and a match to the truck bed for loading. Easy peasy loading
Great video points, THX! One great trick also is when you get your camper up to the height you need to load take a Sharpie and draw a line around the inner leg tube at the point where the outer leg and inner leg meet. That way when you're lifting the camper to bed height you just look for your marks on the legs and takes less time and guessing.
There is no doubt, having electric jacks is a real game changer. However, the impact cordless drill is a much, much better option than hand cranking the jacks. Is there a $1500 difference between the electric jacks and the drill. That is the real question for me. Since I don't take the truck camper off that often, I can't say it is worth $1500. Thanks for your comment and for watching.
When your off of center when camper is in bed of truck simply lower the camper jacks while someone is pushing the camper into the right position .... easy peazie
When you are lowering, bring it down to about an inch of your rails. Then lower the rear all the way and it will nicely slide slightly forward for a tighter fit. Then lower your front legs all the way.
Great vid! Nice to see ‘nubes’ doing this. I just bought a NorthStar (pick it up in May) and I’m a little anxious about loading and unloading it. Thanks for showing me how ‘easy’ it can be.
Wow! More to it than I thought. Looks like you guys have a system and it will be faster after a few more installs. Enjoyed the video, sorry we missed the premiere. Paul & Magen
When we travel to Alaska, we plan on just keeping it on the truck. It is a lot like vanlife in that aspect. We will only take it off if we stay in one spot for more than 2 weeks. I don't think that will ever happen on the Alaska trip. No problem about missing the premiere. We know you'll watch it sometime. :) Thanks!
My wife gets very nervous. I don't really think about it because it is just something that has to be done. It does get a little wobbly sometimes though. ;) Thanks again for your comments!
Hello folks, Im a newby at this as well (first time). Great video and thank you. The only thing I noticed is that your tie down brackets may be mounted to far back on the truck bed rails and should be more forward when installed as this would also prevent the camper pulling out of the box like saying climbing a super steep hill or quick takeoff. Thanks again for the awesome easy understanding video
Hey there! The tape in the midle was a good ide. I use tape, but on a another spot. I think you can adjust sideways a litle bit by tilt hard to on side also. I wonder, have your camper rubber under the camper? I use a rubber carpet on the bed, so the camper do not move around. Nice video!
Sir, hope you can help me. I live in russia and we dont have camping culture so it is almost impossible to find jacks like yours to lift a truck camper. I'm trying to look on ebay or Amazon but all I can find are rv tongue jacks. May be you can help me with a correct link or at least correct name of this equipment so I can find it myself. Thank you
This is the jacks on our truck camper. There is a storage of them in the USA. Good luck, and let me know if you need more help. pantherrvproducts.com/14032m4/
Wow that took for ever to load camper..After loading camper enough times ,you should not need tape centering.Using your mirrors watch camper lower walls in relation to truck bed sides. It is a good practice to keep front jacks raised 3-6" higher than rear jacks, when raising and lowering on to truck bed. This relieves stress on front jacks from sleeper cantilever weight . full water tank, and only one mounting point on front jacks vs.rear.When truck is positioned under camper to load, apply truck e brake, Automatic put in neutral shift position. Manual trans. pull out of gear. When lowering camper lower back jacks down and fronts so rear of camper seat on bed first,now seat front of camper. You should see that truck rolls slightly forward. You are seating front of camper tight to front of truck bed without stressing camper, truck bed or front camper bumpers. Oh remember to plug in camper harness before dropping camper.
You're welcome! I know that you sold your van, are you thinking of trying truck camper living inside of van life? We really enjoyed the advantages that truck campers have over vans. We would love to help answer any questions that you might have :)
@@GrassRootsLiving yes I am! I just bought a truck and now I'm looking for a camper. I'm sooo excited to get on the road again!! This one was huge question I had, so thank you!!
No, there is no need to have an additional jack. The back of the camper is where most of the weight is located. The weight of a couple of people on the bed will not come close to upsetting the balance.
Nice job loading. You bought 40 volt batteries as spares for your 20 volt drill? "can you use a 40v battery on 20v tools? No, not without intervening circuitry to step down the voltage to 20 volts. You can generally use a higher capacity battery (that is one with more amp hours and thus run time) but the battery itself has to be 20 volts. Higher voltages will destroy the tool."
Thanks so much for pointing this out. At the 11:35 mark, I misspoke. I said that I picked up two 40V batteries. I meant to say I picked up to 4.0 aH batteries (that are also 20V). They hold more of a charge than the one that came with the drill but I assure you that they are 20V. My mistake but I am so glad that you pointed it out so others that read this will not make a mistake and buy 40V batteries. :)
That is so stressful! I would be freaking out if it was me :). I guess it'll get easier the more you do it, but it's scary right now! :) Hope y'all are having a great week!
