Went to Kansas on Saturday and picked up this little honey. This thing is a breeze to haul compared to the Lance hard side I had before. Not all of the amenities of home like the Lance, but very functional.

Now, my question: Anyone out there with a slide in with one of the alignment systems to help load and center the camper? Getting it off is not a problem, but since I usually load it by myself, anything that would make it easier would be a great asset.

 

Congrats on the new camper. I miss my old Palomino and have been really considering getting another one.

As for putting the thing on, I never really did much as far as centering, but after about the 100th time I backed up under the camper I would usually get it pretty straight. Just get used to cranking the wheel back and forth to pivot the truck to center the camper. Practice makes prefect I guess.

Enjoy the camper, and yes, those little pop ups are hardly noticeable after you've hauled a big full sided camper!

Have a good one.

 

My truck has a stop bracket at the front of the bed so if I'm off by a couple of inches on either side, it will align itself. The first few times loading my Lance was a nerve-racking experience. I don't load it alone, my wife usually spots for me. Usually it results in me yelling at her and her not speaking to me for a few days! Maybe I should start loading by myself....

 

I don't understand the stop bracket. You wouldn't happen to have a pic would you?

I stopped asking my wife to help me with anything many years ago.

 

I have a Northstar and have experienced the same issues. I have found that it is much easier loading the camper with 2 people since you can jack it up evenly if you have one person on either side and can alternate between the front and the rear.
As for keeping it centered in the bed, I've been sliding a piece of 2X6 between the camper and the wheel well on the passenger side of the truck. My parking spot is not level and inevitably the camper would always wind up aligned against the passenger side wheel well making it very difficult to attach the mounting hooks on the driver's side. If you have it perfectly centered in the bed you should have about 1.5" to 2" of room between the camper and the wheel wells on either side. I've toyed with the idea of mounting the board to the camper but haven't gone that far yet as simply sliding the board in is very easy and does not occupy any additional time to do so.
I've also seem some other rigs that have a 4 triangular pieces of metal mounted in the bed of the truck at the front and rear of the wheel wells to help guide the camper into the center while lowering it..
If you can drive in reverse while using your mirrors and can keep the truck straight, after the second or third time you should have it down. The first time I loaded mine it took over an hour with 2 people. Last weekend we had it loaded and mounted in about 25 minutes. The key is centering the truck and then backing straight under the camper. If you start to turn your front wheels, you'll never get it in straight.

 

I have the Happijac frame mount front tie-downs which include centering guides. I balked on the rear centering guides as I didn't want any more holes in the bed. I still have to have a friend help me center this sucker as it's just easier. That being said,my camper tends to migrate and I stuff wood between the wheel wells and the camper's outer sides. Nice looking camper by the way! Make sure you're running "E" rated tires. I had a near catatrophic blowout on my '99 on the freeway using Bridgestone AT's,"D" rated. Never again. Bilstein shocks or better on all four corners,too. P.S. I removed the jacks as my when not in use for two reasons: 1,easier to see around with stock mirrors(I added Mopar tow mirrors) and 2,lightens up the rig as those jacks are heavy!

 

I'll have to take a pic. The bracket has to polyurethane cones on it that guide the camper in the last couple of inches. Keeps the camper even on the inside.

 

That Happijac system sounds pretty neat. I'll have to check it out.

This thing is so much lighter than the Lance, Squire 3000, it's unreal. The Lance weighted in at 2200+ empty, and this one it just a little over 1700. Granted, it don't have the inside shower and potty, but I didn't use those much anyway. The way my truck is equipped, I didn't even put air in the Firestone air bags, and it didn't have hardly any roll or bounce. When I get to the Colorado back country, I'll put about 30# or 40# in them.

10-4 on the "E" tires! In June, I blew a rear with the Lance on there. I'm running the Discount Tire, "C" rated Dominator's, which were OK on the highway, but I probably cut it on the back roads. Fortunately, it didn't blow until I was back on the pavement and only going about 30 MPH. I'm going back to Discount Tire next week and ask them if I need to throw the tire thru the window, or do we need to talk about it first. I'll probably go with the BFG, AT, "E" rated.

 

That sounds pretty neat too. What's the brand name, and I'll look it up on Google.

Something I don't understand on any of these systems......what happens with the jacks while the camper is being re-positioned?

Also, I have a problem with the converter blowing the 12V fuse, but I'll start another thread on that.