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Old 03-25-2012, 08:01 PM   #41
GaryAnnaW062378
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We have the Steadyfast System on our Cougar 318SAB. It is totally awesome..stopped 100% of the sideways shaking we had in our 5th wheel. It was so bad. Feel very slight tire movement. Good luck with your Steadyfast system. Paul Hanscom is awesome to deal with also.
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Old 03-27-2012, 02:09 AM   #42
dave-g
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Well I have ordered mine- should be here on Friday.
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Old 03-27-2012, 06:56 PM   #43
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Dave . . . you will never regret the investment you've made in your SteadyFast system. Simplicity and performance at its best!

Have fun.
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Old 03-28-2012, 04:25 PM   #44
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Had the Steadyfast on our Chaparral for a year. Took it off and put the front set on saturday at the campground. Had the rear bracket modified to bolt onto the bumper slideout channel. I used two of the extra 'L' brackets from the kit and had them welded to the wing nut bracket. Wire wheeled it down and hit it with a coat of Rustoleum. Will get long bolts, washers and nuts so I can bolt through the bumper bracket. I'll take pictures of the rear install if anyone is interested...Jim
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Old 03-28-2012, 09:43 PM   #45
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blackty, Howdy;

By all means.. take plenty ... up close and personnal like......

Thanks much in advance.

hankaye
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Old 04-09-2012, 04:34 PM   #46
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Ok, here we go...

This picture is of one of the three brackets that came with the Steadyfast kit. They would be used on a "C" type frame rv, not used on the "I" beam.
http://s879.photobucket.com/albums/a...t=100_0889.jpg

I measured the width of the channel that the bike rack slides into. Then cut one bracket so that when the two "L" were put together, they were tight. Then had the two "L" pieces welded to the wingnut bracket. I marked and drilled for the mounting bolts.
http://s879.photobucket.com/albums/a...t=100_0886.jpg

I used stainless hardware. The picture didn't come out as well as I had hoped, but I'll try my best to explain the sequence of hardware and bracket...
Bolt head--bracket--slide channel--flat washer--nut--threads inside of channel--nut--washer--slide channel--bracket--washer--nut
I did this so that the channel could not get disformed by tightening the bracket too much. Keep in mind that the bike rack is in the extended position with the bracket installed. I moved the spare tire to the pass through storage. Any questions, ask away...Jim
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Old 04-09-2012, 04:53 PM   #47
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blackty, Howdy;

Quote:
Originally Posted by blackty View Post
Ok, here we go...

This picture is of one of the three brackets that came with the Steadyfast kit. They would be used on a "C" type frame rv, not used on the "I" beam.
http://s879.photobucket.com/albums/a...t=100_0889.jpg

I measured the width of the channel that the bike rack slides into. Then cut one bracket so that when the two "L" were put together, they were tight. Then had the two "L" pieces welded to the wingnut bracket. I marked and drilled for the mounting bolts.
http://s879.photobucket.com/albums/a...t=100_0886.jpg
Those carriage bolts that you have securing to 'L' brackets ... do they interfer with the slideing POS (fancy techie term for sliding tray)? What 'grade' rating are they (carriage bolts). Why not just weild the 'L' brackets to the slide channel ?????
Just a few questions that popped into my head. I'll close this here before I ask enough to make ya angry.

Thanks for the pix...

hankaye
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Old 04-09-2012, 05:12 PM   #48
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Yes, it absolutely interferes with the bike rack slide. My bike rack stays out. I can't weld and my camper is an hour and a half away. (too far to ask someone to drive for 5 min. of work). Grade, don't know, not a safety concern. Hope that answered your questions. I'm too easy going to get angry over a couple of questions, don't sweat it...Jim
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Old 04-09-2012, 08:23 PM   #49
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blackty, Howdy;

Sometimes I have to stop myself or I start rattiling off questions till
even the Pope would lose patience ..... I know ... he's a busy guy
has a ton of other problems other than mine ...