So true! It does get a little wobbly when it sits up that high. We prefer to keep it on the truck for that reason. Hope you have a great week as well! Thanks again for watching! :)
Our soft side pop up truck camper had electric jacks with remote. You are right, it was the best. However, this one did not have one so it was a process. lol Thanks for watching!
The Brophy tie down system appears to be compatible with almost all trucks. I was very pleased with how it performed. I would purchase it again if I got another truck camper.
Be extra careful when driving with the brophy tie downs. I went on a road trip all throught the rocky mountains and they did not survive the trip. Two of them were totally bent and the top rail of my truck bed was bent out of place.
I have a friend with a bobcat who would set it back up. We are very careful not to take chances with it. I can definitely see why it would be a concern though. Thanks for watching!
The first time you back under the camper, use a sharpie to put a mark on the extended legs. That way each time you jack it up again you'll see the marks and know you're high enough.
5:10 DON'T WALK BETWEEN THE TRUCK AND CAMPER when the camper is sitting high, off the blocks and vulnerable to wind gusts. If that camper were to suddenly shift forward and you're in that 'pinch point' ... GAME OVER.
I definitely think that we will get much quicker at it but you are right I don't know if it will ever be fun. Thanks for watching. Can you think of anything that we missed that would make it quicker or more efficient?
@@GrassRootsLiving Yeah we did that just about every other weekend for 9 years with my son was racing motocross, you have it covered pretty much, only thing I couldn't see on yours was we had a 2x6 piece of lumber on edge up front as a spacer to keep the camper from rubbing on the bed of the truck. The rest is practice practice practice LOL... it gets easier. Nice job working together too! Cheers- Dave
@@OurEndeavor thanks. Good to hear that from people that have so much experience. This camper has build it spacers, so that's handy. Not sure we'll ever be good enough to want to do it every weekend, but we're sure a lot better than when we first started. lol Thanks for your comment and support.
Also having a peice of plywood under your camper its going to want to slide out, bad idea. Go get a piece of 1" rubber cut at an ifa store thats the same size as your plywood!
Not sure if it had been mentioned in the comments yet but I highly suggest marking leveling jacks once you have the correct height for your truck. That way when he’s using the drill to raise it up he can just go until he gets to the marked line and know that he’ll have it high enough! Hope that helps
Thanks for the tip! We eventually did the same thing.
Thanks for posting. Might make it a bit easier if your drill has a screw in handle for some extra leverage. Since you have to rotate among the four jacks, it might save time if you marked your stop positions. Your jack movement is in four-inch increments so you could mark each jack at those intervals and lift or lower to each mark. Thanks for the tips and tricks!
One more trick, take a rule tape to measure and record the support legs length when you take the camper off the truck. If the campsite is not level or uneven on a side this will ensure the proper height and a match to the truck bed for loading. Easy peasy loading
Great idea! I will have to do that the next time. Thanks for the help!
Great video points, THX! One great trick also is when you get your camper up to the height you need to load take a Sharpie and draw a line around the inner leg tube at the point where the outer leg and inner leg meet. That way when you're lifting the camper to bed height you just look for your marks on the legs and takes less time and guessing.
Thanks that is a great idea!
I’ve only loaded mine 3 times also, hand cranked, it’s a job, by myself. Electric jacks would be a real plus I believe, in the long run.
There is no doubt, having electric jacks is a real game changer. However, the impact cordless drill is a much, much better option than hand cranking the jacks. Is there a $1500 difference between the electric jacks and the drill. That is the real question for me. Since I don't take the truck camper off that often, I can't say it is worth $1500. Thanks for your comment and for watching.
When your off of center when camper is in bed of truck simply lower the camper jacks while someone is pushing the camper into the right position .... easy peazie
When you are lowering, bring it down to about an inch of your rails. Then lower the rear all the way and it will nicely slide slightly forward for a tighter fit. Then lower your front legs all the way.
That's a great idea! Thanks for sharing it. I will do it next time I have to load it. :)
Great vid! Nice to see ‘nubes’ doing this. I just bought a NorthStar (pick it up in May) and I’m a little anxious about loading and unloading it. Thanks for showing me how ‘easy’ it can be.
Hope you enjoy it! Electric jacks are far better, but mechanical jacks are doable.
Wow! More to it than I thought. Looks like you guys have a system and it will be faster after a few more installs. Enjoyed the video, sorry we missed the premiere. Paul & Magen
When we travel to Alaska, we plan on just keeping it on the truck. It is a lot like vanlife in that aspect. We will only take it off if we stay in one spot for more than 2 weeks. I don't think that will ever happen on the Alaska trip. No problem about missing the premiere. We know you'll watch it sometime. :) Thanks!
Great vlog. Well done loading. Greetings and thanks for sharing. Have a nice week. 👍
Thank you! You too! Thanks for watching! :)
Good job! I sincerely hope we run into one another again real soon .... or later, but sometime down the road.
