Truck Campers Only, w/ an Overland & Off-roading theme

[TRAMPER]

Hi-Range Hydraulic Bottle / Hand Jacks

U.S. Jack’s Hi-Range Hydraulic Jack offers the same capabilities as standard models, but offers a little more lift for your applications.

www.usjack.com

One of these, probably the high range 8T.

Bottle Jack BuddY®

$54.99 - FREE SHIPPING ANYWHERE IN THE USA ! A Bottle Jack Adapter Lifting Saddle! Patented Design.

bottlejackbuddy.net

Along with something like this. I haven’t dialed down specifically enough to make a model choice by height or anything but this is where I’m focused. Hope it helps.

 

[Ruadhrigh]

Four gallon air tank is visible when the drawer is opened on the right side with ARB twin compressor under the hood.

Got pictures of this installed?

Another question for all of you truck camper types. What are you carrying for a jack? I always carried a bottle jack and two jack stands in the van (I had a tool basement with a garage full of tools in the van) but I'd rather not carry all of that in the truck. I'm going to verify that the stock jack can lift the rear of the truck with the weight of the camper on. Just curious if you guys have thought about this and what, if anything, you have different from the stock jack.

My buddy has an OEV HBE on a flatbed on his Super Duty. Last year he got a hex key in his rear tire and his OEM jack broke trying to lift his camper. He then broke my OEM Ford Transit jack but our buddies mid-size truck jack worked.

He bought a heavy duty offroad jack for his replacement. Can't remember the brand though.

 

[TRAMPER]

Got pictures of this installed?



My buddy has an OEV HBE on a flatbed on his Super Duty. Last year he got a hex key in his rear tire and his OEM jack broke trying to lift his camper. He then broke my OEM Ford Transit jack but our buddies mid-size truck jack worked.

He bought a heavy duty offroad jack for his replacement. Can't remember the brand though.

Pro Eagle or Badland I would guess. Those honestly would/ could be the best solution, BUT they’re fucking massive and heavy.

Carting around 70lbs of steel that’s unwieldy that you may never use doesn’t make sense to me.

That said if I could store it fit one easily I probably would. The small bottle jacks are insanely powerful but take up much much less room.

You can lift 16,000lbs with one of these and it only weighs 26lbs. Again a ProEagle would be amazing I just can’t imagine finding storage for it.

 

[TX03RUBI]

Pro Eagle or Badland I would guess. Those honestly would/ could be the best solution, BUT they’re fucking massive and heavy.

Carting around 70lbs of steel that’s unwieldy that you may never use doesn’t make sense to me.

That said if I could store it fit one easily I probably would. The small bottle jacks are insanely powerful but take up much much less room.

View attachment 140248

You can lift 16,000lbs with one of these and it only weighs 26lbs. Again a ProEagle would be amazing I just can’t imagine finding storage for it.

I spend a shit ton of time off road for work. Bottle jacks absolutely suck in off camber scenarios. Even with leveling blocks and pads to help out. I’ve got a badlands off road Jack that’s worth its weight in gold. I need to verify it’ll get the rear of my truck off the ground now that I’ve got the camper and a bunch of additional weight. I’m far less worried about getting caught unprepared on the highway than I am in the middle of nowhere forest/blm land without service. Also with good tires I’m far more likely to have a cut sidewall due to choices I make off road than I am a blowout or flat. This is coming from 15+ years of driving 80-100K miles a year with 20-25K of that being off-road.

 

[TRAMPER]

I spend a shit ton of time off road for work. Bottle jacks absolutely suck in off camber scenarios. Even with leveling blocks and pads to help out. I’ve got a badlands off road Jack that’s worth its weight in gold. I need to verify it’ll get the rear of my truck off the ground now that I’ve got the camper and a bunch of additional weight. I’m far less worried about getting caught unprepared on the highway than I am in the middle of nowhere forest/blm land without service. Also with good tires I’m far more likely to have a cut sidewall due to choices I make off road than I am a blowout or flat. This is coming from 15+ years of driving 80-100K miles a year with 20-25K of that being off-road.

I 100% agree. How do you carry your jack with your camper offroad??

 

[TRAMPER]

Got pictures of this installed?



My buddy has an OEV HBE on a flatbed on his Super Duty. Last year he got a hex key in his rear tire and his OEM jack broke trying to lift his camper. He then broke my OEM Ford Transit jack but our buddies mid-size truck jack worked.

He bought a heavy duty offroad jack for his replacement. Can't remember the brand though.