I don't weild either, however the manager of this Park does and the machine is about 100 yds. away.

Did you have to trim the angles any ???

How much of the cloroplast did you have to peel back for the front sections???

Oops, there I go again

Thanks for the help.

hankaye
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Old 04-10-2012, 06:23 PM   #50
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Approx. 1/4" from one of the "L" brackets. Didn't peel any of the chloroplast away...Jim
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Old 04-10-2012, 08:35 PM   #51
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blackty, Howdy;

Sorry to be a pest (or PITA, whichever fits best for you...),
When youtrimmed one of the 'L' brackets ...was that on the
horizontal plane???
Hopefully this will be the last question...

I'm asking alot of questions because I still have my skirting up
and am waiting till I get ready to move back to Utah before I;
A) remove skirting and, B) get the brackets weilded on.
Again, many thanks for your patience.

hankaye
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Old 04-11-2012, 05:30 PM   #52
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Yes, if you look at the "L" bracket, one side has two holes and the other side has one. If you were to put the one hole sides down flat making a "U" with the two hole sides facing opposite each other, I trimmed about 1/4" from ONE of the one hole sides. You could certainly trim more, but make sure the measurements are accurate. It was easier to cut the brackets exact and hold together with vice grips and take to welder as one piece to eliminate possible mistakes. I hope this makes sense...Jim

Oh, by the way, fold your skirt back down. You are scaring the children.j/k
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Old 04-11-2012, 10:52 PM   #53
hankaye
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blackty, Howdy;

Thanks Bud...

Think I'll get the sharpies out and give the skirting a checkerboard design and call it a Kilt.....

hankaye
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Old 04-14-2012, 06:12 PM   #54
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Brought the Cougar home yesterday (Friday), and spent most of today installing the SteadyFast. I figured out how to fasten the main clamp bracket to the underside of the track for the slide out bike rack without interfering with the in/out movement of the rack. Took a bit of filing and drilling, but it works pretty well.

The whole process would have been a lot faster if I had a second battery on hand for the cordless drill. I had to take several breaks while the battery recharged. Time to get the Li-Ion batteries, I think.

Like several others, I did not cut away the coroplast or the aluminum pan that both fasten to the frame rail. The bracket sits just fine on top of them, held in place with the four bolts.

I drilled out the holes in the frame rails in steps starting with a 1/8" bit and working up to the 17/64" needed for the self tapping bolts. Drilling in steps is much easier and requires far less effort.

I have an old Makita electric impact wrench that I found invaluable for running in the bolts that fasten to the frame rail. I highly recommend having one on hand when installing the SteadyFast.

I was very pleased with overall ease of installation and the quality of the parts and materials.
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Old 04-15-2012, 02:58 AM   #55
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Installed mine sat morning in about 3 hours. Last night gave it a test. Not wiggle free, but 95% better. Very nice quality.
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Old 04-15-2012, 07:40 AM   #56
hankaye
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SteveC7010, Howdy;

Courious about the effect that the compression (or lack of), of the coloroplast.....

Got pix ???????

Will be gratefully appericated.

hankaye

PS. Pix of BOTH front & Rear.....
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T.V.: 2004 F-250 4X4, Level III BulletProofed , Detroit Tru-Track Differential (915A550)
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Old 04-15-2012, 11:55 AM   #57
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hankaye View Post
SteveC7010, Howdy;

Courious about the effect that the compression (or lack of), of the coloroplast.....

Got pix ???????

Will be gratefully appericated.

hankaye

PS. Pix of BOTH front & Rear.....
Here we go....

