The FlipPac info thread.

your comments are worthless without a price

 

Oops, you’re right I forgot to mention price, $3,000 YotaBro, thank you.

 

Hey flip pac-kers,

I am weighing a torsion bar replacement versus just selling my flip pac as is. Its currently on a low miles 2wd Nissan Frontier. Camper is in good working order other than the broken bar. I am getting older and I'm not in love with using the pole to flip it over.

Could peeps weigh on what would be a reasonable price for the camper if I sold it. I live in Oregon. Also, I have read about the sway-a-way (now x-sway) torsion bar surgery but strangely never seen a posted video of someone actually doing it. Any references for such a thing?

Thank you!

 

Not sure what the going rate is now for a good flippac, but I would guess in the 4-5k range. Subtract $500 for the broken torsion bar.

You won't see videos of people replacing torsion bars because all 5 or 6 people involved are too busy screaming at each other, with one team trying holding the lid vertical, while the other team members trying to hammer through the new rod. No time for pics and videos.

Edit: it would be a lot easier to replace if the topper is not on the truck.

 

Thanks! I figured I'd take it off first. Main concern is knocking out the old bar. If it resists too much it's a lot of force on the hinge brackets. Seems like if you can get the old one out without destroying the camper, fiberglass, or other hardware, getting the new one in would be the easier part...?

I am not necessarily looking forward to the procedure, although I think I can do it. In the meantime, I am open to offers

 

If it's already snapped, the old one should pop out pretty easy. Hit it with some pb blaster, but if it's broken there's no tension, and should slide right out.

 

Thank you for the guidance! Maybe I'll make a video...lol

 

If you have FaceBook you should also look in to the "Flip pac owners USA" group. You can probably get a better sense on pricing.

As far as the torsion bar replacement goes it's not super difficult. If you have the ability to remove the FlipPac and place it on the ground it makes the work much easier to do with three people. Otherwise you may be able to use the building you have behind your truck or even a tall tree to "hang" the lid while you do the replacement. If you go through with the replacement just remember that the lid must be at 90 degrees when inserting the new bar otherwise the preload will not work. My first FlipPac had a broken bar and flipping the lid was a pain but you'll be presently surprised how much easier it is with a working torsion bar.

 

Yeah, that's what I am hoping for... You can see in the cover tube where the breakage was, the tube is slightly deformed. I have read that it is recommended to put the new bar through the old cover as a safety thing. Guess we will see how it goes. I will need a handle too, probably would have to have it fabricated...? I saw a guy that mounted a handle on some kind of ball joint about half way down the top. Any ideas on this?

I don't FB but my wife does, we could connect with flip pac people through her. Thanks for that suggestion!

 

I’ve seen some people leave the cover tube on the torsion bar, while others remove it. I opted to leave mine on, but it’s worth noting that some remove it because it can trap moisture. That said, the newer torsion bars have a better exterior coating that helps prevent moisture-related damage. I also had to replace the splines on my handle due to damage. At the time, Sway-A-Way was able to sell me a single hinge, which I cut and welded onto the handle. It’s held up well, but I’m not sure if the new ownership would be willing to do that again.

As for quick disconnect options, I’ve seen people use these (https://midwestcontrol.com/shop/Qi500) mounted at the corner using a 2"x2" piece of angle iron. Depending on the size of the disconnect, you can attach it to a steel post or conduit.

 

Alright! Thank you

 

i ordered a replacement torsion bar from Sway-A-Way last year in Oct/Nov....i just received it last week....so, just factor that into any math/schedule you got. I will be replacing it soon so can snap some pics, but i'd suggest just google flippac torsion bar replacement. There are a few key threads, mostly on expedition portal, that provide a fair amount of details.
also sway-a-way has instructions too

 

MotoMike: thanks for the heads up! Would love to hear an update of how it goes for you you...

 

Saw this on FB marketplace. 4k
Wonder if it's anyone here...