He needs to be on this thread! I’ve only seen the HBE’s at OK4WD and at Expo. Never seen one out in the wild.

 

[PJPVI]

Got pictures of this installed?



My buddy has an OEV HBE on a flatbed on his Super Duty. Last year he got a hex key in his rear tire and his OEM jack broke trying to lift his camper. He then broke my OEM Ford Transit jack but our buddies mid-size truck jack worked.

He bought a heavy duty offroad jack for his replacement. Can't remember the brand though.

I don't have any good pics. I'll try to take some in the next day or two and post up. In short, it's mounted over against the second battery box using a bracket I welded up, a square cornered U-bolt on an existing spot that it grabbed nicely, and an existing grommet on (or next to?) the battery box. If I forget, re-ping me.

 

[PJPVI]

Good feedback on jacks. The little 3 ton bottle jack I carried in the van got a lot of use, and while I agree they aren't ideal, I always made it work when I needed. When I had my van weighed prior to getting on the ferry from La Paz to Mazatlan it was sitting at 11,700 lbs. That trip I had to do a couple tire rotations and it did fine. Guess I'd better do some experimenting soon and get my truck weighed with the camper on so I know what I'm dealing with.

 

[TRAMPER]

Good feedback on jacks. The little 3 ton bottle jack I carried in the van got a lot of use, and while I agree they aren't ideal, I always made it work when I needed. When I had my van weighed prior to getting on the ferry from La Paz to Mazatlan it was sitting at 11,700 lbs. That trip I had to do a couple tire rotations and it did fine. Guess I'd better do some experimenting soon and get my truck weighed with the camper on so I know what I'm dealing with.

Yeah I was just eyeing the Pro Eagle page the heaviest jack that make is only 3T, my truck weighs 9660 and the back end is over 5,000. Not saying it’s not enough but I’d like a little more wiggle room honestly. The jacks looks amazing and they make mounts. All said you’d be in it for over $900…. Than still finding a place to put it. My fiberglass camper isn’t strong enough to have that bolted to it. Maybe inside the cab behind the passenger seat (for weight distribution).

 

[NightForceFan]

Yeah I was just eyeing the Pro Eagle page the heaviest jack that make is only 3T, my truck weighs 9660 and the back end is over 5,000. Not saying it’s not enough but I’d like a little more wiggle room honestly. The jacks looks amazing and they make mounts. All said you’d be in it for over $900…. Than still finding a place to put it. My fiberglass camper isn’t strong enough to have that bolted to it. Maybe inside the cab behind the passenger seat (for weight distribution).

The 3T is plenty.
I have the 3T offroad and just got the 3T shop jack they just released. The offroad jack makes changing a tire in the dirt a breeze. The OEM jacks are trash. The quality of the Pro Eagle is great and so is their customer service. Highly recommend.

 

[TRAMPER]

The 3T is plenty.
I have the 3T offroad and just got the 3T shop jack they just released. The offroad jack makes changing a tire in the dirt a breeze. The OEM jacks are trash. The quality of the Pro Eagle is great and so is their customer service. Highly recommend.

Ok, even better!!!!! Where do you store yours????

 

[NightForceFan]

Ok, even better!!!!! Where do you store yours????

I bought the mount for it, but didn’t bolt it in this 23 yet. Will bolt it in the 24 when it gets here this month. I keep a Bakflip MX4 so I didn’t buy the jack cover. At the moment, it is just back there with a wratchet strap to keep it in place.
I have had bottle jacks and high lift jacks and would never want to go back to either after using the Pro Eagle. Harbor Freight makes one similar, but I can’t speak to the quality of it.

 

[Chris-DTA]

I got this one from Amazon. It is not only a jack, but also a stand. I love the big bottom plate which can be really helpful in sand or mud.

 

[TX03RUBI]

I 100% agree. How do you carry your jack with your camper offroad??

I’ve got an open bed platform. Typically I’ve just strapped it across the bed towards the back, but I’ve got an actual in bed mount for it now. Just need to get in installed.

 

[TX03RUBI]

Good feedback on jacks. The little 3 ton bottle jack I carried in the van got a lot of use, and while I agree they aren't ideal, I always made it work when I needed. When I had my van weighed prior to getting on the ferry from La Paz to Mazatlan it was sitting at 11,700 lbs. That trip I had to do a couple tire rotations and it did fine. Guess I'd better do some experimenting soon and get my truck weighed with the camper on so I know what I'm dealing with.