First, the front of the trailer with everything installed:



Then a side view of the front install:


Closeup of the front locking mechanism. This one bolted right to the frame with nothing in the way. I did have to shim up one side because the plate that forms the floor of the front compartment only covered half of the I beam. A couple of flat washers fixed that:


The side one is the only one that has fender and coroplast in the way. I dropped enough of the fender to check for wires and such on each side of the beam. Then I accurately measured the beam location, buttoned it back up, marked my first hole, drilled it, and ran in the first bolt. Then I just drilled out the other three holes and ran in the bolts. The aluminum skin of the fender and coroplast compressed tightly, and I am very confident that nothing is going to loosen up over time:


See next post for the rear install.
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Old 04-15-2012, 12:19 PM   #58
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This is the rear locking mechanism. I shot several pics from different angles:






There's a mounting plate below the track for the sliding bike thingie. It has some holes in it already so with a little bit of filing, I got two of the holes in the SteadyFast bracket to line up with the bracket on the trailer. There's enough clearance between the rail of the bike bracket and the plate that I could insert bolts from the top, and they would not interfere with the sliding action. I had to drill a third hole in the SteadyFast bracket, too. I ran a nut on each bolt to space things down a quarter of an inch or so and then fastened in the SteadyFast bracket.

Since the whole rail system for the sliding bike rack is made up of stamped sheet metal, there's probably a limit to its lateral strength, and I suspect the SteadyFast bracket way exceeds that. So I felt that three bolts instead of four would be adequate. If I notice any signs of stress on the Cougar sheet metal bracketry, I think I'll consider a whole different mounting plan, or add another SteadyFast arm going the other way across the back. Adding another SteadyFast arm should theoretically reduce the stress on the existing mount by half.

Comments on installation:

I am not sure how I could have dealt with the self-tapping 5/16" bolts for the two mounts in the front if I did not have the impact wrench. They were tough to get started, even with the Makita. And they were almost as tough to run down tight. If I had to do that by hand, I think I would have drilled the holes out and used nuts on the top side of the flange of the I beams.

I took my time figuring out the mounting issue with the sliding bike rack in the rear so the whole job probably took around 5 hours. But then, I am not as limber as I used to be so crawling under the trailer and back out is not quite as fast as it used to be. I spent most of the day on it with time out for lunch, coffee, and to respond on an ambulance call.

SteadyFast includes plenty of nuts and bolts for a variety of installation choices. I still needed to add some 5/16" flat washers and hex nuts because of the custom mount in the back, but was to be expected.
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Old 04-15-2012, 05:08 PM   #59
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SteveC7010, Howdy;

Thanks kind Sir. I'm realizing that there are more than one way to skin the cat (told me he won't mind till I get to #7 or 8).
One question (again), on the front set you have the feet turned (or it appears so), sideways to what is showen on the web site and your cross tube is running 'between' the legs of the landing gear. Is there some reason that you chose to do so ??? Not being critical, just courious.

Thanks again for takin' the time to go rollin' 'round and takin' the pictures.

hankaye
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Home: 2008 Cougar 278 RKS
T.V.: 2004 F-250 4X4, Level III BulletProofed , Detroit Tru-Track Differential (915A550)
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Old 04-15-2012, 05:54 PM   #60
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hankaye View Post
Thanks kind Sir. I'm realizing that there are more than one way to skin the cat (told me he won't mind till I get to #7 or 8).
One question (again), on the front set you have the feet turned (or it appears so), sideways to what is showen on the web site and your cross tube is running 'between' the legs of the landing gear. Is there some reason that you chose to do so ??? Not being critical, just courious.
I positioned the front feet to match the picture in the instruction sheets. Thinking about, it probably doesn't really matter which way they are pointed.

I placed the tube mounts on the feet so that the one that runs parallel to the frame rail would not cross the one that runs between the frame rails when raised for travel. There wasn't enough frame forward of the landing gear to mount the clamping bracket so I went behind just a tad.

I probably could have moved the foot end of the front tube to the inner mounting point on the foot, and may yet do so. Again, I think there is a lot room for variation in this system without affecting performance. As far as I can tell, minor variations in positioning like you noted don't change the way the system works in the least. Paul Hansen of SteadyFast did a remarkable job of designing a product that is adaptable to almost any installation needs.
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