I hope so too! Our plans for next summer will be to travel to Alaska, if they will open up the borders. Enjoy Reno and tell everyone we said hello. :)
I'm so glad that I was just watching this and not having to do it! I would be a nervous wreck. 😬
My wife gets very nervous. I don't really think about it because it is just something that has to be done. It does get a little wobbly sometimes though. ;) Thanks again for your comments!
such a great job my friend.. i really admire what you did...
Thank you so much 😀 I hope I can get it down a little faster though. :) Thanks for watching!
Good stuff! Thanks so much for sharing, going to make many people's lives much easier
I hope so! I think there are a lot of fisherman that would love going to fishing spots in a truck camper. :)
Hello folks, Im a newby at this as well (first time). Great video and thank you. The only thing I noticed is that your tie down brackets may be mounted to far back on the truck bed rails and should be more forward when installed as this would also prevent the camper pulling out of the box like saying climbing a super steep hill or quick takeoff. Thanks again for the awesome easy understanding video
Glad it was helpful to you! We have since sold the camper. If we get another one I will keep the tiedown tip in mind.
Hey there! The tape in the midle was a good ide. I use tape, but on a another spot. I think you can adjust sideways a litle bit by tilt hard to on side also. I wonder, have your camper rubber under the camper? I use a rubber carpet on the bed, so the camper do not move around. Nice video!
Great tip! I will have to look for a rubber carpet. The board that we use does have a tendency to move over time. Thanks again!
@@GrassRootsLiving I bought a rubber cow stall mat / blanket. It was less than 1 inch thick, heavy, but very solid.
Great informational video guys! I'm sure that will help someone out there... Thanks for sharing! 😀
Hope so! We truly hope to give back to a community that has given us so much. Thanks for watching! :)
Very informational TY
Glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching, Angela!
* A baby giraffe....I am with ya sister. Nice lesson...look before you reach. I have never seen anyone put a truck camper in. I enjoyed the video*
🤗 We are so happy you enjoyed it! Now that you have seen a truck camper being put on a truck, are you ready to buy one? ;)
Sir, hope you can help me. I live in russia and we dont have camping culture so it is almost impossible to find jacks like yours to lift a truck camper. I'm trying to look on ebay or Amazon but all I can find are rv tongue jacks. May be you can help me with a correct link or at least correct name of this equipment so I can find it myself. Thank you
This is the jacks on our truck camper. There is a storage of them in the USA. Good luck, and let me know if you need more help. pantherrvproducts.com/14032m4/
Wow that took for ever to load camper..After loading camper enough times ,you should not need tape centering.Using your mirrors watch camper lower walls in relation to truck bed sides. It is a good practice to keep front jacks raised 3-6" higher than rear jacks, when raising and lowering on to truck bed. This relieves stress on front jacks from sleeper cantilever weight . full water tank, and only one mounting point on front jacks vs.rear.When truck is positioned under camper to load, apply truck e brake, Automatic put in neutral shift position. Manual trans. pull out of gear. When lowering camper lower back jacks down and fronts so rear of camper seat on bed first,now seat front of camper. You should see that truck rolls slightly forward. You are seating front of camper tight to front of truck bed without stressing camper, truck bed or front camper bumpers. Oh remember to plug in camper harness before dropping camper.
Thanks so much for the great tips!
Thank you!!
You're welcome! I know that you sold your van, are you thinking of trying truck camper living inside of van life? We really enjoyed the advantages that truck campers have over vans. We would love to help answer any questions that you might have :)
@@GrassRootsLiving yes I am! I just bought a truck and now I'm looking for a camper. I'm sooo excited to get on the road again!! This one was huge question I had, so thank you!!
Great video guys huge thumbs up 👍
We are so glad that you liked it. :) Thanks for watching!
Very very cool video thank you for sharing it
Glad you enjoyed it. Are you ready to buy a truck camper now? ;)
I need help loading mine
Do you put a support/jack somewhere so when getting in bunk the camper does not tip forward?
No, there is no need to have an additional jack. The back of the camper is where most of the weight is located. The weight of a couple of people on the bed will not come close to upsetting the balance.
If it's misaligned by a few inches it's easier to move the camper than the truck. Seems scary but you can wiggle it around pretty easy on the legs.
I think my wife would literally die of a heart attack if I did that. :) I do think you are right however. Thanks for sharing the tip. :)
Nice job loading.
You bought 40 volt batteries as spares for your 20 volt drill?
"can you use a 40v battery on 20v tools? No, not without intervening circuitry to step down the voltage to 20 volts. You can generally use a higher capacity battery (that is one with more amp hours and thus run time) but the battery itself has to be 20 volts. Higher voltages will destroy the tool."
