Aluminum Pulley Replacements
 

Some one on here mentioned the fact that their pulleys were made of some composit material and that one had rotted and was coming apart. They said they were replacing them with aluminum pulleys that had brass bearings in the middle. Can anyone tell me the part numbers and where to purchase these? I think I would like to replace all of my lift pulleys with aluminum ones.

Treeclimber posted this about replacement pulleys: https://www.hilotrailerforum.com/f32/pulley-info-6934/ However, they are composite material too, not aluminum.

I think I'd rather have the composite pulley material against a steel cable rather than aluminum against steel. I think the composite might be "kinder" to the cables than the dissimilar metal. I also don't know how well aluminum will stand up to steel? Maybe some other members have thoughts on this?

- Jack

I agree with that. Look what has happened to the screws and aluminum roof material on the Hi-Lo.

Supposedly the composite pulleys did not require lubrication and that was the reason they were used.

Bob

composite vs aluminum
 

I have read more than one article about the composite pulley's falling apart as they age. I am sure aluminum would not do that and being less though than stainless steel would not have a bad affect on the cables either. I also think that aluminum would stand up longer than the composite material pulley's. My only other question would be going to a bigger cable like a 1/4" instead of 3/16. Any thoughts on that? :confused:

My thought would be that for any given diameter of wire rope (cable), there is a minimum diameter of pulley that should be used. Specs on this are no doubt available somewhere on the Internet, probably on sites that sell cable. My hunch is that you would need larger diameter pulleys for 1/4 inch cable, so maybe not the best idea.

Think about all the thousands of Hi-Lo trailers that were built and that are still out there in service, cables have not been a big issue. The system has been virtually the same through the years. I would say that most pulley and cable failures have been the result of some kind of damage or lack of proper lift system maintenance. Changing cable and pulley sizes may not work well.

Bought my 2001 new and kept it 13 years. Never replaced a pulley, but did have the cables (4) replaced once. The right rear cable snapped and I just had them replace all of them. Call it peace of mind.

Bob

WD 40 on the pulleys
 

We have had our 27' Hi-Lo for 11 years and go out on weekends about 4 times a year. Before we leave I spray WD 40 on all pulleys and have hod no problem with cables or pulleys. Yes everything is oily on those pulleys but no problems.

I think lack of lube on the cables at the pulleys caused those steel cables to rust and chew op the pulleys.

Cables
 

We just sold our HiLo-never had problems with cables or pulleys; always lubricated cables and never saw any signs of rust or roughness. I remember the first year crawling on then I used a creeper it became so easy!