Pickup campers are not as popular as they once were. A couple of decades ago, you would see dozens of them in a hundred mile stretch of interstate highway travel. Today, seeing one of these campers feels like a step back in time. However, for hunters and anglers, these dinosaurs are a great option. Any place that you can drive to with your pickup can be a campsite for the duration of your trip. The trick is to get the camper level before crawling in for the night or refuge on a rainy day.
Most pickup campers come with 4 attached jacks.
These jacks are located with one on each corner of the camper. They serve two purposes. By extending all four jacks, the camper can be raised above the level of the pickup bed. The truck can then be pulled out from under the camper. It is not recommended that you stay in a camper that does not rest in the pickup bed, but it has been done. The second purpose is to level the camper.
Lower each jack down until the foot rests on the ground.
If you are parked on a steeper slope, you may find that the jacks do not all reach the ground. In that case, you will need some wood or concrete blocks to use as shims. It really is a better plan to find a slightly more level place to park, but the shims will work. Once the jacks are all touching the ground, read the level to see which jacks need to be extended more to adjust the camper.
At this point, make coarse adjustments to get the front to back level established.
Lengthen either both of the front jacks or both of the back jacks to get the camper level from front to back. Do not get too carried away, you should not have to go back and forth from front to back only from side to side until the camper sits level at this point. If you have to use shims to accomplish this, you may want to consider raising the jacks and putting blocks under the pickup tires either in front or back to give you a head start getting it level.
Once the camper is level front to back, it is time to work on side to side.
This effort at getting the camper level should be considered as a fine adjustment. In all but the most rugged terrain, this part of the levelling process should be quick and easy. Once the pickup camper is level from side to side, verify that you have not created front to back issues. Most of the time, this will not be the case. However, if it is, use very small adjustments on the front or rear jacks until everything is level.
For soft or muddy ground, you may need to put boards under the jacks to give them a better footing.
Using some longer 1×6 or 2×6 planks for footings will keep your jacks from burying into soft earth. In off-road situations, this may be necessary. the planks should be about 24 inches long to do a good job. These can be carried and stored easily with the camper. If you do not need them, they can rest under the pickup for the night or until you are ready to move to a new site.