Thanks so much for pointing this out. At the 11:35 mark, I misspoke. I said that I picked up two 40V batteries. I meant to say I picked up to 4.0 aH batteries (that are also 20V). They hold more of a charge than the one that came with the drill but I assure you that they are 20V. My mistake but I am so glad that you pointed it out so others that read this will not make a mistake and buy 40V batteries. :)
@@GrassRootsLiving We all make a gaff here n there. You just proved you're human is all.
Subbed ya.
I think he meant 2amp vs 4 amp batteries not volts. I have the same craftsman power tools
Can anybody help me out I'm stuck in Missouri
Thank you so much for the great video! What did you say again about being able to shift the camper over by lowering one side first?
That is correct!
I need to get a bigger drill it’s scary lifting a camper
That is one of the first things I noticed as well.
2 drills, 2 people would be even better
We have done that as well. However, one of us had to film. 😉😂. Thanks for watching!
That is so stressful! I would be freaking out if it was me :). I guess it'll get easier the more you do it, but it's scary right now! :) Hope y'all are having a great week!
So true! It does get a little wobbly when it sits up that high. We prefer to keep it on the truck for that reason. Hope you have a great week as well! Thanks again for watching! :)
It is scary I’m afraid to lift my camper on my truck
Thats pretty cool.great job guys.you were awful brave with those wasp dean.i hate wasp they always sting me.lol
I don't know if I was brave or lucky. ;) Thanks for watching!
@@GrassRootsLiving hahaha lol.no problem.
This is so amazing. Like and support. New friend here. I hope you will connect.
Thank you, I will. In fact, the footage you have at Mirror Lake brought back some wonderful memories for us,
hi my friend sending love from Viet Nam
Thanks so much for the love. We love making new friends from the other side of the world. :)
@@GrassRootsLiving i subscribed and watched this video 5 minutes . hope you do the same and have 5 minutes for my video.
Ya know what works really great. Electric jacks with a remote.
Our soft side pop up truck camper had electric jacks with remote. You are right, it was the best. However, this one did not have one so it was a process. lol Thanks for watching!
I have a 1995 Chevy 1500. Can I use this brophy mounting attachments?
The Brophy tie down system appears to be compatible with almost all trucks. I was very pleased with how it performed. I would purchase it again if I got another truck camper.
I have a 1996 Chevy 2500 and they work just fine.
Be extra careful when driving with the brophy tie downs. I went on a road trip all throught the rocky mountains and they did not survive the trip. Two of them were totally bent and the top rail of my truck bed was bent out of place.
Ice video. Pl stay connected
Thanks so much! I will have to check out your channel as well. :)
What would a person do if it fell over.
I have a friend with a bobcat who would set it back up. We are very careful not to take chances with it. I can definitely see why it would be a concern though. Thanks for watching!
The first time you back under the camper, use a sharpie to put a mark on the extended legs. That way each time you jack it up again you'll see the marks and know you're high enough.
Thanks for the great advice Mark!
Of course!
Installing a dual battery isolator on my camper today. There's always a project to do!
5:10 DON'T WALK BETWEEN THE TRUCK AND CAMPER when the camper is sitting high, off the blocks and vulnerable to wind gusts. If that camper were to suddenly shift forward and you're in that 'pinch point' ... GAME OVER.
Good point! I will make a point of remembering that next time!
2 people, 2 drills?
Great idea, but one of us was doing the filming. If we are in a hurry, we would certainly use two. :) Thanks for watching! :)
done it many times and never looks fun lol
I definitely think that we will get much quicker at it but you are right I don't know if it will ever be fun. Thanks for watching. Can you think of anything that we missed that would make it quicker or more efficient?
@@GrassRootsLiving Yeah we did that just about every other weekend for 9 years with my son was racing motocross, you have it covered pretty much, only thing I couldn't see on yours was we had a 2x6 piece of lumber on edge up front as a spacer to keep the camper from rubbing on the bed of the truck. The rest is practice practice practice LOL... it gets easier. Nice job working together too! Cheers- Dave
@@OurEndeavor thanks. Good to hear that from people that have so much experience. This camper has build it spacers, so that's handy. Not sure we'll ever be good enough to want to do it every weekend, but we're sure a lot better than when we first started. lol Thanks for your comment and support.
If it takes more than 90 SECONDS you're doing it wrong once it's lifted.
We are getting much quicker with experience. 90 seconds will be are goal. Thanks for watching!
Don't waste money on that cheap bit they sell, go get a long socket cut a notch in it with a grinder and you just saved $25 bucks
Also having a peice of plywood under your camper its going to want to slide out, bad idea. Go get a piece of 1" rubber cut at an ifa store thats the same size as your plywood!
Great ideas! Thanks for letting us know and thanks for watching! :)
: )
Thanks again for watching! :)
Horrible music
Thanks for the input. The video was done a long time ago. We have switched music providers since the making of this video.
I liked the music
You sir are uncultured.