I used an aftermarket bottle jack on ny work trucks my first 4-5 years in the oil patch. Worked decent during those times. Christmas eve 2013 I was working late, and had a blowout in BFE about 15-20 miles back in lease. The road was trash, and I couldn’t make do with the bottle jack. I tried moving my truck to better ground multiple times, tried blocking it any way possible, and phone service was non existent. Finally 4-5 hours after sitting there waiting another field hand came driving by, and he had nice floor jack, air compressor, and an impact wrench. Less than 10 minutes later I was back on the road and finally headed home. Been carrying a floor Jack since lol

 

[NightForceFan]

I used an aftermarket bottle jack on ny work trucks my first 4-5 years in the oil patch. Worked decent during those times. Christmas eve 2013 I was working late, and had a blowout in BFE about 15-20 miles back in lease. The road was trash, and I couldn’t make do with the bottle jack. I tried moving my truck to better ground multiple times, tried blocking it any way possible, and phone service was non existent. Finally 4-5 hours after sitting there waiting another field hand came driving by, and he had nice floor jack, air compressor, and an impact wrench. Less than 10 minutes later I was back on the road and finally headed home. Been carrying a floor Jack since lol

20+ years on WTX lease roads, specifically Pecos/Mentone/Orla. I know the feeling all too well.

 

[Ruadhrigh]

He needs to be on this thread! I’ve only seen the HBE’s at OK4WD and at Expo. Never seen one out in the wild.

He's not much of a forum guy lol. You come through NM or Southern Colorado this summer you can see it in person.

Here's the truck, he's got it set up really nice. HBE on an OEV flatbed with Carli Pintop lift and all the OAF (overland as f*ck) accessories.

 

[TRAMPER]

He's not much of a forum guy lol. You come through NM or Southern Colorado this summer you can see it in person.

Here's the truck, he's got it set up really nice. HBE on an OEV flatbed with Carli Pintop lift and all the OAF (overland as f*ck) accessories.

View attachment 140326

Hmmmmm. I’m am headed to the southwest this spring for a few weeks. You never know!


That’s a sharp looking truck. I really like those 6.75’ HBE’s with the taper on the back. They that’s the one I looked at pretty seriously. That’s a hell of a rig. Well over $200k there

 

[PJPVI]

I got this one from Amazon. It is not only a jack, but also a stand. I love the big bottom plate which can be really helpful in sand or mud.

View attachment 140284

I've looked at those thinking it's a great idea, but then I think of all the times it's been great having separate jack stand(s) and the 3 ton bottle jack. I may just go back to that setup that's worked for years. Those do look nice though!

 

[rwalk]

Anyone have their truck registered as a company/commercial vehicle? We have ours plated to a Montana LLC but because its been stationary and secure in my shop, I havent switch it over to commercial yet. Having commercial insurance on a few vans, the pricing has been RIDICULOUS.

Has anyone here with a permanently mounted camper (perhaps the tray/supertamps could count too) retitled as an RV? We do this with sprinters all the time and its very simple.

Also worried about my camper still given it has no VIN, etc. I have had progressive for years and they have been great but I think State Farm and AAA is out next step based on your comments above, which I thank you for!

@TRAMPER I actually have a little giant 4 step here.. with a spacer on the bottom it could work and is certainly cost effective but I dont LOVE it. My pup is getting old and I am really worried about her getting in and out 3-4 times a day for a 4-12 months coming up soon. I am going to check out OEV's dealer in Reno to check out their solution but the pricing is absurd. If we are to design a set solution, I will try to make it also work for the truck cab.

Looks like @Chris-DTA has had good success with his Torklift for him and the pup.. Maybe I got a weird unit, but the one I received was kind of "janky" and was heavy enough that my admittedly tiny spouse couldn't really lift it. The main killer was not being able to store it in the tray's rear pull-out drawer, which would mean it needs to live inside the camper.

I need to realize I cant have it all.....

I also have my truck (and many other vehicles) registered to my Montana LLC. I have been procrastinating getting insurance on the camper because I know its going to be a PITA with my useless agent and the lack of a VIN.

In general it seems insurance companies have been cracking down on the Montana LLC's and making it difficult to insure a vehicle with a Montana registration but a "garaging address" in a different state, along with trying to insure as personal use despite being registered to a commercial entity. We've had decent luck with Progressive Commercial who rarely asks any questions, but other carriers have refused to quote or dropped us after further investigation. Never had to file a claim, so hopefully no issues would come up at that point in time!