 

So I finally got my bar and tried installing it. Turns out one of the splined ends is bigger than the other and therefore bigger than the accepting splines on the hinge and bushing....
I will be reaching back out to sway a way on Mon...I am hoping they will stand by their product and services... there is a 1 year warranty...so we'll see... but pretty disappointed at the moment.

update: shipping it back to Sway-a-way/Xsway...
they will either machine it down or send me a different one from their batch.

 

What up y'all....
So I finally got the bar replaced. It wasn't too bad at all once it was machined correctly...I just wish sway away would've done it right.

So regarding install, I did it off the truck on a square frame I built for the flippac...Basically just slid it straight back off the truck. With the flippac off i bought a lumber rack on the side since I have some lumber hauling needs in the meantime. To keep the lid from flipping past 90, i parked my truck just in front of the flippac and lashed a couple 2x4s vertically to the lumber rack. These would catch the thing from going too far past 90.

Bar gets inserted from the passenger side. Longer splined side goes in first and is on the driver's side. I put a clamp on the driver's side hinges to keep the plastic bushing in place during the whole exercise.

To get the lid to vertical, I threw a rope loop around the back of the lid and tied a loop on the other end. I then had a buddy throw a pair of ratchet straps onto a line between the front bed hooks. These would be used to pull the lid the final way to 90 degrees. We used 2 so you could switch between them as they got stuffed with strap.
I got the lid to about 60-70 degrees or so from horizontal using an 8 foot 2x4 pushing on the side "lip" of the lid.

Once the thing is at 90 or close to it, it's pretty easy to manipulate it since it's pretty much balanced. The vertical 2x4s and the ratchet straps acted as a safety and kept the lid basically between like 80 and 110 degrees.

I marked where the groove where the bar spline should go on the passenger side hinge as a guide to help line up the bar. Once we got it aligned, smacked the end with a hammer and it went in pretty easy. Put a new collar on the driver's side. The bar should stick out 3/4" past the collar.

Soooo...all that being said, here's my rant about swayaway. So overall, it took 8 months or so to get the bar after I ordered it. That wouldn't be so bad, however when I ordered the thing (back in Nov), they told me it'd be 2 months. I kept checking in on a 1-2 month basis and kept being told it would be longer. As spring/summer approached i was like ok, camping season is getting close. Still not ready...mid-May they told me that the there was some issues with the part and they were working on getting it right and would ship at the end of the month...2 months later i reached out and was like what the story? They then told me it was ready and gonna get shipped that week. Great! So I received the bar. Tried the bushings (apparently only on one side). Went to install the thing and it would not hammer in. We gave up and I pulled it. We tried to caliper it but it was hard to get a good reading so I just tried to slip the bushing on and lo and behold it doesn't want to go on at all. Ok, passengers side is too fat. Reach out to sway away and they gave me a shipping label, said they would either fix it or send me a new one. Two weeks later I've got the "fixed" one in hand. Bushing slides on. Cool, send it. We try again and again the thing doesn't want to hammer in. We figured out that the chamfered end is still too fat and so the bar is getting stuck on the chamfers and not sliding into the splines. So long story short we took a dremel to each chamfered spline to cut out enough material so that the bushing would slide over without issue. And finally got the bar installed.

I really don't want to shit talk a small business that says they want to do right, but I'm thoroughly underwhelmed by swayaway. They also told me that there was something wrong with their system and undercharged me for shipping, and said they had already covered it now multiple times with the return and wanted some more money. At that point i was, like uh, in light of how we got here, i think thats a bit much?

If someone could figure out the torsion specs on this bar, you'd prob be better off finding a local machinist to get the splines cut. Super niche part, so there's that. And I'm glad that someone is willing to craft it and sell it. But if any one here is planning on getting one, don't expect to get it quickly. And when you do get it, verify the bushings slide completely over both ends of the bar.

After dremel


Here's how far the bushing would go before getting stuck on the chamfered section.


edit:spelling