Fitting a Suntrekker to a Mk 8 Hilux

[saDgit]

Similarly, I'm thinking about a way to extend the legs' length too, so that I won't need those dodgy piles of bricks.

I never attempted anything as sophisticated as you're contemplating but when we had our Suntrekker we just used to cart a set of these around with us.



From Fiamma, they're very light (available in aluminium or, for cheapskates like me, plastic ), stack inside one another and are reasonably cheap. Even the plastic ones have a load limit of 750kgs each so they're more than capable of supporting the camper.

Mind you, it was still a tight squeeze!

[Amanda_P]

Thanks for that - I had thought of getting hold of some axle stands or something like that. I didn't know about those Fiamma ones.

With my Suntrekker wobbling in the breeze at the top of the legs' travel, though, I'm terrified of it falling over, and I'd be almost as frightened of kicking or knocking a stand out from under a leg and it toppling over. It'd be hard to get upright again.

I think it's an irrational fear, though. It may wobble, but it's not really unbalanced, and of course if leaving it, I'll wind it down so that it's standing on the fourth leg too (I have a long fourth leg so it doesn't have to come all the way down to the ground).

Anyway, when I get around to it, I'll let you know how I get on with the leg-lengthening.

[TheWalshyWay]

Here's a series of photos of my modifications as said 3 years old and haven't gotten around to making them permanent, probably won't now as I'll be selling the Suntrekker

B.

[TheWalshyWay]

Here's a better one side on

B.

[Amanda_P]

Thanks! That makes it really clear what you did and how it all works. I guess the three legs still fitted in their pocket in the floor, even with those extension bits added?

[TheWalshyWay]

Hi Amanda, I store the legs under the camper in the void between the camper and pickup floor, I need to raise the camper in order to clear the cab so this space works for me.
B.

[Muttley]

Hi, just wondered how your getting on with the Jablite. Wondered if it's started giving at all and maybe allowing the camper to donkey nod on braking.

[Amanda_P]

No, there’s no sign of any give in the Jablite, and the Suntrekker’s been in there standing on it virtually all the time since I wrote the original post. It’s the grey kind, which seems to be a bit denser than the white.

In fact, in the old Mk 7 truck, there was a bit of noticeable donkey-nodding. Not because the camper see-sawed in the truck bed at all, but because the chassis rails flexed under the weight so that the whole loadbed and camper moved relative to the cab. That’s what contributed to some of the fretting on the cab roof. The Mk 8 seems much stiffer, and I can’t see any movement of the camper’s overcab section relative to the cab at all, and there seems no chance of it contacting the cab - exactly what I was aiming for.

I suppose if the Jablite does start to get squished, I might have to invest in some more at some point. I think I might be able to manage that...

[Muttley]

Thanks for your reply , it certainly sounds lighter than the boards I have used to raise it up a bit.

[kernowjon]

Re Legs - my Suntrekker (which is a bit of a one-off) came with 4 equal length legs and fitting points on the side at the front and rear. Which in my opinion is probably the answer to the twisting problem. Thay are electric legs and I do not think there is anywhere to stow them onboard.
If you look at this pic of the near side view you can see the jack points - they are on the same place on the other side.



Jon